Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider

Here is a summary with spoilers of Metal Slinger

In a world with two groups of people, the Alaha and the Kenta. The Kenta exiled the people of Alaha to live a life over the sea. Teh people of Alaha rely on the people of Kenta, it is a submissive peace. Brynn has been raised by the people of Alaha, specifically Captian Wren, the leader of of Kenta. Brynn’s parents mysteriously vanished on a fishing voyage when she was young. We meet Brynn on a ship, on her way to an annual market hosted by the Kenta people. Most people from Alaha only get one chance, and she and her soldier classmates get to go. We meet a couple of her firends before they visit the market. Kai, her best friend, and the son of Captian Wren. Messer, her fellow classmate who has a good sense of humor and is a ladies man. Auroura, who is more of an aquatiance, but still a classmate. The group gets to explore the market full of food, dancing, and mingling. Kai asks Brynn to dance, and he lets her know that he has requested her hand in marriage. Brynn freaks out and needs a moment to process, so she runs away. While running, she finds a guard from Alaha starts following her. She believes she has gotten away from him, but he reappears when Brynn is accused of stealing from a gem merchant. The guard grabs her hand, with the intent to chop it off for her crime, but soon as her hand hits the stone, she feels pain and falls to the ground, catchign the guard off. Brynn manages to grab the guards knife, slash his foot and run away. Kai is there to help her, especially when an explosion that destorys a part of the market goes off. The explosion was created by Auroura, who is very vocal about her hatred to the Kenta people.

Back in Alaha, the four are sent to Captian Wren to talk about what happened. He explains that the Kenta saw the act as a start of war. Aurora is sent to prison, and Wren continues to talk about peace options. He says the Kenta people want Aurora and Brynn back to their lands. Kai refues, and says that he and Brynn are betrothed, so they can’t have the future captian of the guards wife - and just like that Brynn doesn’t get a say in the marriage. Even though she doesn’t get a say in the marriage, she is realitvly happy. She claims things could be a lot worse, and she does really love Kai.

Brynn and Messer go back to their training, they are almost graduated. Messer manages to win the title of best swordsmen, giving him a high position in the guard. Meanhwile, Brynn has a fasination on the guard who almost cut her hand off. She contiuly draws him in her notebook, she thinks about him, and she keeps the knife that she took from him (even though Messer tells her to get rid of it).

Eventually, Kenta sends ships, on that ship is the soldier. He is taken to the prison and refueses to talk to anyone but Brynn. When Brynn does go in, the soldier gives up the location of the rest of their ships. Brynn is escorted out, but in the middle of the night she sneaks back in to talk to him. She finds that his name is Acker. He agrivates Brynn and brings up topics that make her think, topics like; her parents, her lineage, her love for Kai, and her future. Brynn basically gets the answer that she is not Alaha and that her name is Jovie, not Brynn. On her way out, she finally gets rid of Acker’s dagger.

Brynn and Messer graduate, but a big storm is set to happen disrupting the after party. Brynn realizes that they are going to let the storm come and let it kill Acker in his cell. She braves the Storm and breaks him out; with the help of the knife she threw away; turns out she can will it to come back to her. Brynn hides Acker in her small house for a few days, successfully evading the guards who are looking for him.

Acker and Brynn have a lot of time to chat an out Brynn’s past and politics. A lot is revealed, like the captain is actually a fae who has magic, which means Kai most likely is as well. Brynn actually grew up in Alaha, Captain Wren took her away to start a war between two other clans, and it worked. Brynn and Acker grew up together and were friends. When she was taken, her parents searched everywhere for her, and Acker continued the search, taking Brynn’s dagger everywhere he went because it called to her. Be also tells her, her title; Princess Jovie of the Maile. Acker also believes that Captain Wren took Brynn for another reason, so she would marry Kai and he would thus get half of her land once it was revealed who she was.

The day comes when Brynn and Kai are supposed to be officially matched, but she decides that she will leave with Acker during the ceremony. As they are escaping, Kai catches them. Kai explains that he does have magic, and he was amplifying Brynn’s feelings towards him to be stronger. Acker kills four guards, makes Kai pass out and then they steal a boat. In their journey in the ocean, Acker reveals that the pain she felt back at the market was the “awakening” the start of her powers emerging. When she gets back to land, it will be a lot more pain. The two continue their stranded life style on the boat. They get closer, they share stories, and Brynn starts getting little pieces of her memory back. After weeks on the boat, they spot land, but it is land from a different clan. The closer they get to land the more Brynn stars feeling sick. Brynn wants off the boat and to get her ‘awakening’ done with, but Acker wants her back on the boat to go find another land. Brynn wins the argument, they go on to the shore and Brynn starts suffering because of the awakening. For four days she is in and out, she should be healed and it has Acker worried. On top of that, they are being hunted, and they catch up to the two. The man in charge is a mind reader, and helets it loose that Brynn is dying. Acker manages to get info on where a healer is at to help her, then kills the men that hunted them and takes her to the healer. Brynn continues to  be in pain, but the healer helpss her finish the awakening. When Brynn wakes she decides that for now on she will go by the name Jovie. She also starts getting memories from Acker’s mind; like when he decided to go and save Jovie. Then, when he leaves the room for the first time, she manages to jump into his head and can see everything he see’s; she is not sure what type of power this is, and she keeps it to herself. While healing she also finds that she is a light wielder, she is excited to see what that means.

Jovie and Acker start to make the last two day trek back to Alaha. Acker tells Jovie that he knows she can see into his mind. But before they finish the conversation, a large animal starts stalking them, and just as he is about to pounce, Messer shows up and turns into a panther to fight the other animal. The two aniamls go further into the forrest and Jovie and Acker follow after them. They manage to find Messer, and they bring him across the border.

When Jovie wakes up, she is told that Messer is being transported to a prison. She also is reaccuanted with an old friend (and Ackers current best friend) Hallis. They find out that Messer is a shifter, and has been with Acker and Jovie since they left. We also learn that the forrest where they found Messer was called the Dark Forrest, but Jovie had used her magic, and transformed it. Jovie also finds out that she and Acker are tethered, or bonded together; she is upset he didn’t tell her, but overall is processing the information. On top of all of that, Acker is a Prince.

The group all splits up, Messer goes on a mission to prove he is not loyal to Kai or his family. Jovie, Acker, Hallis, and Beau (Acker’s sister who can read people’s aura’s), start heading to Acker’s home. Jovie is not just able to visit Acker’s mind, she can project her body right next to his, she uses this as evasdropping tactic. She finds out that Acker is betrothed to another princess. Once Acker realizes that Jovie is able to do that, he confronts her and says it’s not her magic, but rather their bond. Jovie is upset because she feels like Acker is using her as a pawn, just the way Kai was going to.

On their way to the castle, Jovie’s mother’s men find them. They are to return Jovie to her home. Acker claims they are bonded, the men ask for proof, so Acker does a blood bond, where he promises to love her and to never harm her. They take that as proof, but except her to be in touch with her mother soon.

They finally make it to the castle, Jovie does not get a welcome she was expecting, the people believe she is a curse. Jovie is happy living in the castle, she spends her time in the library researching on the bond and other things. Eventually, Jovie gives into the bond, she says I love you to Acker and the two finally have their night of passion.

One day in the library, Jovie learns that Acker’s mother is actually alive, and she was Jovie’s neighbor for years. She goes to tell Acker, but hears the king have a loud discussion with Acker. The king says he will not end the betrothal to the other princess, and Acker will just need to be ok with that, and to have Jovie on the side. Jovie does not tell Acker that she overheard.

The days go on and there is to be a ball. Jovie and Acker arrive together, basically spitting in the kings face. Jovie keeps telling Acker not to drink anything, and it is revealed that she posioned all the drinks.

We then get a chapter that takes us back to the beginning. Brynn has just gotten Acker out of the prison. Kai and her are having a discussion. Brynn wants Kai to use his powers to make it seem like she is being used by him. This will give her the perfect excuse to go with Acker and give her a good cover. She wants to go to the main land and lead the rebelion by killing the king and helping the Kenta people who have been oppressed for too long. Kai is not happy about the plan, but lets Jovie go.

Back in the present, Messer arrives, he was part of the plan and Beau at somepoint also goes along with the plan. Jovie kills the king, and starts to run away. Acker runs after her, catches her, kisses her, then slaps her. Him slapping her brought pain on him, because he made the blood bond that said he would never hurt her. He then tells Jovie to leave before he ends up killing her and thus killing him. Jovie runs with Messer and Beau in tow.