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Back The Night and Its Moon
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

The Madame sent her in her personal glossy, black carriage, though it did not fast travel to the castle. A woman and a carriage manifesting from thin air would draw more than a little suspicion, Nox supposed. She had wanted to take a horse but saw the wisdom of avoiding the elements of wind, salt, and air, staying in her most pristine condition. Tonight, she was both bait and huntress.

* * *

Though Nox had insisted with an air of confidence to the Madame that the captain would be at his regular tavern, she was sick with unease throughout the carriage ride. In three years, she had failed only once to lure a man. Learning that her charm was less effective on those with fae blood filled her with trepidation. What if Eramus had fae heritage?

Nox absentmindedly wondered if this also meant someone of full fae lineage would survive a night with her, though she wasn’t morbid enough to try it just for the sake of experimentation.

She stepped out of the carriage and paused, gripping the edge of the doorframe.

“Are you okay, miss?” asked the driver.

She’d never learned the man’s name, nor did it matter. She had no interest in the men Millicent kept in her employ. Nox would never see the driver again after tonight, after all. No matter what happened, she wouldn’t be returning to the brothel.

“I’m fine,” she responded unconvincingly. But she wasn’t fine, not truly. The task at hand was a drop in the venom-filled bucket of reasons why she hadn’t been fine for days.

“Shall I wait here for you then?”

She wanted to smile kindly, but didn’t have it in her to feign the emotion. She reserved her masks for her target. So she just said, “No, that won’t be necessary,” and waved him away.

Nox wasn’t sure what was more terrifying—spying silently on the demons in the barn or opening the door to the Bird and the Pony. Tonight would be her first kill as a succubus outside of the walls of the Selkie. She corrected that thought: tonight would be her first near kill, as she did intend to keep the captain alive. It would have been preferential to hunt, feed, and capture on familiar soil, but she had to work within the conditions provided. No stretch of time would have any impact on her bravery. If she went, it would be now or never.