I had prepared for this, but the lie I had planned still felt so ridiculous, I struggled to say it. Surely they would see straight through me. Then what would I do? “I… can tell that there is a sudden storm coming in,” I forced out. “Tomorrow. It will ruin the hunt. I humbly ask, for the sake of t
Nicholas As I watched, Piper seemed to crumble in on herself. The guilt and the worry pushed down on her shoulders and made her small. It didn’t suit her. She was strong, a fighter, yet fear for Elva tore straight through her. I had known the child a few short weeks, and already I was in agony,
“We were renting an apartment with a friend of mine, Anna. I worked hard for that life. Sometimes I even, well… I’ve let more experiences happen than I should have, for the sake of a paycheck.” My hands ached. Looking down I realized I held the wooden armrests of the chair in a white-knuckled grip
When I awoke, I was surprised to find myself in my own bed, while the physician tended to Elva beside me. I looked around the room, but Nicholas was gone. I wondered how long he stayed. Likely not for very long. He did dislike me, after all. Still, he had been kind to stay at all, even with all
“That’s enough,” said a firm low voice through the microphone. Nathan had passed it to Nicholas. “Please discover all the facts before making accusations. Piper proposed her deal last night. The announcement about the blood moon did not come in until this morning.” The second girl relented, loweri
The next morning, blessedly, Elva woke up feeling infinitely better. She bounced around the room without a care in the world. When I told her about her prospective wolf ride, she buzzed with excitement. She wiggled her arms back and forth and jumped up and down on her feet. She pouted when I mad
Crack. The bottom of the bow snapped from the pressure. What kind of weakly made –? The boar jerked its head toward me, alerted now of my presence. I was behind the tree but Silver was mostly exposed. The boar kicked out the ground. It was going to charge! “Silver, run!” I rushed from my c
Sabotage. That was what someone had done to my bow. They had purposefully cut a tiny fracture into the wood so when I attempted to fire, the entire thing would snap. And it had, right at the crucial moment. Because of this, I had nearly been gored. Nicholas gently touched my calf, directing my