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Chapters (64)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  6. Pronunciation Guide
  7. Prologue
  8. Part One
  9. One
  10. Two
  11. Three
  12. Four
  13. Five
  14. Six
  15. Seven
  16. Eight
  17. Nine
  18. Ten
  19. Eleven
  20. Twelve
  21. Thirteen
  22. Part Two
  23. Fourteen
  24. Fifteen
  25. Sixteen
  26. Seventeen
  27. Eighteen
  28. Nineteen
  29. Twenty
  30. Twenty-One
  31. Twenty-Two
  32. Twenty-Three
  33. Part Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Part Four
  47. Thirty-Six
  48. Thirty-Seven
  49. Thirty-Eight
  50. Thirty-Nine
  51. Forty
  52. Forty-One
  53. Forty-Two
  54. Forty-Three
  55. Forty-Four
  56. Forty-Five
  57. Forty-Six
  58. Forty-Seven
  59. Epilogue
  60. Excerpt from The Sun and Its Shade
  61. The Night and Its Moon Playlist
  62. Acknowledgments
  63. About the Author
  64. Back Cover

She and her brethren knew of the night creatures and dark fae from their texts. They’d studied the ag’drurath and their hell-hewn wings, bodies slender and black like serpents, talons that could slice through armor, teeth that would shred and swallow your horse in one bite. What they’d seen were the humanoid counterparts to the snakelike dragon—the ag’imni—commanders of their serpent familiars. Reevers knew all of the descriptions regarding the unspeakable things they did to fill their stomachs on fae and men alike, their soulless bodies, and their blackened eyes.

But she knew what she’d seen.

The men fell into silence, allowing only the sound of their mounts, the saddlebags, the hooves, and the whinnying and chuffing of the horses to accompany them. The black sky lightened to the deep gray of a stormy sea, then indigo, then lavender, and soon the sun was up over the horizon, warming the land. While they continued their westward journey, her tongue kept pressing on the kernel, pushing her to understand the encounter. Her mind would not rest.

Twenty-Six

Nox wasn’t able to sleep, nor was she really trying. Her mind flitted rapidly from one thought to the next, an amalgamation of sounds and ideas and plans and memories. Legs wiggled restlessly as her finger thrummed against the mattress. Six musicians played different instruments and clashing songs simultaneously within her mind, their songs tumbling over one another, each vying for her attention. She tossed fitfully between her silken sheets, turning her pillow to find a cooler side.

Her eyes stayed open as they burned into the dark of the wall, thinking of what the duke had said. Yelagin. Forces were being dispatched to Yelagin. That was where she’d find information on the north. That was where she’d get her answers.

It had been two years since Millicent had lit the hateful torch within her for the northern kingdom. Two years of fitful nights, violent wishes, and dreams of vengeance. That’s how long it had been since the Madame had told her everything, filling in so many gaps with vivid detail. A barmaid—an orphaned whore—hadn’t been worth sharing the weight of her secrets, but someone groomed to lead beside her, on the other hand…

She tossed again, twisting the fabric between her fingers. One of the minstrels in her mind took the lead, the other sounds dying away as she focused her thoughts. The remaining song was that of the relationship that had dug its way into her life like a tick burrowing its head, the one between her and the lady of the Selkie.