Fire & Metal, #1
Metal Slinger
by Rachel Schneider
Contents
Chapter 19
Overview
Drifting under heavy clouds, Brynn and Acker battle thirst and monotony until a playful swim turns intimate, exposing fraught attraction and boundaries. A spat over using Acker’s bloodied dagger for food sharpens tensions. Rain briefly saves them, but the storm shifts, trapping their small boat in approaching danger.
Summary
Days of clouded skies leave Brynn and Acker dehydrated and disoriented as they continue north, trading watches while Blue circles above. Seeking relief and speed, Brynn tethers herself, dives to scrape barnacles, and feeds them to Blue, briefly easing homesickness and monotony.
Acker startles Brynn underwater, sparking a splash fight that escalates into close contact. The sudden intimacy triggers panic in Brynn, who pulls away and focuses on sailing. Both grow quiet, acknowledging a new tension without naming it.
They prepare to eat, but Brynn recoils upon realizing Acker has been filleting fish with the same dagger he used to kill a man. Despite his claim he cleaned it with mead, disgust and anger flare; Acker pointedly keeps eating as Brynn refuses, deepening their rift.
Drizzle turns to a downpour, granting desperately needed fresh water. Brynn adjusts course to skim the edge of the weather for wind and rain, and the boat surges ahead. Moments later, the wind dies and shifts—the storm veers toward them.
As visibility drops and the sea grows erratic, Brynn fights the rudder while Blue takes flight. Acker suggests turning back; Brynn agrees to try, realizing she misjudged the risk. The chapter closes with the storm bearing down and their survival uncertain.
Who Appears
- Brynn (Princess Jovie)Narrator; maintains the boat, scrapes barnacles, feels conflicted attraction to Acker, rejects eating from his dagger, steers into oncoming storm.
- AckerTraveling companion; startles Brynn in the water, shares charged moment, prepares fish with his dagger, argues, then helps as the storm approaches.
- BlueEyun who follows them; eats barnacles, circles overhead, takes flight as the storm builds.