Wretched Recruit [Pirate Academy, Book One]

Book excerpt: Nar has spent her seventeen years as an orphan slave with a secret: she has the touch of death. Scarred by her lack of control and accidental murders, Nar won’t dare make friends or reveal the truth to anyone. Only her dreams of escape keep her going. Instead, she gets kidnapped by a handsome pirate: Captain Kallen Shoskan, the son of the pirate king. And upon seeing her talents, he orders her to Islanda Nylar, where former slaves and runaways train for a life of sailing and plundering. It looks like freedom. It sounds like freedom. But Kallen is her personal tutor and trainer, in charge of her progress. Nar is the first recruit with deathly magic in centuries. But becoming a pirate will mean delivering more death, and Nar’s had enough of that. Even if Kallen is witty, protective, and bears his own tormented past. But if she fails her training, a savage captain will make her worse than a slave. To avoid a horrific fate, she’ll need to trust Kallen, pass her tests, and face her own darkness.