Kingsley snorted. \u201cJohn Cox didn\u2019t have a friend in the entire fleet, and spent most of his time at a desk penning that blasted book.\u201d He tapped a finger against his temple. \u201cWith intelligence officers, it\u2019s all brains. Learning what\u2019s worth the trouble\u2014and what isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd what\u2019s worth the trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kingsley laughed. \u201cLittle enough, as it turns out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKingsley!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They looked over. The man who approached in army red was pale and thin, with a scattering of freckles and short red hair. \u201cWe\u2019ve just finished up here,\u201d he said, \u201cand we\u2019re going to the Seven Keys. Come with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStanton. I\u2019ve business today, but may join you yet this evening.\u201d He gestured to Kit. \u201cDo you know Captain Brightling?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He gave Kit a quick appraisal. \u201cOh, the queen\u2019s messenger, eh? With the good magic and fast ship? Always good to see a blue uniform. Our comrades on the sea, and all that. John Stanton. Foreign Office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKit Brightling,\u201d she said, and didn\u2019t bother to correct his misperceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCaptain Brightling has just returned from a voyage,\u201d Kingsley said. \u201cAlthough she hasn\u2019t yet graced me with the details.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe queen\u2019s concerns aren\u2019t mine to share,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo mysterious, the Queen\u2019s Own.\u201d Stanton\u2019s features screwed into something Kit guessed he considered serious. \u201cYou have quite the reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo I?\u201d Kit asked, tone mild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor your . . . magical abilities,\u201d he said. \u201cI, for one, believe there\u2019s too much emphasis on magic these days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToo much emphasis?\u201d Kit asked mildly, hardly the first time she\u2019d heard objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMilitary action should be about physical skill. Mental prowess. Leadership and hardiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI doubt Lord Sutherland would agree,\u201d Kit said. Sutherland was beloved in the Isles, the hero who\u2019d chased Gerard across the Continent\u2019s southern peninsula\u2014and had relied on Aligned officers to use the land to his advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stanton flushed, red rising high sharply against his pale skin. \u201cSutherland\u2019s use of Aligned officers is greatly exaggerated by those who have their own agendas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kit cocked her head. \u201cThose who prefer to understand the topography of their battlefields?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The flush deepened again. It was, Kit thought, rather like watching the sun rise and fall, spreading its colors across the sky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI find that anyone who decries magic,\u201d she said, now determined to see just how dark that flush would go, \u201ceither fears or misunderstands it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This time, insult had him tipping up his chin defiantly. \u201cI have no fear. I\u2019ve earned my place by work and determination. Not by being\u201d\u2014his gaze raked disdainfully over Kit\u2019s uniform\u2014\u201ctouched by some sort of conjuration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kingsley\u2019s eyes went hard. \u201cI\u2019m surprised, Stanton, that you\u2019d have such old-fashioned ideas\u2014or that you\u2019d think it appropriate to voice them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stanton\u2019s brows lifted, as if shocked Kingsley would be so impertinent. \u201cI\u2019m late for an engagement,\u201d he added lamely, then walked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry for that,\u201d Kingsley said. \u201cI hadn\u2019t known Stanton was quite such an ass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBeau Monde,\u201d she murmured. The Beau Monde was the Isles\u2019 most privileged class, its members born into extraordinary wealth and primarily concerned, at least in Kit\u2019s experience, with their own comfort and ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRegretfully so,\u201d Kingsley said. \u201cAlthough he\u2019s not usually quite so obnoxious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kit smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCaptain Brightling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They both looked over. The man who\u2019d called her name was tan, his hair dark, his body compact and strong. Kess was the queen\u2019s closest adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ll come with me?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course. Kingsley,\u201d she said, glancing back at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBrightling. Fair winds and following seas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
# # #<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad to see you\u2019ve returned safely,\u201d Kess said as they walked down a wide marble hallway ornamented with portraits of previous kings and queens, sumptuous ermine pooling at their feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you. I\u2019d intended to report immediately, but found emissaries waiting at the dock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere have been . . . developments,\u201d Kess said, confirming Kit\u2019s suspicions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They turned into the anteroom, with its ladies-in-waiting and high gilt windows, and walked through it the mahogany door\u2014finely carved with a sinuous sea dragon\u2014at the other end of the hall. A guard nodded at Kess, pulled the door open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The walls of the throne room were the soft red of deep sunset, light dappling across them from the dozen crystal chandeliers that hung from the arched ceiling. At the far end of the room stood the golden throne cushioned in the same soft red, and bearing the queen\u2019s monogram\u2014CR<\/em> for Charlotte Regia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Queen Charlotte sat her throne with grace and power. She was a stunning woman of thirty-three, with dark brown skin, brown eyes, and a straight nose above generous lips. Her dark hair rose like a wave above her golden diadem, and her aubergine dress was fitted low across her shoulders, marked by the saffron sash of Isles royalty and the sea dragon brooch that marked her as leader of the unified Crown Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kess took his position beside the throne. Kit dropped her gaze to the thick carpet as she neared it, then dropped to one knee when she reached it. \u201cYour Highness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRise, Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She did as commanded and held herself at attention, meeting the gaze of the ruler of the Saxon Isles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The queen had inherited the throne from her father when he\u2019d fallen ill in the midst of the war. She was the only child of an only child, and the duty of ruling the Isles had fallen to her in wartime at the age of twenty-eight. She\u2019d managed the war with a savvy that surprised the king\u2019s advisers. And then she\u2019d dismissed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was excited to learn of your return, Captain,\u201d the queen said. \u201cYour mission?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She wasn\u2019t wasting any time, Kit thought, and pulled the packet from her coat. The queen took it, opened it, and read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then swore. \u201cCoded, but in his strange penmanship,\u201d the queen said, and handed it to Kess. \u201cEither a remarkable forgery, or another bit of arrogance. The treacherous bastard.\u201d She looked back at Kit. \u201cWhere was it found?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn a packet called the Amelie<\/em>, Your Highness. Running under the Isles\u2019 flag.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe would dare,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Amelie<\/em>\u2019s captain told us the communication was part of cargo he picked up at Fort de la Mer. He was to leave it in a Pencester pub called the Cork and Barrel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The queen\u2019s brows lifted. \u201cDo you know it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t, Your Highness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen we will.\u201d She handed the packet to Kess, who slipped it inside his jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was movement to Kit\u2019s right. Her hand went instinctively to her dagger, weight shifting as she prepared to meet the threat. Two men walked toward the dais from a closing panel on the far side of the room. Given the queen\u2019s cool expression, they weren\u2019t unexpected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither wore a uniform, just somber tailcoats and trousers. The first Kit had seen before, but never formally met. This was William Chandler, the spymaster. He was a big man, with tan skin and brown hair, a square jaw, and a face some would call rugged. And while his expression stayed mild, there was no disguising his confidence or his authority. This was a man in his power\u2014a man who had the ear of the queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kit didn\u2019t know the second. He was a tall man, with sun-kissed skin, his hair a sun-streaked brown brushed over a strong brow, his eyes a startling blue green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMr. Chandler,\u201d the queen said. \u201cI believe you know Captain Brightling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chandler nodded at her, expression cool. She did the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColonel Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe,\u201d the queen said, gesturing to the other man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grant didn\u2019t look like a member of the Beau Monde, Kit thought, much less any viscount she\u2019d ever seen. His shoulders were broad, and his body looked capable of action, not merely climbing in and out of a curricle to circle Victory Park. There was energy here, banked power, in such volume it seemed to charge the air in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColonel Grant served as one of Sutherland\u2019s observing officers on the peninsula, and fought at Zadorra.\u201d Zadorra, near the river of the same name, was a town in Hispania not far from the Gallic border. There\u2019d been brutal fighting there over hard terrain not long before the war ended. The casualties had been . . . severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColonel Grant,\u201d the queen continued, \u201cthis is Captain Kit Brightling of the Queen\u2019s Own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If he had any thoughts about her presence in the room, they were well hidden behind a bland expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColonel,\u201d Kit said, opting for the title the queen had used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCaptain.\u201d His tone was bland, as if mildly irritated to find her in his presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charming, Kit thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow that you\u2019ve gotten a look at each other,\u201d the queen said, \u201clet\u2019s begin. I\u2019ve asked you both here to deal with a very urgent matter. Marcus Dunwood is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kit knew Dunwood, at least by name. Like Kingsley, he worked for Chandler, gathering foreign intelligence abroad. She surmised Grant knew him, too, because he\u2019d shifted beside her. Just the slightest movement, as if bracing against a blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s happened?\u201d Grant asked, and his tone was grim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The queen nodded at Chandler. \u201cIf you would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDunwood had been serving on a sloop running cargo along the northern coast of Gallia,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cMonitoring Guild activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Guild was a Frisian association of the country\u2019s wealthy and powerful merchants. During the war, they\u2019d supplied money and arms to Gerard in exchange for promised trade monopolies on spices, silk, and other goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMonitoring them?\u201d Kit asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was a downturn in economic activity following the end of the war,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cPeace, as it turn out, is rarely as profitable. But trade activity is increasing again. More Guild ships leaving port, carrying greater cargo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBound for?\u201d Kit asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chandler\u2019s lips curved, as if pleased by the query. \u201cEverywhere they can manage it. We\u2019ve identified no particularly unusual location or focus. And cargo moving into Guild ports has also increased. Wood, iron, hemp among them. Not, on their own, particularly unusual. They are required for many industries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut they are also useful in war,\u201d the queen said. \u201cFor guns. For ships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chandler nodded. \u201cYes. They\u2019ve been very cautious. There\u2019s been nothing certain\u2014documents or information\u2014linking the Guild to Gerard, or to efforts to restore him to his former position. But the, shall we say, suggestive information cannot be ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd Dunwood?\u201d Grant prompted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis last communiqu\u00e9 was received three weeks ago. Then, two days ago, the crew of the Carpathian<\/em>\u2014a privateer with a letter of marque from the Crown\u2014found four injured sailors on a disabled sloop off the coast of Gallia, near Pointe Grise. They claimed to have been attacked, the fifth member of their crew taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDunwood was the fifth,\u201d Grant surmised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chandler confirmed with a nod. \u201cThe sailors stated the sloop\u2019s attackers had sought out and removed the crewman they knew as \u2018Paolo.\u2019 And thought it odd the attackers had referred to him as \u2018Marcus\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey knew who he was,\u201d Grant said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chandler nodded. \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou and Dunwood were friends,\u201d the queen said to Grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were together on the peninsula,\u201d Grant said. \u201cHe renewed his commission after Gerard\u2019s capture, and I returned to Queenscliffe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And from the gruff tone, Kit thought it sounded as if he\u2019d rather have remained there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou believe his identity was compromised,\u201d Grant said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cBy culprits we have not yet identified.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere weren\u2019t many who knew of Marcus\u2019s mission, and even fewer his last location,\u201d the queen said. \u201cAnd those who knew were members of the Crown Command.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That simple statement, and the accusation beneath it, cut through the room like a sabre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich is why we\u2019re the only ones in the room,\u201d Kit said. \u201cYou believe there are traitors in the Crown Command.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d said the queen. And that word fell like a shadow across the room. They waited in silence for her to speak again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere have been traitors in the Crown Command before. My father removed many who\u2019d been proven disloyal. Among them an admiral, a major general, and two agents in the Foreign Office. He installed a new minister and believed the Command secure.\u201d The queen\u2019s breath shuddered. Not with fear or concern, Kit thought, but with fury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEither he was wrong, or foreign agents have gotten their claws in again.\u201d She looked back at Kit and Grant, gaze burning with intensity. \u201cI don\u2019t know who may have revealed Dunwood\u2019s name. But I will learn their name, and they will answer to me. Marcus has served the Isles for two decades. We will not leave him to molder or die while the rest of us sit in luxury. And that brings us to this meeting. The two of you will find him and bring him home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The room went silent, and Kit had to work not to shift her gaze to the man beside her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe two of us,\u201d she said, hoping against hope she\u2019d misheard the queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAboard the Diana<\/em>,\u201d the queen said. \u201cYou will search for Marcus Dunwood, you will locate him, and you will free him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kit knew a command when she heard one. \u201cIs there intelligence regarding his whereabouts?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe sailors believed Dunwood\u2019s captors were headed for Finist\u00e8re,\u201d Chandler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe pirate fortress,\u201d Kit said. \u201cAnd, literally, \u2018the end of the earth.\u2019\u201d She knew the island\u2019s name and its reputation. It was the largest rocky island among many on the far western edge of Gallia at the boundary of the Narrow Sea. The archipelago was difficult to navigate, and the cliffs afforded a long view of the sea, which had long made it a favorite for pirates and privateers\u2014including the Five, the famous pirate kings, who\u2019d made their home in the fortress during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat would the Five want with Dunwood?\u201d Kit asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMoney,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cEven the Five aren\u2019t arrogant enough to sail directly into a Frisian port. So they take Dunwood back to Finist\u00e8re, and wait for the highest bidder to retrieve him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnless we get there first,\u201d Kit said, and Chandler nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour Highness,\u201d Grant said, \u201cthe Diana<\/em> is not a ship of war, and it cannot be sufficient for a frontal attack on a pirate quay. A larger vessel with guns would be more appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His tone\u2014confident and cold\u2014stoked Kit\u2019s anger, notwithstanding the fact that he was simply wrong. She\u2019d yet to meet a soldier who could tell a staysail from a jib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRescue missions require speed and maneuverability,\u201d Kit said, sparing Grant her most withering look. \u201cSize is irrelevant, and guns are little use when trying to outrun another ship at full sail. The Diana<\/em> is as swift as they come.\u201d Particularly, she thought, when I\u2019m at the helm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re a courier<\/em>,\u201d Grant said. \u201cThat\u2019s hardly\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrant,\u201d Chandler warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A warning Grant did not heed. \u201cWe cannot simply\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColonel Grant,\u201d the queen said, her voice thunderous across the room. \u201cRemember our conversation and where you stand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His struggle for control was obvious, but he held his tongue. \u201cYour Highness,\u201d Grant said tightly. And Kit would have given a few gold coins to be privy to whatever had been said between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a moment, as if deciding she\u2019d made her point, the queen shifted her gaze to Chandler. \u201cIt appears your suggestion we downplay the captain\u2019s position was perhaps too successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo it appears,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cBrightling isn\u2019t a mere courier, Grant, and the Diana<\/em> no packet ship. Brightling fought at San Miguel, discovered the Gallic ships at Faulkney. And the Diana<\/em> will do ten knots without magic\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEleven,\u201d Kit corrected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEleven,\u201d Chandler said with a nod and mild smile. \u201cAnd with Captain Brightling\u2019s magic, considerably faster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grant looked at Kit. \u201cYou\u2019re Aligned?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am,\u201d she said, eyes flashing and daring him to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he made no response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd, as I mentioned, Grant is an able veteran with his own skills,\u201d the queen said to Kit, anticipating her silent objections. \u201cYou both have experience in battle in your respective forces. You have both shown resilience under pressure. You are leaders. And, although your present displays make me question my judgment, which I dislike very much, I believe you will complement each other.\u201d She looked at each of them in turn, an obvious threat in her eyes. \u201cYou will partner in this mission, and you will share the command.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was Kit\u2019s turn to bristle. But she held her tongue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSensible,\u201d the queen added, nodding in approval at Kit\u2019s control. \u201cGiven the need for dispatch, you will set sail tomorrow morning. The Diana<\/em> will be provisioned this evening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow long will it take to reach Finist\u00e8re?\u201d Grant asked, and they all looked at Kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDepending on seas and weather, and if we\u2019re able to maintain speed, about a day and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grant\u2019s features remained stony, his eyes hard. And there was something else there. Something deeper, darker. Nothing she could identify, at least not yet. But if she was to share her ship\u2014and risk her people\u2014she\u2019d find out soon enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Diana<\/em> is anchored at the Crown Quay,\u201d Kit told him. \u201cYou know it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBe there at dawn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVery well.\u201d The words were short, sharp. Bitten off, as if their taste were bitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apparently satisfied they wouldn\u2019t mutiny, at least not in the throne room, the queen sat back, looked at each of them in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFind him,\u201d she said. \u201cFind Marcus Dunwood, and bring him home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the Prologue<\/a>, Chapter One<\/a>, or Chapter Two<\/a>, or order The Bright & Breaking Sea at:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon<\/a> | Barnes & Noble<\/a> | Audible<\/a> | Apple<\/a> | Books-A-Million<\/a> Kobo<\/a> | IndieBound<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" She might have preferred water to land, but there was something to be said for the markets of New London. Stalls lined the road that led to Exeter Palace, baskets overflowing with spices and fruit, pastries and pasties. 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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n