Whatever she’s playing now is…strikingly different than what she played in the auditorium. From the very beginning that piece had been strikingly complex, demonstrating Juniper’s true mastery of the instrument. He had watched with awe as her fingers flew over the keys with remarkable grace and speed
I take a deep breath when I open my eyes the next morning and just…stare at the ceiling wondering if everything is as much of a disaster as I think it is.But…well. I’m still here, aren’t I? At least the God of Death hasn’t banished me already and scooped up one of my baby cousins in my place. Which
In fact, at home, maybe…maybe they already are using it in battle.My little heart aches to think of everyone at home, and what I’m missing, and Faiza’s implication that events are occurring – ones I’d find quite interesting. But I shove the thought away and concentrate on frowning at Anton instead.
“Why didn’t you come to the door?” Orion growls, glaring at Anton with his arms crossed.“And what,” Orion says, raising his hands in the air, twiddling his insubstantial fingers, “would you have suggested I do when I got there?”“You can walk through doors, Anton,” Orion snarls.Anton drops his han
Orion lets his hands slip all the way from his face. “Do you really think that’s true?”Anton just laughs and shakes his head at the spoiled Prince, who has been catered to so much that he doesn’t even realize people are doing it. “If you were a girl with your life on the line, and you thought a guy
“Oh no,” Anton says, pressing an earnest hand to his chest as he grins at Orion, leaning forward. “You see, June and I are a package deal. Anyone who dates her gets me too, fifteen feet away at all times, just hanging out. Which I think, for you, is a win. A Bride and a Bro, all in one go.”Orion la
“Just…get to know them, man,” Anton says, grinning at his friend and laughing a little.Orion just narrows his eyes. “But…how?”Anton laughs harder. “Okay, that date you took Laila on. Nice date, right?”“Yes, it was very nice.”“But did you…get to know anything about her? Really?”“She told me much
About eight minutes into assassin training, I decide that I hate it.Anton claps his hands at me, making me jog around the room in faster and faster circles, calling it my training exercises and telling me I’d never even make it through the Candidacy at the Academy at this rate. It’s funny for about
“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