The first thing that struck me when I woke up was that I don't know where I am. I open my eyes to the unfamiliar brown ceiling, closed square window, and piled up chests in the corner of the room. I jolt upright with a scream stuck in my throat, scrambling to get up before everything comes rushing to me.
Oh, yeah. Right. I'm with the rebels, particularly in Jossie's quarters.
I turn to my side, expecting her to be there and watching me with disappointment like she did last night, but her bed is made up and empty. Releasing a breath of relief, I lie back down on my cot.
I can't believe I'm here with an actual purpose, after all the things that happened. After thinking for the past days that I would die.
Brief flashes of the carriage accident makes my heart const
Panic washes over my body like a splash of cold water. The stick of dynamite in my hand is getting warmer and warmer, only being intensified under the glare of the sun. In a rush, I stand and close the door, trying to keep the explosive from falling off my shaking hand. I put it back in its crate, my chest constricting with a mix of relief and increasing fear. "Fuck," I mumble, a profanity that I heard by never said, perfectly fitting for the situation. All of these crates around me are filled with dynamite. There has to be at least twenty crates in here, probably containing fifty sticks each. My stomach turns as I sigh and accidentally get a lungful of the dynamite smell. I want to leave right now, from this carriage and from this circus, but I don't know how. My knees are shaking and I feel so sick that the room is spinning before my eyes. What do these psychopaths want to do with this much explosives? What kind of circus—? Okay, the
I blink rapidly, waiting for the green scaly legs to turn normal. Maybe I’m just hallucinating, right? I rub my eyes for good measure as she begins to dry herself with a towel. When I stare at her legs again, they’re perfectly flesh-colored and ordinary. What’s happening to me? “Enemy, right.” I nod vigorously to hide my growing panic. My entire back is sweating. “Good thing I’m here as an ally.” Gynith smiles at me like she knows exactly what I think and it amuses her. “Welcome to Demika Circus, Lora.” “Thank you,” I croak after a pause. “It’s . . . nice to be welcomed after almost getting devoured by Shadow Wolves.” Gynith’s smile goes stiff. “By what?” “Shadow Wolves.” I point vaguely at the forest. “That’s how Alis
Running. They're running. From something or towards something, I don't know. Still, I want to find out, but there's this background hum of fear that's telling me to stay put until all the footsteps are gone. Either way, I can't move. I'm petrified in fear, and all I can do is sit here and listen as the heavy footsteps go away.There's complete silence now, apart from the rustling leaves being caressed by the wind. I hold my breath, waiting for a big sound, something that will shock me into moving, but nothing comes. The absence of sound is starting to creep towards me like a cold hand under the blankets. It's getting more and more intense, to the point that it's unbearable.I have to get out of here. Not just in Jossie's quarters, but this place entirely.I jump to my feet, my heart still racing inside my chest. I look around as my eyes start to adjust to the dark room, and immediately I find a discarded knife in a scabbard, thrown carelessly at the side
Jossie’s hands tighten around my head, her sharp fingernails digging into my scalp. My eyes begin to water in pain. She pulls my hair back and makes me look up at her, smiling as she goes. “Let me go!” I grab her wrists and try to pry her hand off my head. “I said let go!” “I don’t take orders from you,” she says blandly, pushing the top of my head until I lose balance and collapse on my knees. “You think we’re idiots? You think we won’t keep an eye on you after you act all suspicious? I knew you were up to something.” She drags me forward. My knees scrape on the ground, bumping against the small rocks protruding from the dried leaves. A sharp pain sears my kneecaps, combined with the immense pressure on my scalp as she uses my hair to steer me along the path towards the clearing. I can feel strands of my hair getting plucked, uprooted, and the pain and the sheer panic it’s giving me is almost too much to bear. But of course, it’s nothing compared to
My muscles seize up in fright, almost causing me to stumble on one of the roots protruding from the forest floor. Alistair is just standing as I stay rooted in my spot. He’s not so far behind me, but I’m pretty sure that I got a decent headstart from the clearing. I’m sure that yes, he could be much faster than I am, but something tells me that his advantage is not just speed. When he sees that I stopped, he takes a step forward. “Lora, don’t go any further!” I know it’s just a fair warning, but my brain immediately interprets it as a threat. My body reacts immediately and propels me to run again. At this point I don’t care what kind of monsters await me if I go further. Wolves, big or not, magical or not, I’d rather face than listen to Alistair and come back into his messed up group. My feet land hard on the ground with every step, some of the rocks causing a jolt of pain to jump from my soles to my entire legs. My breath is fogging up before me, but
I'm paralyzed, and for the first time in a long time, it's not out of fear. The world disappeared. All the trees in our surroundings, once blurred and hazy, are now melting right into each other like a soaked fresh painting. All I can see is his face, particularly his eyes. The specks of dark gray surrounding his pupils, the curve of his thick lashes, the unreadable emotion in them, and the sense of familiarity that it’s igniting from me. I feel hot and cold at the same time, blushing and shivering as his hands slowly trace the upward curve of my spine. Parting my lips for him is like a release and a buildup, an attack and a surrender, bliss and torture. Polar opposites, swirling inside me to get locked into this eternal dance that’s as old as time itself. All of this—the crash and burn of the opposites—spiral down into one single second, a fleeting moment when I stand on the tips of my toes and reach his lips with mine. But Alistair pulls away at the
The sheer shock of feeling the cold blade dig into my skin is enough to make me gasp, but it’s nothing compared to the pain that attacks my senses the moment it sinks into my arm. As rough as I can, I push away Jossie, who stumbles back and watches me with a slight smile on her lips. I want nothing more than to kick her teeth in, but I have immediate problems. My brain is panicking. I clutch my bleeding arm, watching my thick, crimson blood seep through my fingers. Oh, I’m going to pass out. I don’t want to look at my own blood but I can’t avert my gaze out of horror. Why the hell is no one bothered that some crazy bitch stabbed me? I turn to Alistair to yell at him, but he’s already pushing past Jossie to get to me. I thought he’ll just sweet-talk me into believing that all of this is normal, but to my surprise, he snatches the knife from her. Then he runs the blade on his arm, the same exact spot as mine. “Alistair,” I begin to say,
I wake with a gasp. The shock of hearing Father’s voice, even in a dream, after so many days is making my heart pump so fast in my chest that I’m losing breath. My hands are clenched around the sheets, so tightly that my fingers have gone numb. What the hell was all that? I sit up, not wanting to move my head too abruptly in fear of losing the images I can remember from the dream. Sadly, it’s disappearing from my mind like a handful of sand cascading through my parted fingers. All I can remember is Father hurting my mom, who’s pushing a basket onto the pond under the full moon. . . . “Hey, you okay?” The sudden question makes me jolt. I forgot that I’m not alone here. I wheel around to see Gynith in the corner, tying her hair into a ponytail in front of the mirror. “You okay?” she repeats, her lips curling into a smile. “You should have seen the way you woke up. You looked like a zombie, just sitting up so stiffly like that.” “