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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

“There is no banquet to crash tonight, Nox. There’s no crowd to get lost in,” she said.

Usually, the Madame referred to her as the more pejorative “dear.” The usage of her name belied the jeweled woman’s nerves about the night to come. Nox had just returned from the brink of death days after an escape to Yelagin, and now she was to infiltrate the castle. Their relationship had undergone an undeniable shift that neither of them would address outright.

Millicent went on, “Perhaps we’re rushing our plan. Surely there will be a masque—”

“He will be at the Bird and the Pony. There’s no need to wait for an excuse.”

“But if he isn’t—”

Nox had no time for discussion. “If he isn’t, then he isn’t. Do you believe me to be clever?”

The Madame nodded somewhat reluctantly, and Nox knew why. Millicent would have been far happier if she’d found herself a simpler, more naive girl of such great, formidable, terrible power under her care. Yet it was the very same cleverness that might win them their captain and eventually their rank in the castle.

“Then trust me when I tell you, I will not fail tonight.”

Nox would not fail, nor would she return. After her feet crossed the pleasure house’s threshold into the city beyond, she swore she’d never look back. These would be her parting moments in the Selkie. If she came back, it would be to sit atop a mount outside while a fleet of men beholden to her rushed in to behead the Madame, not emerging unless they clutched her by her golden ringlets. That particular detail would have to stay concealed for now.

“Here,” Millicent said as she pushed three bejeweled hairpins into Nox’s hand. All three were meant to go above the same ear, slicking the hair back on one side. The underside of each pin had been sharpened into a thin, strong blade’s point. Nox felt a twinge of emotion. She hated Millicent with every fiber of her being, but the begrudging, distasteful alliance was unavoidable.

She was grateful for the covert weapons, slipping all three into her hair. They had been an excellent addition to her outfit, as she was to appear alluring and unarmed in every conceivable way. They were perfectly delicate, harmless adornments with a deadly purpose.

The time for arguments had come and gone. If Emily had reappeared, she would have used this time to say her final goodbyes. Instead, Nox walked rather unceremoniously from the front doors of the Selkie. Millicent, of course, had assumed return the next morning. Nox had no such intention.