Golden Age (The Shifting Tides, #1)

‘I enlisted as a marine. I learned about the sun king’s ships.’ Dion explained about Roxana. ‘I looked for you.’ He turned away. ‘I set fire to the sun king’s fleet.’


Chloe’s eyes widened. ‘That was you?’

Dion nodded. ‘It wasn’t enough, though. An eldran helped them put out the flames.’

‘Triton,’ Chloe said. ‘He says he is their king, although I’ve never heard of him, and Zachary never mentioned him.’ She told him about Triton’s bargain with the sun king. Triton believed there was something inside the ark that was his by right. ‘There’s something else.’ She hesitated. ‘The reason they are sailing for Xanthos . . . Dion, there is a traitor in your father’s court. He told Solon about a safe route through the Shards.’

Now it was Dion’s turn to be shocked. ‘Only the royal family knows about it. And a few old fishermen.’

‘Anyone else?’

Dion felt a cold grip clutch hold of his chest. ‘There is another. My father’s first adviser. But he has always been loyal.’ He didn’t mention the enduring conflict between Peithon and his mother.

‘It’s true then? About the safe passage?’

He nodded grimly. ‘It’s true. If they get there before we do, Xanthos will fall.’

The two worked in silence for a time. Dion kept his hand over hers, but relaxed his pressure, letting her do all the work. He decided she was learning the knack of it.

‘So how did you let yourself get captured?’

She was suddenly furious. ‘Let myself?’ She wriggled her hand until he let her go. ‘I can manage now.’ He removed his hand as if he’d burned it. ‘I didn’t let myself get captured, whatever you think,’ she said. ‘I was prepared to die. They questioned me time and again, and I never gave away anything that might endanger my people. I saw my only friend impaled, in front of my eyes. I was thrown into a cell. I—’

Dion held up his hand. ‘Bad choice of words.’ He yawned so wide that his jaw cracked. ‘I’m tired.’ He looked over the Calypso, checking that all the lines were secure and seeing that Chloe was managing with the tiller. ‘I need to rest. Are you sure—?’

‘I can manage,’ she said coldly. ‘I rescued myself. Don’t forget that. Look at yourself, second son of a warrior king. You don’t even carry a sword.’

Dion gritted his teeth and shuffled up higher in the boat. He glanced back at her. ‘The waves are getting bigger. There are two blankets. I recommend covering yourself.’

‘I’m fine,’ she said.

At that moment the bow smashed into the peak of an oncoming wave, sending a torrent of water over the entire vessel. Looking back at the tiller, Dion saw that Chloe was completely soaked through.

She was wearing only a thin chiton. The water made the material transparent, and he could see through to the body underneath. The wet yellow fabric clung to her breasts.

Dion swiftly looked away, but not before she saw his glance and gave him a horrified stare. He passed her a blanket, keeping his eyes to the front as he handed it back to her.

‘I’ll rest now,’ he said gruffly. ‘Wake me if you need me.’




‘Dion!’

He woke groggily and his instant impression was of rolling movement, fiercer than before. Black clouds were gathering over the sun, bringing shadow to the world. Glancing at the approaching storm, Dion knew he was looking at terrible danger.

But when he turned back to Chloe, a blanket now wrapped around her, she wasn’t looking at the storm.

She met his eyes with a terrified stare and then once more looked up at the sky.

A dark bird wheeled in the distance. Its immense wings flapped up and down with slow, leisurely movements. It grew closer with every passing second, and Dion realized that no bird was this big.

He reached for his bow and quiver, tucked into the storage compartment at the vessel’s front. As he nocked an arrow he didn’t take his eyes off the creature. The wings stopped moving as it coasted for a time, high in the sky, the triangular head on its sinuous neck craning as it scanned the sea.

Its purposeful movements told Dion that this was no wildran. The reptilian creature with shining silver scales wheeled as it lost height. The veins in its bony wings throbbed. Clawed talons grasped at the air.

‘Take us into the storm,’ Dion said quietly.

‘But the waves—’

‘You’ve got the feel for it by now. Just make sure we don’t roll over. There’s a greater danger in the sky.’

The dragon suddenly plummeted, like a falcon making a strike at a smaller bird. In this case the prey was the small boat and its two occupants. All the eldran had to do was see the Calypso sunk and they would never make it out of the open sea alive.