Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
I smile, baring my teeth. I like Poet for the most part, but she’s disgustingly loyal to Nox. “It’s your captain’s plan. If they die, it’s on them.”
“Lizzie, you’re a constant delight.” Nox throws an arm around my shoulders, laughing when I snap my teeth at them. “Truly, I mean it. A constant source of amusement.”
They don’t give me a chance to formulate a response. They throw their weight backward, toppling us both over the side of the ship. The drop sends my stomach into my throat. The ship is taller than it looks, and it’s a long fucking way down.
Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.
We hit the water hard enough to steal my breath. My curses are a string of bubbles leaving my lips. Oh fuck, I didn’t realize Nox meant we were swimming to the damned ship. It’s cold and wet and so dark that I can’t see a single thing. There could be anything in the depths below us, and I wouldn’t know it until it appeared right before me—and maybe not even then. The pressure of the water makes it impossible to move, to breathe, to think, to . . . but I can’t breathe because I’m underwater.
If this is how Nox plans to kill me, they chose well. It’s everything I can do not to panic . . . except I am panicking. I can’t move my limbs. My body isn’t responding to the increasingly shrill commands my brain shouts. I have to swim to the surface. I have to reach the boat and get out of the water as soon as possible. I can’t be here. I can’t . . .
A pocket of oxygen forms around my mouth and nose, courtesy of Nox’s elemental powers. I hate the harsh breath I drag in, hate the relief that fills me, hate that I’m reliant on them to keep me alive during this little excavation. Being able to breathe doesn’t decrease the horrible feeling in my chest, though. It just gives me enough space to think about exactly what kinds of monsters might be lurking just out of sight, waiting to make a meal of us. Would that be worse than drowning? Better? I have no idea, but I don’t want to die.
Nox pulls me tight against them, close enough to be lovers. The air pocket expands and then their voice is in my ear. “Breathe, Lizzie. I’ve got you.” And then we’re shooting through the water, propelled along by their magic. They are one of those rare beings with access to all four elements. It makes them damned hard to kill, but I’m distantly able to admit that they’re useful for situations like this as well.
The movement helps calm my thoughts. Nox isn’t going to kill me or leave me to the depths. I can’t believe the thought even crossed my mind. Everything is perfectly fine. Except for the fact that I’m still in the damn water.
Within a few minutes, we slow and then ascend to the surface in the shadow of the Drunken Dragon. The pocket around my mouth melts away as I drag in salty sea air. “I hate you.”
“Liar. You’re quite fond of me.” They swim to the ship and haul themself out of the water.
I follow as quickly as possible, wanting to put the dark depths out of reach. Something could still rise to slap me off the side of the ship, but at least I’d have a chance to see it coming once I’m in the open air. I can’t stop myself from breathing a shaky sigh of relief when my feet leave the water.
Dragging myself up and following Nox’s path gives me an excellent view of their athletic body. Hard not to notice that the perfection of their face seems to extend to every part of them. If they weren’t such a pain in the ass, maybe I would take them to bed.
“What’s this asset of yours look like?”
Nox glances over their shoulder down at me. “Red hair. Freckles. Short and plump. Her name is Maeve. Don’t murder my girl, Lizzie. I’ll have to do something unfortunate if you do.”
I don’t bother to answer. Accidentally murdering the asset would be sloppy, and that’s a word that will never be attributed to me. “Worry about yourself. Don’t get stabbed or blown up while I’m doing all the heavy lifting of killing everyone.”
For once, Nox doesn’t have a smart answer ready. They just keep climbing, tension in their lean body. I follow. The thrum of excitement in my blood is a welcome emotion. A familiar one.
This is what I do. What I was made for.
I’m not a person intended for peace, and while there have been a few fights in the last three months of sailing on the Audacity, there hasn’t been anything challenging enough to work off the tension constantly coiling inside me.