“Fine, fine,” he sighs, smiling up at me like it’s all he wants in the world. “You are a paragon of still and silent sleep, Juniper. Best sleep partner I’ve ever had.”I narrow my eyes. “How many sleep partners have you had?”But he just grins wider and doesn’t say a damn word.“You’re the worst,” I
When I emerge from the bathroom a little later, freshly showered and changed, I’m unsurprised to find that Anton has sufficiently quelled Laila’s rage. He’s quite good at that, after all – managing people. I smirk as I cross to them on the couch, taking in the breakfast spread that Laila has conjure
By the end, she’s gaping. “Oh, June,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s horrible.”I sigh, looking off towards the terrace. “What’s worse is that I’m not sure now it wasn’t all a mistake.”“What do you mean?” Laila’s voice is very concerned.“I mean…” I shrug. “Things with Blythe were…a whirlwind.
“Oh god,” I sigh, shaking my head at Laila. “Why on earth do we need Orion for the divination?”She shrugs, looking between me and Anton, her face apologetic. “Because it’s his land. Even if we get a map, none of us understand the relationship between the map and the land itself. It’s…” she purses h
“So, did we interrupt something?” Anton asks, gesturing towards our table full of breakfast food, inviting Orion to take his pick.“Not really,” Orion says with a shrug. “I was just hanging out in my room.”“One point for me!” I say, raising the pen cheerfully in the air before tossing it onto a boo
I scowl at Orion as I snatch my envelope off the table in front of me. Laila sighs and picks up hers too, much calmer than me.Orion just sighs, settling back on the couch next to Anton, crossing his arms like Anton is. The boys glance at each other and shrug and I’m struck, again, but that…affinity
“But,” he continues, looking seriously at me. “First, you have to promise not to go searching for him in the Deadlands without me. Because you will, obviously, die.”“Done!” I say, grinning, quite liking the tacit admission that he’ll go with me to find Blythe too.“And,” he continues, “unfortunatel
“I’m not happy with how last night went, Juniper,” Orion says, turning his eyes back to mine. “I wanted to apologize.”Surprise runs through me because…I was not expecting that.“I don’t know if you know this about me,” he continues, walking me again to the edge of the terrace but not wrapping an ar
“No!” she sputters out, stumbling a few steps towards me, shaking her head so hard her pretty blue-green hair flutters out all around her. “No, Junie, don’t make me go! I want…I want to stay here! And help! I mean…” she bites her lip. “It will be nice to be able to visit home. But I want to stay wit
“I’m sending you home too,” I say quietly, doing my best to look each in the eyes. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed that you didn’t get the wish.” They murmur a variety of responses back to me, most of them relieved. One by one they step forward and I take their ha
“Does…” I whisper, my eyes still fastened to Orion as my eyes move over him, feeling the powers that radiate from him now. “Does that mean you have all of the powers of Darkness too? From…from the wish?” “No,” Orion murmurs, looking down at his hands and flexing them, experimenting with the feel o
Beatrice is the last to go, staring at me in shock, realizing finally that she bet everything on the wrong horse. I bare my teeth at her, fangs extended, and Beatrice’s eyes go wider as she trembles and finally submits, going to her knees and bowing her head. “Good,” I say, my voice returning to n
Laila’s knife sinks deep between Death’s shoulder blades and the final scream of a God fills the air as Death falls to his knees. The magic stops mid-stream, like a tap being suddenly turned off. I groan and tilt forward against Anton, who catches me and holds me against his chest. “Shit, June,”
“Just a little longer, June. She’ll do it.” But what if she doesn’t? What if…what if I’m inches from oblivion, and this is it? My heart strains in my chest, my wolf shaking like a leaf from snout to tail. But still, I will myself to hope. To trust in my friend. “I know,” I reply, letting my ey
I gasp, my shoulders trembling under the sheer weight of Death’s magic that flows over and around us, my shield barrier straining and buckling under its might. “June,” Anton breathes, eyes wide as he looks up at the magic streaming over us in an unending torrent. “Shit – are you –“ I crouch besi
The wish presses against Death for a moment and then sinks into him, dissolving into his chest. He sighs with happiness and what looks like ecstasy, tilting his head back to the sky as the magic disappears into him. Beatrice steps away, tucking her hands behind her back, beaming at the God she jus
Before I can get more than three steps after Laila, Anton lunges forward, his paws landing on either side of me as he snatches at the back of my gown with his teeth, holding me back. His fierce growl reminds me that I need to stay here – that Death took Laila because he wants me to come rushing onto