Page 335 of Kingdoms of Night

As I stalked toward the sleeping port side village of Calbrock Bay—by the gods above and below—I prayed it to be so.

CHAPTERONE

DAUGHTER OF THE SEA

Siddhe

Ibelonged to the sea.

Even so—I spent most of my time on land, hunting pirates—or at least one pirate in particular. Of course, things might have been a little easier if pirates weren’t also hunting me, but no one said life in the human realm was going to be easy.

I’d never been one to complain, though. Since I’d been knighted, I always said; if I lived to tell about it, I’d had a good day.

But—today was not shaping up to be one of those days.

The moment the door to the tavern swung open, the salty sea air rushed in, bringing the storm with it. Rough winds tangled my raven hair, threatening danger, and I held my breath as I took in the elemental woman walking into my tavern.

Wind and rain raged against the woman’s back, her face obscured with hair as black as night. If her skin wasn’t fully covered by her cloak, gloves, and long pants tucked into boots, the scales would have given her away.

Instead, it wasn’t until she pushed her hair away from her face that I realized who was standing in the dim lighting of my bar and dragging in the fury of the storm with her.

Why is she here?

At least the hair in her face had prevented too many scales from forming on her skin, and already the blues and purples were fading from her jaw and temple.

I tossed a wet rag dripping with spilled ale into a pail and leaned my hands against the edge of the bar. The scene outside the doors caught the attention of my patrons, distracting them from what I’d just seen on her skin.

But she had my full scrutiny.

And she positivelywreakedof magic. The unmistakable smell of it radiated from her frame as she shrugged off her coat and hung it on a hook on the wall as if she owned the place. How could she risk exposure this way? How could she stroll in here so carelessly during the height of a storm?

Tensing, I tried to keep my face blank of emotion as I stood to my full height behind the bar. Her eyes scanned the room and landed on me. As she strode over to me, the green of her eyes almost glowing in the dim torchlight of the bar fixed on me.

I shuddered.

She better not try to use her magic on me.

The gaze of all of the fishermen and sailors broke from the storm outside and trailed to her amble bosom and dazzling eyes.

It was impossible not to notice her. Especially here, where she stuck out from the regulars.

We were both koi fish in a pond of trout.

“Siddhe,” she said, almost like a purr, as she slid her narrow behind onto the chair in front of me. “Give me one of those honey drinks I’ve heard mock the best kelpie brew.”

A fake smile came to my lips. “Of course, ma’am. One mead coming right up.”

I cringed at calling her ma’am, when I knew who she truly was. Back in Celantris, she could have had me executed for such disrespect.

I grabbed a clean mug and took it to one of the jars of mead. The cold bottle against my palm did nothing to cool my nerves as I poured her a little more than I’d normally give to my customers.

Maybe if I got her drunk, she wouldn’t make trouble. That’s the last thing I needed.

Calbrock Bay was already enemy territory, and she was well aware of it.

I handed her the mug. “Here you go, ma’am.”

She lifted an eyebrow and placed the glass to her lips. She poured it down her throat, barely wincing at the strong flavor. “What’s with this ‘ma’am’ nonsense? I’m not that much older than you.”

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