“Wait, are you two…” [name_f]Celeste[/name_f] squinted at [name_f]Avalon[/name_f] and [name_u]Linden[/name_u], who were a sight to behold, bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, bedecked with matching flower garlands tossed askance by the warm breeze.
“No!” [name_f]Avalon[/name_f] answered immediately. “We were just enjoying the day together as friends because everyone else was busy.”
For a moment, Linden’s smile slightly faded, but he quickly shook it off.
[name_f]Celeste[/name_f] raised her eyebrows, unconvinced. “Right.”
“Anyway, what happened to you?” [name_f]Avalon[/name_f] asked, gesturing to the knight’s mud-covered armor.
Celeste’s mood instantly darkened.
“Twelve year old nieces are very competitive,” she huffed.
[name_f]Avalon[/name_f] stifled a snicker.
“What did [name_f]Clover[/name_f] do this time?” [name_u]Linden[/name_u] smirked.
“Ah. You two are this town’s most famous vampire hunters?” [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] frowned. I glanced at [name_u]Harper[/name_u], who looked ready to murder the woman right this moment. But she nodded slowly.
“The only ones with a hundred percent success rate,” she said with a tiny smirk. “Even if we were to announce that we were, as you appear to believe, these half-vampire things, getting rid of us would be pretty difficult.” You’re such an idiot, you know? Shut up, [name_u]Alex[/name_u].
[name_u]Linden[/name_u] wasn’t very talkative, so [name_f]Avalon[/name_f] was stuck listening to [name_u]Robin[/name_u] tunelessly belt out folk songs.
She was just about to scream when [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m] yelled back at [name_u]Robin[/name_u] to “stop cursing his ears” and the off-key singing finally came to an end.
“I didn’t know who you were at the time, and I couldn’t muster the nerve to actually broach a conversation… So, I ducked behind a bookshelf and spied on you for minutes until you finally packed up your books and left.”
He treated the journals like any other book series—skipping ahead would spoil all the plot twists.
Of course, a human being’s life—hell, his own life—wasn’t like any other book series, and finding out what happened would certainly be helpful.
No, that’s important, too. [name_f]Aeryn[/name_f] hesitated, then asked something that she’d been wondering. If you found out who did this to you, would you go after them?
I think the real question is, would you come with me?
Of course!
[name_u]Cerulean[/name_u] smiled palely and shook his head. Think about it, [name_f]Aeryn[/name_f]. You don’t really mean that. Your sister is your first priority, as she should be. You wouldn’t put her in danger by bringing her with me, and you wouldn’t leave her alone.
[name_f]Aeryn[/name_f] looked away for a moment. You’re right, she signed reluctantly. She glanced at her sister, who was happily chattering about something or another.
I wouldn’t let you come, anyway, [name_u]Cerulean[/name_u] told her. I wouldn’t let any of you come. It’d be safer for everyone if I went alone. He forced a cheerful smile. Of course, we don’t have to worry about that, seeing as I don’t remember.
The Emperor’s Men came to their senses and started firing their burst guns at the boys, but their aim was off. The bursts flew every which way, hitting buildings and innocent civilians alike. Finally, as the boys ran out of range, the shooting ceased. The boys darted through the maze of streets, continuing their progress toward the mountains. [name_m]Kael[/name_m] and [name_m]Eno[/name_m] followed [name_u]Cerulean[/name_u], who seemed to know his way around the city like the back of his hand. They ran for what seemed like hours, although it was probably less than ten minutes.
Finally, as they reached the base of the forested mountains that loomed over their city, they slowed. [name_m]Eno[/name_m] flopped to the ground, groaning. [name_m]Kael[/name_m] bent over, his hands on his knees, wheezing. [name_u]Cerulean[/name_u] seemed unaffected, standing and waiting patiently for them to finish.
I don’t know what you think I’d expect when I hear a random sound in the woods in the middle of the night, maybe to find a monster looming over me and preparing to attack, but it was just a raven that had crash-landed nearby.
A raven that promptly turned into my twin brother, naturally.
“Don’t. Did you expect you’d just pop by, apologize, declare that you’ve cared for me all along, and I would simply fall into your open arms and pledge my undying love and devotion to you?”
“Bradford has a younger sister?” [name_m]Damien[/name_m] remarked aloud.
“I do,” [name_m]Bradford[/name_m] admitted, “but that wasn’t why I was blushing.” I heard an argument coming, but instead turned back to the hefty novel, focusing on what was a more efficient subject.
some days it was difficult to admit that it was his own fault. some days when georges rose and looked in the mirror, he saw the face of a bitter victim. and yet, most days, when he got up and looked into the mirror, the face he saw there was the face of a criminal— the face of someone who could not be trusted.
His finger trailed under the wording as he read: If the intended is female, the cost of the potion is forfeiture of her ability to bear any children, thenceforth, until the bitter end of her life…
“Well, that doesn’t apply to me, does it?”
He continued reading: If the intended is male, the cost of the potion is impotency of the phallus, thenceforth, for all the remaining days of his life.
“Im–impotence!” [name_m]Orson[/name_m] croaked, hurriedly slamming the book closed. “That is not worth it, most definitely. What depraved witch developed that appalling potion? It’s sick… downright cruel…”
There was a cruel twist in his smile now. “That’s just it, [name_f]Astrid[/name_f]. You’re going to go to the clinic, not because I want you to, not because of what your parents think, not because of what the damn St. Margaret’s girls think, but because you’re you. You’re selfish. I know it. You know it. You won’t be a good mother, you weren’t even a good girlfriend. [name_f]Kimber[/name_f] is a thousand times better.”
“Don’t say her name!” It sounded petulant, but Astrid’s head was spinning.
