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)
They’re right. I know they’re right. “The Cŵn Annwn used to do good.”
Nox blinks. “Oh, so now we’re trading in fairy tales.”
“It’s not a fairy tale. My grandfather passed the same stories to me that his grandfather passed to him and so on back to the beginning of Threshold. The Cŵn Annwn protected our realm. It’s only in the intervening time that that purpose has become perverted and used to abuse power.”
“Sure, and why don’t you spin a tale on turning straw to gold while you’re at it. If the Cŵn Annwn ever existed, which, I’ll grant you, your presence seems to suggest, then no doubt they were just as corrupt and selfish as those who currently call themselves by the same name. I’ve seen what power does to people. You’ve seen it, too—both of you. Just because they were here first doesn’t mean they’re immune to that. Even if this damn horn does summon them, it’s entirely likely that they will be a worse problem than what we’re currently dealing with.”
There’s no reason to feel betrayed by their words. This has been a long shot from the beginning, from the moment that I took the first steps to create a rebellion that would help people. In my heart of hearts, didn’t I know it was a losing battle?
“The Council is scared of the horn,” Bastian says. “That means something.”
“It means it’s a threat. There’s no telling the size or shape of that threat,” Nox snaps.
“The legends in my realm are varied,” Evelyn says slowly, almost apologetically. “Sometimes they hunt those who deserve it, but almost as often, it’s a proximity thing. If you are in the wrong place on the wrong night, the Wild Hunt will take you, too.” She frowns a little. “Though in this scenario, ‘taking’ could qualify as everything from killing to kidnapping to just dragging along for the ride, only to be deposited somewhere far from where you originally joined up.”
“See.” Nox motions at Evelyn. “Even if we had endless amounts of time for research and were able to travel to the other realms where the Cŵn Annwn hunted, we would find the same conflicting stories and legends. There is no such thing as uniformly good or uniformly evil. Siobhan and Morrigan are more than proof of that. She’s descended from the Cŵn Annwn, too, and she’s vicious, violent, and cruel.”
As much as I hate to admit it, that is one angle I can’t argue. There may be no such thing as uniformly good or evil, but my sister is damn close to the latter. I don’t know if she was just born a particular way, or if something in our upbringing went wrong with her. All I know is that her ambition burns inside her with a heat that incinerates anything standing in her way.
Including our parents. And me.
“Nox,” I start. “If you have a better plan, I’d love to hear it.”
“We run. We hide. We fight. All of those are better plans than sailing to the heart of the Cŵn Annwn on rumors that don’t even prove your thesis.” Nox turns away and drags a hand through their short hair. “It doesn’t matter. We can fight about this back on the Audacity. We need to move. The longer we stay in one place, the greater the target upon us is.”
At least on that we’re in agreement. There’s an itching under my skin that seems to be growing with every minute that ticks past. There’s no reason to think we were followed here, and we intentionally avoided the busy docks where secrecy is impossible.
And yet…
Dia walks back into the room with a bag nearly the size she is. Bowen promptly takes it from her and slings it over his own shoulder. There’s nothing left to do but leave. He’s the first one out the door, Evelyn and Dia close behind. After a short, silent battle, Bastian follows, then Nox, and then me. I softly close the door behind me and look around.
Where the streets weren’t particularly busy before, now there isn’t a single soul visible. The itching beneath my skin reaches a frenzied threshold. I shiver. “Something’s wrong.”
Dia shudders and almost goes to her knees. Only Evelyn’s quick thinking is enough to catch her before her old knees hit the cobblestones. She gasps out a harsh breath. “Storm. Magical. Acid.”
Even as she speaks, realization rolls over me. Bull, Morrigan’s quartermaster. I’d heard rumors about his powers, but even in Threshold it seemed exaggerated to a laughable degree. Summoning a magical storm that drops acid instead of rain? Even as my disbelief tries to take hold, clouds gather above us, a deep and worrisome green.
Bastian follows my gaze and makes a sound of rage. “It will eat through the roofs, will kill people. How is Morrigan justifying this to the Council?”