I give them my best professional smile. I’m not sure I manage very well in my current state. “Are you traveling to the Capitol?” I ask the woman “Was gonna,” She sniffs, glaring at the younger man “Till somebody made false claims of their horses’ health!” “I have to go there too,” I say, before t
Two days passed slowly. I did my best to sleep the whole way to Fenrir, but I’ve long since lost whatever it is that makes people succumb to sleep. Instead, my hours pass in a whirlwind of thoughts. What could the Church have to do with me now? When it did not care as I traveled across the country
I can almost taste the hostility in the air. These people really do believe priests are men of the Goddess. Moon save this damned Empire. The Bishop’s face hardens “Curses run rampant in Fenrir, tormenting the good people.” “So I’ve heard.” I glance at the veiled balconies, all the people there R
I can’t sleep. I lay in the narrow bed with Lydia at my side, snoring. On a mat on her side of the floor is Gunter, sleeping soundly. I sit up, feeling nauseous. It’s the second night of our travels, and despite my string of hope that I might be randomly teleported to my own world, it hasn’t happ
“Twenty coppers says his head gets smashed if I throw him to the wall!” The man who’s holding the kid asks loudly “Thirty!” “Fifty!” Before I can process what the hell they’re doing, the first man grins with sharp teeth, and then hurls the kid to the opposite wall. I’m moving before I know it, e
“What’d you say, hag?” He growls “Look at her mark,” Lydia moves over to where Gunther is crouched, holding onto him “Look if you don’t believe me!” What? My world tilts once more as harsh fingers shove the sleeves of my coat and shirt, until the ink that spirals from down my wrist nearly all the
“Oh, hush now Dinah,” Lydia wraps me in a hug “You must’ve been so scared. Don’t worry about Gunther! My man’s tough.” “Lydia’s right,” Gunther says as his wife steps away “Don’t fret. It’s getting colder, get in the wagon, both of you.” As Gunther said, we found another place to stay. An old wido
"I heard he travelled the whole empire looking for witches and warlocks," I put in, voicing the words like a curious, ignorant kid "Is that true? Did he hunt them all on his own?" "He did," Lydia says, but not fondly or proudly. She sounds apprehensive, almost fearful "Gunther and I were in Vynx wh
I barely manage to find a waste bucket before everything I had for breakfast retches out. My throat burns. My vision is blurry. I dry heave every single thing in my stomach, warmth seeps out of the corners of my eyes. I can’t breathe. The smell of blood is everywhere. I sit there, holding the edges
The smell of rotting flesh is disgusting. Its muscle memory to pull the gloves over my hands, pick a scalpel off the medical tray. The body on the metal table in front of me has no head. ‘You have to take a sample of flesh, a sample of blood and take a look at the internal organs.’ Aunt Cynthia’s
How adorable. Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks so, since when I turn back around, everyone from the fourth prince and the first order to passing strangers and our coachman is looking on in disbelief. Is it so difficult to imagine Zen would get along with children? “Don’t leave your mouth ha
“My Lady, am I mistaken or is the fourth prince avoiding me?” I look up from knotting the satchel to my belt to face Zen. There’s a slight furrow in his brows, and he looks at Lukas, standing far, far from us and talking with the first order soldiers. The fourth prince has indeed, been avoiding Ze
I need to move. But even as I think that, I cant bring myself to move. He’s holding me too firmly, I think, entirely reasonable. I won’t be able to slip away like this. Even the most critical part of me can’t find that to be entirely an excuse. After last night, I doubt there’s anyone who would lik
I wake up to the sound of a door knock. My sleep hazed brain registers the sound, recognizes it, and promptly ignores it in favor of cuddling into the warmth of my bed once more. I don’t want to wake up just yet, since last night I fell asleep so late— Last night? My eyes open, blurry with sleep,
But he’s looking at me now, as if the answer might crush him, as if he’s bracing himself for it. I reach out to drape my arms over his shoulders gently, they hang down in front of his chest lightly. “Why? Because you did your job?” I ask quietly, hold his gaze “Or because you didn’t hesitate to do
“Lift your arm, please.” I say, and my voice comes out soft If we weren’t sitting so close to each other, I would’ve missed it. His shoulders tense up, the even breathing stilled into nothing. “You don’t have to do that, Dinah.” Zen finally says My brows furrow. Zen might be a warrior among warri
On the second floor hallway of the hotel, my eyes drift to the room where Zen is supposed to be. My room is just at its side. I wonder if I knock on his door right now, would he be annoyed? He did ask not to be disturbed. The image of his bloodied arm flashes in my mind. Just a moment. I just want