Book 4: False Face

Xandra

Lieutenant Hana grabs one end of the rope binding Finn and I together, yanks, and the whole tie comes undone in a heartbeat. But even as Vedran’s glamor shimmers into nothingness, as the other boats appear on either side of us, I can still feel the scrape of that sailing rope on my skin. Under it. In my very mind.

I glance at Finn. He glances back at me, apology and love in one gaze. He knows he’ll be apologizing for how long this took for a very long time.

I can’t wait.

A howl goes up on the far side of the Grayhead. It’s Corwyn’s scouts spotting us.

The water churns under our feet. Denidor’s—Matej’s power–pushing the massive line of ships forward, spanning more of the border than I dreamed when we came up with this idea.

I throw myself into a shift, Finn next to me. The river hums in my blood, and so does he. My mate. My husband. The father of our children.

One last fight. If this doesn’t work, all is lost. If it do