A Kiss of Salt & Sea

A Kiss of Salt & SeaDarkstone Academy Book 1Bliss DevlinPhiltata Press, LLC Copyright © 2023 Bliss DevlinAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.Cover design by Jacqueline SweetMaps by Sapphire X Designs Author’s NoteThis book contains explicit content and darker elements, including mature language, death, threats of sexual violence, and domestic violence. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. MapsPrologueJacintheBernswickIsle of Abbonay, Western Isles ProvinceFirst Day of Autumn “I sense nothing,” declared Lady Adalburga, frowning as she dropped my hands. “Jacinthe has no magic. None.” The Provincial Magecraft Aptitude Examiner was an older woman with a face set in kindly lines and palms as dry and cool as snakeskin. Like most of the native-born islanders, she had bright blue eyes above ruddy cheeks. Wisps of graying golden hair stuck out from beneath her old-fashioned starched white widow’s cap. Disappointment coiled like a cold lead snake through my gut at Lady Adalburga’s pronouncement. Mama hadn’t been the only one hoping desperately for a miracle. Throughout my childhood, I’d never shown the faintest spark of magic. But sometimes there were late bloomers in old mage-blood families like ours. Just not this late. My seventeenth birthday had passed two months ago. If magic hadn’t manifested by now, it never would. My younger half-sister Talisa snorted. “Told you,” she whispered loudly to the twins, Juno and Mira. The twins snickered. “Knew it!” they whispered back. All three of them had passed the Magecraft Aptitude Examiner’s assessment with signs of strong magical talent and an affinity for Wood, the aspect of magic associated with the manipulation of living things. As was to be expected with two healer-mage parents. Wood mages often trained as healers, but they could train as plant-mages or shaper-mages, who could fashion anything out of organic materials without saws or chisels or any tools except magic. I ignored my siblings’ taunts. I only had eyes for Mama. I had feared she’d be upset. Oddly, though, her expression looked… relieved? Then she turned to me. “Oh, Jacinthe, my dearest, I was so hoping…” Tears welled in her beautiful eyes. She pulled out a delicately embroidered handkerchief and dabbed at her lids, careful not to smear her eyeliner. All right, maybe she really was upset, and I’d misread shock for relief. But I was usually very good at reading people. Even people as controlled as Mama. Like me, she was hazel-eyed, with a tall, curvaceous build. But that was where the resemblance between us ended. Where Mama had the smooth, light olive skin and straight dark hair typical of someone born in the Imperial Capital State on the Continent province, my long-dead father had gifted me deeply-tanned skin and red hair of a shade derisively known as “dragon fire.” My stepfather Baldwin cleared his throat. “It’s a good thing we put aside money for Jacinthe’s dowry, my love,” he said to Mama. “Since she won’t be attending the Imperial Academy for the Magical Arts with my girls, after all.” His tone was mild, but he shot me a disapproving glare over Mama’s bowed head. I gritted my teeth at yet another reminder that he didn’t consider me his daughter. I was another man’s child, and he never let me forget it. Though usually not where Mama could overhear him. “Since your three younger daughters all have strong healer-mage potential,” Lady Adalburga said, clearly relieved to change the subject away from the disappointment I’d given everyone, “it is both my pleasure and my duty on behalf of our beloved Dominus Victor Augustus the Eighth to offer them full scholarships at the Imperial Academy in Neapolis Capitola. That’s the capital of our Dominion,” she added condescendingly. “I’m well-acquainted with that city.” Was that an edge in Mama’s voice? I perked up at this tidbit. Mama never talked about her past, but her looks and her accent revealed she’d been born somewhere on the Continent. Not for the first time, I wondered whether she’d actually grown up in Neapolis Capitola as well as attended the Imperial Academy there. But I knew it would do no good to ask her. “I see.” Lady Adalburga shot her an inquiring glance. “Are you from the capital, then?” Mama arrived on the Isle of Abbonay seventeen years ago, when I was still a babe in arms, claiming to be a Dominion-certified Mage of the Healing Arts, and a recent widow. But she had never spoken my father’s name, or provided any meaningful details of her life before coming to the island. Bernswick was a small, close-knit town. Throughout my childhood, everyone had gossiped and speculated wildly about Mama’s mysterious past. Then, two years ago, a new mage had arrived to establish a rival herb shop and clinic in the next town over, and Narcissa of Camaracon quickly became the new object of discussion. A born islander would have leaped on Lady Adalburga’s question as an excuse to spin a tale filled with details of the capital and travels on the exotic Continent. Mama merely folded her hands and gazed back at the Magecraft Aptitude Examiner with a tranquil, closed expression. The silence stretched uncomfortably. Finally, Lady Adalburga cleared her throat. “Well, then, Mage Isabeau, the last student transport vessel of the year sails from Port Herrewick to Neapolis Capitola in a week. See that your girls are on it.” “So soon?” Mama looked horrified. “We’ll have to find space on a riverboat heading down to the port, and you know how busy they are this time of year! And before that, there’s all the packing and preparing to do. And then there’s my business!” She shook her head. “Impossible. The girls have