Life is a constant series of lessons, Dain Alloway, and they are often wrought through failure. Inevitably, leaders will have the lion’s share of it—I, above all, should know. The most important thing is not how you feel about those failures, but what you do with them afterward. Failure has a way of preparing us for victory.

The wind tousled his hair, and Dain’s chest loosed a little as his gaze broke from the wooden maid to follow a breeze-blown gull toward the horizon. The distant salmon skies dipped over the rim of the sea, and for the first time since boarding, he wondered where the waves might take him.

There was something to be said for the forward motion of the sea, for a destination on the horizon.

The first mate leaned his massive form toward Dain. “I’m convinced that there’s never any harm in a little something to believe in.

The kiss sent a wave of heat through Dain’s frame, a sensation that made him feel inadequate and brazen all at the same time.

And even honorable men keep secrets for the safety of those they love.

The princess was dressed in one of the girl’s modest gray frocks, a leather belt secured snugly at her waist. Somehow, the lady managed to make even the simple garment look regal.

Casper stood on the threshold. He was soaked to the bone, but the sodden look somehow only served to make him look more attractive. It seemed almost a kind of magic in its right.

Dying may be the way of all things flesh, but living is too. Never let death shroud life with fear. Live beyond it, lad. Only then can the memory of those ye’ve loved and lost be rightly honored.

Remember lad, there’s no coffin in yer heart. Those feelings inside of you will never perish. They’ll only stay hidden from sight until they ruin ye, or find themselves a nasty way out.