The Phantom Nightingale by Shauna E. Black

Author:Shauna E. Black [Black, Shauna E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B07Y5FLPSM
Publisher: Aelurus Publishing
Published: 2020-01-27T23:00:00+00:00

Lorelei was waiting at the bottom of the grand staircase with huge eyes dominating her heart-shaped face. The upper floor was deserted now. All the cadets would be in the barracks for the conscription celebration that would engulf the night.

Whenever she was especially nervous, Lorelei twisted the hem of her jacket between her fingers—a habit she had broken long ago that occasionally resurfaced. Now, the hem was covered in creases, the ends twisted tighter than a ship’s knot.

Avilene stepped off the last stair and walked straight past Lorelei, following the glass curve looking out over Pragnov. Curfew was approaching, but the city lights still glimmered below. Rules were lax on this night as everyone celebrated the acquirement of new Yugend recruits.

“It wasn’t my fault, Avilene,” Lorelei whined, as she scuttled to keep up with Avilene’s longer stride. “Proteus would have found out, in the end. It was best just to tell him everything up front. You know how he is.”

Avilene stopped and jerked a knife from the sheath at her waist, spinning to send it hurtling past Lorelei and into the banister. The hilt quivered. “I don’t want your excuses, Lorelei! We agreed not to say anything. You promised. And now he knows…it won’t work without…we’ll never—” She choked on the words and turned away, covering her tears with her hands. “Now, he will never let me go,” she finished in a whisper.

Silence thick enough to touch settled around them.

“Of course not,” Lorelei finally said. The timbre wasn’t kind or understanding. It was cold steel.

Avilene looked up. Lorelei’s eyes were the grey of a winter morn. “You always ignore it, Avilene. You think your position will save you, but you’re Andul, too.”

Avilene’s gaze dropped to Lorelei’s right boot and the anklet hidden inside. The subtle pressure of silence undulated at her, a sensation so familiar when Lorelei was near, Avilene seldom noticed it.

“Get this thing off me.” Lorelei threw herself at the bottom step and yanked at her boot. “With your guidance, I don’t need Proteus or his lab to slip into the past. We have to go back to that cave and capture the Phantom Nightingale.”

The Phantom Nightingale. Brayde. Why wasn’t he worried when she’d threatened to look through his C.C.A. file? Because he wouldn’t be here when the file was supposed to arrive. But that meant…

She began to pace, pinching the bridge of her nose to help her concentrate.

“I said, get this chain off me.” Lorelei slapped a hand on the step beside her.

“Be quiet. I’m trying to think.”

“What’s there to think about? We obey orders, Ensign!”

Avilene didn’t react.

Brayde and Sicarah were here to find a girl, an Andul. If they were leaving already, then they’d accomplished their mission or soon would. If they didn’t know Lorelei’s identity, they would need to search the records vault. But as new recruits, Brayde and Sicarah were constantly supervised, shepherded from one location to the next without time to search through records to confirm the girl’s identity, not to mention the

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