BECKYEver since I’d shifted the direction of my research, I’d been making great progress. After long, thankless hours, I created the first batch of medicine. It had been a major triumph, one that had left me in tears upon completion.All of my hours, and all of my effort had yielded great results. At least, as far as I knew. Dickson helped me with the safety assessment, and once we deemed that the medicine was as ready as it could be at this stage, he took it down to Wild Crawler for a clinical trial.While I was immensely hopeful, I had no idea if it was going to work. If the past few months had been any indication, we might not be so lucky. Yet, despite this possibility, Dickson seemed excited before his departure.I, however, was worried. Ever since Jasper had visited and brought us the news of the “living dead”, I couldn’t get an image out of my mind: a dead man in his human form attacking a guard with his teeth and claws like a monster. Though something like that was to be expec
ASHERWhen I awoke, I found myself in a tent. My vision was blurred, but I could see the vague outlines surrounding me. The sound of faint voices lingered beyond me, outside, but when I tried to move my lips and utter a sound, I couldn’t.The last thing I could remember was racing… heading toward the North. My mission had been so set in my mind that I couldn’t understand what I was doing here.What happened to me?I wanted to sit up, but despite my every effort, I couldn’t move. My limbs were numb, as if every inch of me had been paralyzed. I couldn’t even lift a finger or curl my toes.Did Kane or Silas drug me?No, that would be ridiculous.Perhaps this was all just a dream- my vision failed to focus and my body was rendered immobile because I was deep in slumber. That had to be it. The scenes that danced in my mind and swirled around like a tornado were merely a dream. Nothing had actually happened.After a while, I managed to twitch my finger, and then I could roll onto one side.
ASHERMuch to my surprise, Silas didn’t protest this time. He obediently nodded his head and after a long, lingering glance, the Beta retreated immediately. I’d expected resistance, but then again, Silas likely didn’t know how to deal with this situation. He was incredibly intelligent, but when it came to emotional hardships, he wasn’t well-equipped.Once he was gone, I gave Kane a cold glance and then a scoff.“What do you have to say to me?” I wondered and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “What’s so important that you had to dismiss Silas?”Though I knew it was cruel of me to think that way, Kane’s weary face irritated me greatly. I knew I was being unreasonable and acting childishly, yet I couldn’t control myself. The stakes were far too dire and I wasn’t sure what was going on.I lost my temper when Kane mentioned Cassandra. Was my stepbrother trying to remind me how useless I was at this point? I didn’t understand his intentions, which only made my own emotional issues far wor
ASHERIn less than an hour, I had regained enough strength to be able to move. With Kane’s assistance, I carefully shifted my position and climbed out of the cot, though my knees wobbled when my feet hit the ground. My stepbrother stabilized me with his arm, and I clung on tightly for balance.“You okay?” he asked me, and when I offered him a small nod, he nodded back. “Good. Take a deep breath. We don’t need to move swiftly. Take all of the time you need.”Though I wanted to rush out of the tent and go straight to the sorceress, a lingering sense of numbness remained in my limbs. It was as if they had fallen asleep, and the feeling was quite unpleasant.I grimaced as I tried to shake it off, and then frowned further still when it didn’t work. I took a breath as Kane instructed and then began to walk to the entrance of the tent. Kane dropped his arm but followed suit in case I fell.Once we were outside, Kane led me down the path, and once we reached our destination, my eyebrows shot
CASSANDRAI was certain that I would never forget the look on Ms. Benn’s face when I’d threatened her and alluded that her daughter’s condition could easily worsen if I stopped offering help.The head housekeeper’s already fair complexion blanched so white she looked like a ghost. Her lower lip trembled and her icy blue eyes widened so large that they appeared like they could fall out of her skull.Though her terrible expression haunted my thoughts, I didn’t regret that I’d done something awful like this. Given the chance, I would have done it over and over again, but still, I some part of me did feel sorry for Ms. Benn. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if someone had threatened me with Finnick’s life.But, I did what had to be done. I was powerless in this castle, in this entire country, even. Without nasty ploys and fierce cunning, I wouldn’t get any closer to getting out of here and returning to my homeland with Erika and my son.After our discussion, Ms. Benn left the room at o
CASSANDRAI was a little taken aback by Finnick’s serious request. His face appeared timid, yet his tone was solemn, much more solemn than a child’s should have been. As I studied his expression, I felt ashamed of myself for borderline neglecting my son these days. I’d been so immersed in this undercover business that I didn’t have much time to talk with Finnick, aside from our daily goodnight kiss.When I shifted my gaze, I realized I’d left Helene’s map on the table not too far away.“Okay, honey,” I agreed. “I just need to do something really quick, okay?”Finnick nodded politely, and then I moved forward and folded the map up. I stashed it aside, and once it was gone, I gestured for Finnick to join me.“Come here, baby,” I urged him, and after I took a seat, I extended my arms out to him. “Would you like to sit in my lap?”My son nodded and then gave me a little smile. He climbed onto my lap and I held him close. I ran my hands through his dark hair and then stroked his cheek affe
CASSANDRAI froze in place and my heart pounded in my chest as my head drowned with what felt like a million thoughts.Had I heard Finnick correctly?Did my son mean to tell me that Lila was a sorceress?I knew he didn’t know the word “sorceress” nor did I explain to him what kind of tricks Raven had played during that visit to our chamber. So, there was little chance that he was making this entire thing up. Besides, Finnick wasn’t a liar.So, did that mean…?Finnick’s gray eyes grew wider still and he glanced around the room as if to make sure that no one would hear us.“Mommy, Lila can read my mind,” he uttered, his voice filled with a mixture of shock and amazement as his eyes bore intensely into mine.I forced down the lump that had formed in my throat and searched for the right thing to say. If this was truly the case, I needed to speak with Lila and try to get to the bottom of what was going on.A child sorceress… it was a concept I’d never considered before, but it made a great
KALEBI diligently stood in front of my mother’s grave solemnly, and after staring at the ornately carved slab in the ground, I began to dust off the stone. This was my first visit in quite some time, and the thick coating of grime on the stone was greater than it had been in a while. I normally didn’t allow it to get this bad, but as of late, things had been infinitely busy, and I rarely had a moment alone.As I cleaned it, I pondered the state of things and then allowed myself to consider my mother. Ever since she died, I’d never had a nightmare about her passing or otherwise. Nor had I after I’d killed all of my siblings and most of my cousins. Not even when I’d ended my father’s life.I wasn’t afraid of ghosts or gods. I wasn’t afraid of punishment from the Moon Goddess for the acts I’d committed in the past.But last night, I had a nightmare, one that I couldn’t shake. It was haunting my thoughts and bleeding into the waking world so vividly it made me uneasy.In my dream, I saw