Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Yes,” she says bluntly. “It is. How much worse will that be when they realize the size of our network? We don’t have a fleet to fight them with. They’ll cut off our informants, cut off our supply chains, and then kill us at their leisure. At this point, I don’t even think we could escape through the portals into other realms because they would chase us down just to prove a point.”
I want to say such a thing is unprecedented…but it’s not. There have been dozens of times over the years when the Cŵn Annwn slipped into the very realms they’re supposedly protecting in order to kill those they call monsters. If they discover the rebellion, we’ll be lumped in with the so-called monsters. “You can’t let fear guide you.”
“There’s nothing new to add to this conversation. We disagree, and it’s clear we won’t reach peace now…or ever.”
“Or ever,” I repeat numbly. “So that’s it, then.”
The bathroom door opens before she can reply, revealing Nox in their new crimson clothing, their blond hair spiky from the shower. I can’t think about that too closely, or I’ll be remembering how good Nox looked naked and wet and…Fuck, I’m remembering it.
Nox looks from Siobhan to me. “So. It’s like that.”
“You agree with me,” Siobhan snaps. “Don’t pretend you don’t.”
“I did.” Nox shrugs. “Morrigan changes things. She’s not a fool like so many of the other captains—or Council members, for that matter. Now she knows you’re alive and she knows we’re working together. She’s not going to stop.”
“Then kill her. You’re good at that.”
Nox laughs bitterly. “As if it’s that easy. Morrigan is more powerful than I am—and more deadly. Our only option now is to run.” They turn to look at me. “The real question is if there’s anywhere left to run to.”
“Yes.” Siobhan sighs. “Bastian, we need to know what you told Morrigan.”
I blink. It takes my exhausted brain a few seconds to understand what she’s saying—what they’re both suggesting. “You think I broke.”
“Torture will do that to a person,” Siobhan says gently.
I thought I couldn’t get angrier. It turns out I was wrong. I sit there stiffly and look from one of them to the other. “I didn’t tell her anything. She knew about the glamour. She…” My breath catches in my throat. “She threatened my family, but I think the Council was pushing back against the plan to arrest them.” I meet Siobhan’s honey gaze. “She already knew something was going on, that I’d been spotted in the company of a woman, that people were disappearing instead of being brought to the Cŵn Annwn.”
Siobhan and Nox exchange a look, and it strikes me all over again that they have a relationship that has nothing to do with me. Nox joined the rebellion despite my presence. They and Siobhan spent plenty of time together in the beginning, enough to build a true friendship.
Enough to build…more?
Nox sighs. “Well, fuck.”
Siobhan scrubs her hands over her face. “There’s something else. Something you both need to know before we go further. You can’t underestimate Morrigan.”
“Obviously.” Nox waves that away. “Didn’t I just get done saying that she’s dangerous?”
“She is. More than you know.” There’s something almost like panic in her dark eyes. She looks from one of us to the other, her shoulders dropping in defeat. “She is—I am—Cŵn Annwn.”
I blink. “No, you’re not. You’ve never sailed for them.”
“I don’t mean those pretenders.” She makes a motion like she might spit, but aborts it halfway through. “I mean the true Cŵn Annwn, the ones those fucking parasites stole their name from. Most of the records about the originals have been lost over the centuries, but they did exist. I’m proof of that.”
I run her words back, but they don’t make any more sense the second time through. “But…that doesn’t make any sense. You’re from a noble family that has been in Lyari for generations. If your ancestors were the real Cŵn Annwn, then why doesn’t anyone know it? Why hasn’t Morrigan used that fact to propel her right to the top of the Council instead of sailing about, playing pirate?”
Nox rolls their eyes. “Because they would have been wiped off the face of Threshold. You think the Council is going to let anything threaten their death grip on Threshold? Not even Morrigan can stand against them alone.”
I open my mouth to deny it, but…they’re right. The Council bets on being the most powerful thing in Threshold, able to command thousands of ships. It’s an uneasy balancing act, though, because at this point most of the crews are filled with refugees.
There are volunteers, of course, but no one comments on the fact that Lyari locals are disproportionately represented among them. The people of Lyari see it as something noble and exciting. The rest of Threshold, though? All the islands that never asked to be under the Council’s rule? All the people who are terrorized by the unruly crews? They don’t volunteer. They never have.