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)
There’s every chance we won’t make it to Lyari before the Cŵn Annwn find us.
Poet goes through the crew, quietly collecting yays and nays. Most people speak so softly, I have no idea what they’re saying. I glance at Siobhan. “Can you hear their answers?”
“Shhh. I’m counting.” She narrows her eyes, her lips moving silently.
I shift to Nox’s other shoulder. They’re holding themself perfectly still as if bracing for bad news. I honestly don’t know which way the vote will go. The crew seems to all but worship their charming captain, but if it’s a choice between love and survival? I honestly don’t know. They were happy enough to work for the rebellion, which is dangerous, but this is on another level entirely.
Poet steps forward. “I’m finished. We have three nays…and fifty-five yays. We’re with you, Nox.”
Nox’s knees buckle. I slip under their arm and grab their waist, keeping them on their feet. Their voice is only a little thick as they say, “Set sail for Lyari. Swing southwest, skirting the storms as best you can. They shouldn’t expect us to choose this destination.”
I hope they’re right. In any event, everyone from our party looks dead on their feet—except the old woman, Dia. Bowen leans heavily on Evelyn, or maybe she’s leaning on him; I can’t be sure. Siobhan is still standing strong, holding my cloak to her naked body, but she’s paler than normal. And Nox…well, Nox is shivering in my arms.
I’m not doing too well myself. Despite my claims to Siobhan that I could hold the glamour to hide her—hide us—it took a toll. I’m exhausted and weaving on my feet.
I start toward their cabin, half carrying Nox. “You can’t keep being so reckless. We need you.” I need you. Words I don’t have any right to say, but that doesn’t change the way they linger on my tongue.
It’s a testament to Nox’s exhaustion that they don’t try to shrug off my touch. Instead, they lean a little deeper into me. “You know me. I do nothing halfway.”
I feel Siobhan at our back, which is a small relief because I was going to have to track her down after dealing with Nox. This way, I can deal with them both at the same time. I push the cabin door open. “It seems like we’re in a constant state of patching each other up and we haven’t had a true battle yet.”
“It feels like a battle,” Nox murmurs.
“I still can’t believe they were willing to sacrifice the entire city. I know it’s not as large as Mairi on Second Sister, but that’s still tens of thousands of people. They don’t have magically reinforced buildings; acid would eat through the roofs in short order and harm or kill the people inside.”
“Yes.” Nox slumps against the doorframe. “She has to have Council approval.”
Siobhan’s eyes go wide. “Surely not. The Council might favor Lyari in all ways, but this is too far, even for them.”
“I wish that were the case.” Nox pinches the bridge of their nose. “No matter how powerful Morrigan and her crew are, they wouldn’t have dared try something like this in full view of half the nobles summering in Mairi if she thought it would blow back on her.”
Obviously the Council is aware that something is amiss. They were the moment the Crimson Hag took me. Shame weighs down my shoulders. “I’m sorry. If I hadn’t fought with Siobhan. If I hadn’t tried to save that woman…”
“It would have happened anyway.” Siobhan tugs at her wet hair. “It was only a matter of time before the Council and the Cŵn Annwn became aware of the rebellion.”
“Yes, but…” My throat feels so tight. I was so fucking foolish. I don’t know how else to describe it. “When I told you we needed to take the rebellion into the light, I didn’t think the Council would be so comfortable with sacrificing civilians.”
Nox smiles, the expression more cutting than warm. “It’s a rebellion, Bastian. One that has operated under their nose for years. There are no civilians—at least not in their eyes. No one is safe until they’re satisfied that they’ve put us down.”
It’s so grossly unfair and ugly…which is how the Cŵn Annwn operates. Despair threatens, and I only hold it off with sheer determination. “Well, at least your crew hasn’t abandoned us.”
“No, my crew hasn’t abandoned us. But maybe they should have.” Nox pushes forward, wearing every single one of their years. “I can’t stand the thought of them dying. Better they sail off to safety.”
“Nox,” I say quietly. “There is nowhere safe. Not if we don’t stop them. You just said as much, and you’re right. It’s sheer luck that the Cŵn Annwn have restrained themselves to Threshold for this long, but that won’t be true in a generation or two. The nobles are too greedy, the Council too willing to expand at the expense of everything they’re supposed to protect. Now that they’ve secured their base here, it’s only a matter of time before they turn gluttonous eyes elsewhere.”