LOGINAris“I have to leave tomorrow morning.”Posey’s fingers are unnaturally warm as she carefully fits the mask to my face. She tilts my head back, then to the side, smoothing her thumbs over my cheek where the third prong should be. I can’t stop looking at her when she’s like this–hyper-focused, her green eyes sharp and unyielding. It’s the same side of her I got to witness this summer every time I barged into her room to harass her and waste her time while she tried to study into the later hours of the night. I feel like we’ve both lived an entire lifetime since then. “How does it feel?”“A little small.”Her brow furrows. She angles the mask upwards so the middle prong rests directly over my nose, which feels wrong, and judging by the frustration behind her eyes, she knows it, too. “It’s missing something. You’re sure this is all you found?”“Well, the third prong is missing.”She tsks and sets the mask down on her worktable, which is now covered by a slab of pure white granite. Yes
PoseyIt’s a silent hunt for any books related to alchemy, metal, and forges. I find a few texts about old methods of ironsmithing I’m sure will be useful. Most of the alchemy books are tarnished, faded, and damn near useless at this point. Back when the skill was openly taught to anyone who brandished the powers, a different language was used. I don’t know it. Aris is just as puzzled, but he gathers old books in his arms nonetheless, his original hesitation shifting to curiosity as we walk the stacks together. He lights the old lanterns with his shimmering powers, and his shadows stretch all around us, dancing in the grainy light. I’m sure, when he’s like this, drenched in his own magic, most people would find him intimidating. I think he’s glorious. “What are you going to do with the fawn?” I ask when the silence becomes too much. I slide another heavy book into his hands, this one about apothecary remedies, hopefully old enough to have something for the use of alchemists within it
PoseyI don’t deserve this for what I’ve done. This room. This dream of mine coming to fruition. I run my fingers over every surface, count the steps from one side of the room to the other, and stare out of the trio of windows along the curve of the wall for a long time. The stars hang heavy when I finally ask the spirits of the house for help. The female is eager, pleased with the state of the room and the list I give her, which is quickly whisked away and disappears into the shadows of the highest rafters, where my footsteps echo as the male spirit moves things around and reorients the space for me. I only leave to change out of my pajamas in the adjoining bedroom, which is small but cozy and well furnished, when I realize there is no way I’m sleeping tonight, not with my thoughts so tangled and my heart wracked by guilt. I try to call Willow in the earliest hours of the morning, when the nearly full moon is high, and the sky turns a milky violet, but the call goes to voicemail, a
PoseyThe sun sets over the mountains when Aris returns. His shadows pierce the bright pink light of the alpine glow, his boots moving across the floor, disrupting the stillness that’s been enveloping me for hours. I've been sitting in the same position since he left, dressed in the same thin nightgown, holding the mask in my hands. I’ve been in a trance, letting my powers dance in a way they never have while inspecting and investigating every groove and divot, every master’s brush of hot iron and alloys to strengthen the mask. Whatever I do, I can’t think about my current situation. I’ll fall apart. Falling apart means losing my grip on reality, and if I lose that…“Posey.”I look up. My eyes feel dry and scratchy. I’m not sure I’ve blinked since he left… hours ago. The door is wide open. His shadows dance around the room–which is much emptier than I remember it being, like everything has been cleared out since this morning right from underneath my nose. We wordlessly weave throu
Aris“Do not make an enemy out of her.”Blake’s violet eyes hold my gaze for several seconds before flicking to the corner of the room, where Skye is busy playing with Maeve’s old dollhouse with the help of the female spirit, who seems incredibly fond of the girl. It’s no wonder. Skye is like warm sunshine on the coldest day, even if she’s strange and unreadable like her freak of a father. Who… came when I called. Almost immediately. “She hates me on a personal level already. I doubt that’ll change much in the negative.”Blake tucks his hands in the pockets of his jacket, sucking his cheeks in thought. It’s strange seeing him like this–casual. Laid back. Like whatever darkness that lived within has been stripped from his soul… or, my theory, he finally accepted it and stopped it from ruling his life. The God of Death inspects the carpet with the toe of his boot before sinking into an armchair and leveling me with a firm look. “I’m serious. If she wants something to meld, give it to
ArisMorgan’s long fingers trace over the top of my hand, her red painted nails shining in the firelight as she smiles at me, cat-like, her dark eyes giving away nothing. When I don’t react to her touch, she leans away to refill her glass of sparkling wine, clicking her tongue. She rises and turns around the room, that smile angling into a frown. I bring my glass of scotch to my lips. I’ve been drinking more than I’d like. I feel sluggish, and the booze is doing nothing to fill the creeping void spreading in my chest with every hour that ticks by. “My maids have been saying this place is haunted,” she says with a small disbelieving laugh. “Idiots. It’s just an old castle. I keep telling them that.”Her guard is asleep in an armchair by the fire, sprawled out and snoring. She passes him without a glance but comes to a stop near one of the windows. Icy silver lights fan over her skin, washing her out. What am I thinking?“Was there a reason you chose to announce an engagement that had







