I wished no harm to the servant, but I was just trying to survive. And that was the way of things, no matter how much I wished it wasn’t.
I turned a corner and whispered a silent apology as I kicked over a large washing basin. Water gushed into the street as I rounded another corner, wincing at the splash and howl that followed. I felt sorry for the boy, but I reassured myself with the fact that I wasn’t doing this for selfish reasons.
next: silent
Well-off, I thought, or filthy rich? I settled on the latter, waiting for my estranged aunt to continue. I didn’t think about how she had left us all those years ago when I really needed a way to leave. [name_u]Or[/name_u], how she’d left my mother, the woman who had decided to close off to everyone in her life after what had happened when I was fourteen.
It was hard to convince myself that [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] was blameless, and this silence really wasn’t helping with these thoughts.
next: continue
“Niamh, snap out of it!” [name_u]Zephyr[/name_u] screamed, mask abandoned halfway down the corridor (which, [name_u]Kai[/name_u] would find himself thinking later, probably had everything to do with his friend’s newfound voice). But [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] merely turned to give him the sweetest smile [name_u]Kai[/name_u] had ever seen from the girl before she continued trying to kill [name_f]Verena[/name_f].
Something had to be done, and it had to be done now.
Next: abandon
“I didn’t have a --!”
“I don’t want to hear it, Robin,” her father snapped, and she abandoned her sentence, thinking it would be a much better idea to just go to her room. He wasn’t going to let this go.
Next: sentence
“You’re aware…” I sighed, biting my lip. “You are aware that we’re breaking into a sacred temple here, right?”
“Yeah, so what?” [name_f]Neve[/name_f] shrugged.
“If we’re caught, we’ve got a literal death sentence here!”
Next: aware
“Memory loss was a potential, although unlikely, side affect. No one but myself and the twins were aware of that, so it isn’t possible that he knew. That makes me rather inclined to believe him.”
“And, if he is telling the truth, we could turn him to our cause,” said [name_u]Harlow[/name_u]. “Or, we believe so, with enough persuasion.”
Around the table, heads nodded.
“Any objections?” asked [name_u]Harlow[/name_u].
No one moved.
“Then let us return,” [name_u]Harley[/name_u] decided. “Crown [name_u]Prince[/name_u] [name_u]Cerulean[/name_u] of the Empire isn’t going to switch sides all on his own.”
At that moment, the young, unwitting [name_m]Crown[/name_m] [name_u]Prince[/name_u] [name_u]Cerulean[/name_u] of the Empire slipped out the door of the facility and into the forest beyond.
[name_m]Ah[/name_m]! I forgot again!
Next word: incline
“You know, he’s rather inclined to think that your mother isn’t as good at determining who s and isn’t a vampire as she claims to be,” I laugh, though the idea he’s suggesting is just… absurd.
Next: determine
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] had attached the number below, and I copied it into my phone, deleting the email.
Then, I got out of bed, got dressed, and looked up a picture of [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] Abernathy. She was pale, had strawberry blonde hair, and brown eyes. I memorized what she looked like, determined to hunt her down during breakfast.
next: attach
“You are well aware that I am currently unattached, and prefer it that way.”
“You’re only saying that because that village girl you’d been seeing up and married the butcher’s son.”
“He is the baker’s son, if you wish to be accurate.”
“What? Was the candlestick maker’s son emotionally unavailable?”
“Ha-ha,” [name_u]Gabriel[/name_u] laughed bitterly. “I see you’ve discovered your funny bone this morning.”
Next: morning
The next morning, [name_m]Kael[/name_m] headed out of his room for breakfast—something that smelled delicious and spicy—to find a scroll with a broken seal on the table. “What’s this?” he asked.
“Go ahead and read it,” his mother told him from the stove.
He unrolled the scroll and read the curly writing within.
To all citizens of the Province of Car-Lithe:
You are required to attend the execution of a name-unknown criminal today at one hour after noon. Lack of attendance will be seen as treason.
~Emerson Horv, [name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Province
Next word: lord
The young man shook his head, seemingly in disbelief. “I had the strangest dream where, following my evening prayers, I forgot to put out a vigil candle before going to bed. The whole church caught fire. Flames. Flames everywhere, ravishing the entire structure. It seemed so real. I was sure you were the fire brigade… [name_m]Lord[/name_m] help me… I’m rambling again. What can I do for you, my children?”
[name_m]Xavier[/name_m] and [name_u]Hali[/name_u] exchanged confused looks, but then he grabbed her hand and stated confidently. “We need to get married.”
Next: married
“So, would you say it was the pregnancy that caused this behavior, or had it been happening earlier in the marriage?”
[name_f]Laura[/name_f] knew the answer to that question, but evaded it anyway. “We got married just a year ago, so I’m not sure if this was just the natural progression of things, or the baby.”
next: behavior
“Young man, behavior like that will see you expelled. The dean–”
“Oh, I wouldn’t involve old Deansie in such trivial matters. He’s a… personal friend.”
“And who might you be?”
“Arthur [name_m]Bernard[/name_m] is the name.”
Next word: involve
“Make sure the people you get involved aren’t just loyal, they’re quick. I’m growing impatient, [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]. It’s quite an unpleasant experience.”
His lips cock into a humorless smile. “Yeah? I know the feeling.”
Next: humor/humorless
The cocky, fun-loving, trouble-making prankster he had grown to love over the first sixteen years of his life had completely disappeared, and instead, standing before him, was this stoic, humorless disciplinarian.
Next word: cocky
“It is, actually. Now, as my part of the bargain, I’m here to tell you some shocking truths.”
“Which is?” [name_m]Damien[/name_m] asked.
“Which is that all of you are connected in some, twisty, familial-slash-political way, and that this connection is the cause of many, many things,” she said cockily.
next: bargain
“Gosh, you drive a hard bargain, [name_m]Xavier[/name_m], but I accept your terms.”
Next word: accept
“It’s not a cliché, [name_m]Zack[/name_m], really. They’d accept whatever, I’m just a crappy son.”
He made a sceptical face. “You? A crappy son?”
“You’d be surprised.”
next: whatever
“Whatever,” [name_u]Hali[/name_u] sighed dejectedly, pushing a clump of scrambled eggs around her plate with her fork.
Next word: fork