He had seen her vacillate when they left the docks the previous day, her usual steely resolve slipping a fraction when he waved from the stern. Maybe he could write the queen a letter detailing everything that had gone wrong thus far. He should go below to his bunk in the crew’s quarters and hide until they reached the port.

He hooked a finger in his collar and tugged, hoping to relieve the pressure at his throat from the gathered fabric. Opening his eyes, he wiped the ocean spray from his pale face with his sleeve, the fabric soft against his cheeks. He’d warned his family about the dangers of him leaving the castle and gallivanting around the kingdom. The acrid stench of smoke from the burning derelict floating next to their warship singed his nostrils, and Tal’s grasp tightened as bile bubbled in his gullet. He sucked in a breath through his nose, then gagged. He hated that his older brother would tease him endlessly if he found him retching over the side. Deck bobbing beneath his boots, his belly flipped as he gripped the glossy wood of the ship’s railing with white knuckles.ĭon’t throw up. Tal closed his eyes as he bent over the bow and willed himself not to vomit. And Athlen might just be his only hope… Read more Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming-and secretive-as ever.

So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean. Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. “A frothy confection of sea-foam, young love, and derring-do.” -NPRįrom the New York Times bestselling author of So This Is Ever After, a young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

In deeper waters book