Page 101 of Death’s Kiss (The Order of the Tide Raiders #1)

I awake in the middle of the night to discover two epistle bottles atop my desk.

Neither of them am I expecting.

It’s been three days since casting off from the Cardinal North. We’re due to arrive for my first meeting with the Sons and Daughters at Thalassalis island by mid-morning. The next few days ahead of us I am most definitely not looking forward to.

I’m just clinging onto the hope that one of the unnerving cult worshippers will know what’s going on with my affinity markings. Here’s hoping whatever it is isn’t fatal. That would be my luck.

Those thoughts, along with many others, steal me from sleep.

Upon inspection of the epistles, the sea-glass green waxen seal they both carry doesn’t belong to any of the seven TideLords I’d given my official rejection to, as I’d assumed.

Of course, as my rejections were all due to answering my call to captaincy beneath King Nereus, there isn’t anything that any of them can say to me other than it’s a pity and move on .

Even the TideLords must bow to the wishes of the Bone and Salt Crown.

Upon the bottle in hand, I discover the royal triskelion symbol with the initial’s ‘C.K.T.’ across it.

Frowning in confusion, I open the epistle and remove the first message awaiting me.