When My Ship Comes In Clint Black Novels & Stories

Only when it was finally over and I felt a firm arm wrap around my shoulders did I finally snap out of my trance. “Nathan, my boy.” I looked up to see Clint standing next to me, his weather-beaten face giving way to clear, sorrowful eyes. Sometimes it was hard to believe that this hunched old man used to be a sturdy sailor, but it was times like this, times when his presence was like a lighthouse in a squall, that I could see the young man underneath. “Clint,” I said. “I…” My voice trailed off. I had something to say, I was sure of it, but it had faded from my mind just as quickly as it had come.

“Are you going to be okay?” I paused and turned to look at him. His gaze held concern and compassion. “Do I look sick to you? I’m okay.” I knew I was been very dismissive of his concern, but I didn’t want to let anyone in on my state of mind. “The kharr have returned,” I hear Cleo say from behind. “About time,” I said taking a turn. “However, Dion informs me that the Raven wings twin ship capsized in the fierce storm in the sea.”

CHAPTER 38 RULES IN SOFT VOICES ISLA “I don't know… is Barack Obama Black?” I don't know when or how, all I knew was the words were flowing out of my mouth without any hindrances. When the hell did I get so bold? Rowan's lips curved into a wicked smile as she stepped even closer than he was. His head dipped, his lips trailing my ears until he was taking my earlobes into his mouth. “Someone has gotten bolder.”

To the throne that grows colder without someone beside me. Tonight should have been like any other night. Finn and I, trading words over the phone, his voice carrying the same brotherly ease I’ve always known. But then— I heard her. Not Lena. Her voice I know as well as my own. But another voice, drifting behind her, lighter, unfamiliar. And in that instant, Black lunged forward inside me. My wolf leapt like he’d been struck awake after years of silence, claws scraping against the walls of my chest.

Clyde growls, his voice a subterranean vibration that makes the pebbles around the runner's fingers rattle. "The... the lower shipyards are already dark, Alpha," the runner stammers, his face pressed so hard into the mud his words are wet and muffled. "The Western captains... they didn't wait for your column to reach the shelf. When Malakai’s flagship returned empty, they didn't prepare the automated docks for a siege. They initialized the scorch-protocols." My heart skips a beat. I step past the line of iron shields, ignoring the warning growl that clicks in Clyde’s throat as I move to the front.

His hair was gull-grey and thin enough in places for the pink of his scalp to show through. “This is Clive Redfern owner of my boat.” Melville chuckled. Clive clasped Khaldun’s hand in his and pumped it twice. It was a businessman’s greeting, and it put Khaldun at ease. “Thank you for your proposal, Khaldun,” Clive said. “A launch for our flagship super-yacht in Dorsal Finn was inspired.” Khaldun flushed a little. “Thank you for accepting the invitation.” Dominic laughed, and the sound was flamboyant and commanding. “And do not be getting ideas, dear Clive. The Pontefract fleet is still master of these waters.”

One of his subordinates dashed to the base and reported what they had seen to Clifford and the others. After a while, a large group of people ran out of the base. When they saw several big ships appearing on the river, their nerves instantly tightened. “Whose ships are those?” Clifford frowned. His heart thumped wildly as he gazed at those massive ships. “It’s the East clan!” Juan exclaimed as he took out a telescope and saw the fluttering flag at the top of the leading ship’s mast. “East clan?” Everyone looked at Juan in disbelief. “Are you sure it’s the East clan?”

The war room in Blackwater Port was not a room of polished stone and ancient maps, but the Admiral's private cabin aboard his flagship, *The Sea Serpent*. The air was thick with the scent of tar, salt, and the faint, sweet smell of the rum Thorne poured into two heavy pewter mugs. The ship rocked gently at its moorings, a constant, reassuring reminder of the power that slept at their fingertips.

It’s beautiful up here, even if I wish that I could let myself fly away on the soft bed of clouds the stretch out beneath us. It’s afternoon when we touch down in Silver Stream. We wait until the engines are shut off before Kyle and Luca are hoping down out of the chopper on either side. Kylar and Sasha are going through their landing check and he hasn’t looked back at me once. And Luca held my hand for the entire ride. I feel like I’m pinned to the chair. Pushed so far into it, that I’m stuck now.

An Obsidian Claw scout didn’t only run into the courtyard, he practically hurled himself through the front gates, all sea-salt smeared over him and black ash clinging, like he’d been dragged straight out of a furnace. “Queen Elara!” the scout screamed, his finger shaking, his skin already torn and bloodied, he pointed toward the eastern cliffs above the ocean. “The sea… the sea has turned black! An armada of iron ships has shoved into the coastal waters! They don’t have sails, and they don’t cast shadows!”