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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

Clearly, his combination of innocent loveliness and assertive domination worked on women who favored the company of men. Nox didn’t always hate men. She had found some friendly, and others tolerable, if not occasionally charming in their own way. Eramus, however, was borderline insufferable.

Fortunately, she felt confident she could throw out the chessboard altogether. He was making this too easy. He’d won her the match with his arrogance.

He arched a brow, smiling at her over his pint. “And what should I call you?”

“Call me yours.”

* * *

One of the centurions clapped the captain on the back as he left the Bird and Pony, arm slung loosely around Nox’s hourglass waist. The rough calluses on his hands grazed her bare lower back as he guided her through the crowd before he returned his hand to its resting place on her hip.

The pub had been intended for the castle’s traffic, as it truly was mere steps from the royal gates, but she was surprised to find them entering the enormous regal structure. She’d known the captain resided within its walls, but it was another thing entirely to be led into the castle. Did he genuinely bed women on castle grounds? Was she to lie down in a royal bed?

Every step brought her deeper into the cream stones of Aubade, carrying her further into the depths of uncertainty. She continued to chastise herself, saying her nerves were only a product of unfamiliarity. If she was to thrive in this world, she couldn’t allow alarm bells any time she was in new territory. Nox justified his actions, supposing his quarters made right and proper sense. Queen Moirai couldn’t very well be the one to ring the bell for men to awaken from their various townhomes interspersed amongst the coastal city if the castle found itself under siege. Still, it seemed unwise to be leading a strange girl into such a private space, especially if rumor was to be believed that the man took women home with regularity.

After all, what if she was a spy for Raascot? Or a member of the working class’s resistance party? Or, say, a succubus?

It wouldn’t serve her to dwell on the wisdom of Eramus’s actions, so she focused on her surroundings. The castle was colder than she thought it would be. There were lanterns all around. The castle was insulated, and his arm was around her. Why was she cold?

Something was wrong.