Chapters (49)
- COVER
- DEDICATION
- MAP
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- DISCOVER MORE
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- PRAISE FOR
This moment was all they had. It was all they would ever have. So Nomi let everything else go, just for the space of a breath. The distance of a kiss. She didn’t worry about what Malachi wanted from her. She wanted this from him. This one moment. This chance to sink into him, to bask in the warmth of his mouth, to let herself feel.
When she pulled away, her face was wet with tears. “Go find Dante. Bring your regiment. Be there to finish the job if I fail.”
His sharp face filled with pain. If she’d been a little less broken, it would have wrecked her completely. “Nomi—”
“I have to do this, Malachi,” she whispered, her chest tight. “I can’t live with this fury inside. I have to let it out.”
And then, before Malachi could argue, she slipped away.
TWENTY-THREE
SERINA
SERINA HELPED HAUL the dead soldiers to the southern cliffs, where the sharks were plentiful. When the last soldier had disappeared into the sea, and while everyone gathered their belongings and Mirror and the other injured were tended to, Serina and Val explored the boat.
The deck was long and wide, just large enough to fit everyone, Serina thought as she walked from end to end. She tried to imagine the crowd in the amphitheater transplanted here. A bit of a crush, but they could make it work.
She followed Val into the small room at the bow of the ship. A giant wheel stood in the center, with various other mysterious gauges and instruments along the wall.
“Do you think you can navigate this?” Serina asked, her stomach sinking. She had no idea what any of the equipment was for, beyond the wheel. A ladder led to the engine room beneath them.
“Gia can,” he said. “She knows far more about boats and navigation than I do.”
Serina pulled him to a stop before he could leave the wheelhouse. He paused, his gaze questioning, until she tipped up to kiss him. He slipped his arms around her, and they stood for a moment in the quiet privacy of the little room. Serina rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady, reassuring beat of his heart.
She traced her fingers down the muscles of his upper arm; the feel of his skin ignited little sparks in her fingertips. In her training to become a Grace, she had learned how to please men, how to be alluring. She’d never known—never imagined—how much pleasure she would find, when the man was someone she actually cared for. No one had told her she could feel attraction and pleasure too.
Serina leaned up for another kiss, reluctant to leave this moment behind. Val’s mouth was so warm and gentle, and she loved the power it gave her, to nip at his lower lip, to tighten her arms and draw him closer.