Page 23 of Rebel in the Deep

I expect impatience, but all he gives me is a steady look. “I know.”

“We can’t run. They’ll hunt us through any realm we attempt to take refuge in, and running would put others in danger. The movement is too big; it won’t stop just because we disappear. It will get more disorganized, which will mean more people will be caught, tortured, and killed. The fight has to come out into the open, but Siobhan doesn’t see how we can win. They have the numbers and the power on their side, no matter how stacked this particular ship is.”

He stares out into the darkness. “This was going to have to happen eventually. A system like this—corrupt from the top to the bottom—can’t be fixed from within it. I believed it could at one point, but I was wrong.”

“I know.” I sigh. I hesitate over the reveal of Siobhan’s ancestry, but ultimately this is Bowen, a former captain, and one of the most honorable people I know. I…want his input. “There’s one other thing. Siobhan is a noble and sister to Morrigan. She’s been believed to be dead for sixteen years, but now Morrigan knows the truth.” I take a deep breath. “And they’re both descended from the original Cwn Annwn.”

Bowen whistles under his breath. “A lot of hefty secrets.”

I don’t have it in me to be the charming captain in this moment. That particular mask feels too constricting right now. “Yeah.”

“So she’s descended from the originals.” He doesn’t look at me as he speaks. “Even if the people believe that, do you think it will change things?”

“I don’t know. It would have if she was the only one left, if we could spread word faster than the Cwn Annwn could suffocate the truth…but she’s not the only one.”

He nods. “Morrigan.”

“Morrigan,” I agree. “And the fact that they were a noble family, hiding their bloodline. The rest of Threshold has a very understandable distrust of Lyari nobles. Even if she shifted fully in the middle of every village in the realm, there would be plenty of people who wouldn’t be swayed. The Cwn Annwn won’t risk it. It’s in their best interest that this rebellion doesn’t have a true hero to follow.”

“A problem no matter which way you look at it.” Bowen, the giant of a man, one of the most powerful beings I know, shudders. “Morrigan isn’t going to stop coming until Siobhan and the rest of us are dead.”

“Or unless we kill her first.” I lean back and look at the stars overhead. We’re moving fast enough that I can almost believeweare the ones standing still and they’re streaming around us. “Some of the baddest motherfuckers in Threshold have tried to over the years. They’ve all failed.” I was never foolish enough to attempt it. I know when a fight is a losing one.

Just like the one before us. “I don’t see a way through, Bowen. The rebellion is far-reaching, but its strength is in its secrecy. The Cwn Annwn are so fucking powerful.”

“There’s an…” Bowen trails off and shakes his head. “I’m sorry. My memory of the time before Threshold is filled with holes. Or, more accurately, more hole than anything else. No matter how hard I try, that time is a giant blank.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Bowen was scooped out of the sea like so many people. The main difference was his age. He was young—too young, honestly—but that ship’s captain at the time, Ezra, was as good a person as you could be sailing under the Cwn Annwn. He was a true believer, but for all that, he kept his crew in line and never let a local be hurt under his watch. That’s more than most captains do.

Bowen shakes his head, hard enough that it’s as if he’s sure he can shake out the information dancing just out of reach. “There’s a legend,” he says slowly. “I can only catch the edges of it, so I’m not sure if it’s from Threshold or…before.”

“Bowen, it’s okay.” I pat him on the shoulder. We don’t always get along, but he’s been invaluable since he joined the crew. “Don’t strain yourself.”

He’s still staring out into the darkness, brows furrowed. “How is the Wild Hunt called?”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“The Wild Hunt. Evelyn talked about it at one point.” He scrubs his hand over his face. “The Cwn Annwn, the originals, used to run with it, at least in her realm. A great magical hunt that swept across the land. Anyone caught out on nights like that were taken.”

I shiver. That sounds just as dangerous as any individual element if left to run rampant. “That’s not part ofourlegends.” Evelyn and Lizzie both come from the same realm, one where the magical folks operate in secret and most of humanity is mundane. Still, since Threshold connects to all realms, it stands to reason that some of our histories would overlap. At least if theywerehistories instead of legends.

“No, I guess it isn’t.” He shrugs. “Siobhan and Morrigan might be the last of the originals, but what if they’re not? We’ve always been taught that the originals are unknowable and untethered to our world. What if it isn’t true?”

I smile despite myself. “You sound like Evelyn right now.” There’s nothing the witch loves more than questions. It’s delightful and aggravating by turns.

“I suppose I do.”

“It’s something to chase down.” I pat his shoulder again and shift back, breaking the contact. “I’ll talk to Siobhan about it in the morning.”

“Good.” He glances at me. “Try to get some sleep tonight. You’re no use to anyone if you fall over from exhaustion because of all the brooding.”

That surprises me enough to laugh. “You can’t have the market cornered on brooding, darling. It’s rude.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He turns and starts to move away, but stops before he takes two steps. “I meant what I said, Nox. We’re with you. All of us.”

I wait for him to walk away to speak. “I know,” I whisper. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” I believe in the cause. Deeply. I always have.

It’s just my luck that I’ve finally found the community I’ve spent my entire life searching for…only for every single member to be in immediate and fatal danger. Just in time for both Bastian and Siobhan to be aboard, both so damn magnetic that I’ve fled my own damn cabin to escape thoughts of them.

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