Page 28 of Rebel in the Deep

“A horn?” Siobhan frowns, her gaze flicking over my shoulder to Bastian. “What are they talking about?”

“I was speaking with Evelyn earlier when I grabbed food, and something she said got me thinking. Horns and drums and the like are used on mundane hunts.” As he speaks, he becomes more animated, excitement written all over his gorgeous face. “There’s a horn in the library in the Council’s building. It might be a way to summon the originals.”

“It’s a long shot,” I cut in. “You’re operating on a lot of assumptions. It might just be magically protected to preserve it because some ancient asshole liked it a lot. There’s no reason to connect it to the Cwn Annwn.”

“Except it’s in the Council’s building, and the Council controls the Cwn Annwn.”

I open my mouth to keep arguing, but he has a pointthere, at least.

Siobhan frowns harder, seeming to ignore us. “I don’t know anything about a horn or the Wild Hunt, but my parents used to tell us a bedtime story about our history and how the ancestors would come if we called, but we’d only get one chance to ask a boon. You think there’s some truth to that? That the horn might be the way we summon them?”

“I think…” He glances at me and sighs. “Nox is right. We don’t have enough information. Certainly not enough to set course to Lyari right now.” He half lifts his hands and then lets them fall back to his thighs. “But I thought it might be worth looking into.”

I expect Siobhan to close that door firmly in his face, but she just crosses her arms over her chest and her gaze goes to somewhere far beyond this cabin. It’s eerie, as if she can really seesomething that is lost to both me and Bastian. I glance at him, but he’s watching her closely, as if this isn’t new or unexpected.

Finally, she exhales slowly and gives herself a shake. “Dia might know. She’s lived a particularly long life, and she’s connected with Threshold on a level not even I can match. She has a particular interest in the originals and the old gods that most people have forgotten.”

I glance between them. “Dia? As in the former navigator of theCrimson Hag?” She was a member of my crew for a very short time, but I dropped her on First Sister weeks ago.

“The very one.” Siobhan is still frowning. “I’m not entirely certain where she is now. She’s not one to linger in a place for long, not with her vow compelling her to join another crew.”

I hold up my hands. “Hold on a moment.Diais a member of the rebellion?”

“Not in the way you mean.” Siobhan huffs out a sound that’s almost a laugh. “Dia’s loyalty was always to Ezra, and then by extension to Bowen. When the crew voted Bowen out, she left as well. But she’s no friend to the Cwn Annwn. She told me to come find her when I was ready to actuallydosomething.”

“Why didn’t she stay with Bowen?” Bastian asks.

Siobhan shrugs. “Who can say? That woman moves to the rhythm of her own tide. But if anyone has an answer to that riddle, it’s her.”

“We don’t even know if that riddlehasan answer that can help us.” I almost hate to pull their enthusiasm up short, but it has to be said. “We’re operating under some rather large assumptions. We don’t know if the originals even exist, if the Wild Hunt is actually connected to them, and we certainly don’t know if they’d be sympathetic to our cause if theydoexist anditcanbe summoned. It’s far more likely that even if we could find a way to summon them, we’d just be bringing a destructive force into Threshold with no way to stop them.”

That sobers them both. Bastian nods. “So, we go to Dia and ask. If she knows the answer to those questions, then we’ll create a new plan. If she doesn’t? Then we’ll create a new plan.”

“That’s not what—”

“Nox,” Siobhan says quietly. “We’re going to be hunted to the ends of Threshold and beyond. Even if we could gather all the members of the rebellion, it will be a slaughter if we attempt to meet the Cwn Annwn in battle. We have to find a different way.”

I don’t tell them we should run. It was never really an option, and even if it was, neither of these fools would take it. I suppose I’m a fool, too, because I’m going down with my crew, one way or another. “First Sister is on the other side of the realm. Our chances of making it there without encountering the Cwn Annwn are nonexistent.”

Siobhan and Bastian are so different, but their expressions are identical. Stubborn, hopeful, bent on this course of action. I’m captain of this ship, which means the final decision should be mine, but that’s a naive thought. The truth is that a good captain weighs the needs of their crew against all their hard-earned knowledge.

I don’t want to admit that Siobhan’s right, but she is. We can’t beat the Cwn Annwn in a straight battle. They have the numbers, the firepower, and everything else in their favor. Without some kind of trickery, we don’t stand a chance.

Even with my crew on steady rotation running themselves into the ground, it will take well over a week to reach FirstSister. Morrigan may not have as many air- and water-users on her ship, but she’s got all the power of the Council behind her. She’ll catch up with us sooner or later, and I’d wager everything I own that it will be sooner than I’d like.

I sigh. “So be it. To First Sister we go.”

Chapter13

Siobhan

It’s been a very longtime since I’ve sailed on a ship this size. Bastian and I spent time on a smuggler ship for about a year after leaving Mairi. It was in those months that the realization of how poorly things work in Threshold became clear. Because theBrunedidn’t trade in alcohol or treasure or anything of that nature. They traded infreedom.

There are no laws prohibiting travel between the islands of Threshold. Each island is—theoretically—left to govern themselves. But while that might be technically true, the fact remains that the Cwn Annwn have a tendency to bend the laws to suit themselves. Being caught out on open water with crimson sails in the distance is the stuff of nightmares for most citizens of Threshold.

And so we helped people—for a price. We would run circuits north and south, then east and west, through Threshold, transferring people to their destinations while under therelative safety of sailing on a Lyarian ship.Strangehow the Cwn Annwn never plunder the capital city to bolster their numbers.

In that year, the rebellion was born. I could seeso clearlyhow much good we could do if there were more than one ship doing the work, if there were a network of safe people and safe houses to take refuge in.

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