LOGINNatashaI step out of my tent, fully dressed for the day, and nearly run smack into Sebastian. We both pull back at the last second, and I feel highly aware of close we came to touching.“Sorry,” I mutter.“My fault,” he mutters back. “I was just coming to find you.”I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
Owen“What the…” Diego sputters out as I slam the door behind us. I’ve brought us into the music room which is empty save for a smattering of instruments.I stare Diego down more intensely than I mean to. “What of Natasha?”My brother seems immediately on his guard. “What of her?”“Did they believe
Owen“Isaiah,” I call from the threshold to the library. The first shelf has been completely redone, and its sisters line the walls in various forms of completion.One of my most trusted guards, the one who befriended Amelia, the one who I struggle to be near for the way he reminds me of her, approa
NatashaI don’t stay at the campfire for long after Carolina and Missy are dragged off to bed by the man I found out is their uncle.I didn’t have the heart to ask where their parents are.“I think I’ll get some sleep,” I say as I stand. I’m surprised when people I’ve just newly met through Carolina
Sebastian’s smile grows impossibly wider. “Of course. You don’t have to ask my permission to talk to her.”“That’s what I said!” a male adult a few seats away says. He must be their dad or otherwise guardian.“Yeah, but,” Carolina says, glancing nervously at me again. She lowers her voice as she ret
NatashaDante was brought back to the kingdom this morning. He spent one night in the First Quarter, and warriors took shifts watching over him as he slept.Sebastian and another Sun Warrior I don’t know bagged him at dawn and walked him back to the Red Forest to find his way home. I wanted to go wi
DiegoI crack my neck back and forth as I shift back into human form, and I cross the border into Chinsin. I offered to make this trip yesterday, but Amelia assured me it could wait, and that I needed to sleep after my encounter with the Sun Warriors. She has a quiet authority about her.She would h
Owen“How is it going with you and Isaiah stationed in the library?” I ask Raleigh as Diego and I follow him down the hallway to the library so he can show us the book he’s thinking of. I should have checked in with Raleigh and Isaiah about their current assignment a while ago.“It’s working just fi
The witch scowls. “We know a lot, but we don’t know everything.” She reaches into her apron pocket, pulling out a small bit of parchment that she hands to me.I unroll it, reading the neat handwriting that details exactly the tonic I came to ask for as well as its limitations. “Are there any ways ar
Ava“Well, don’t you look beautiful.”I look up from where I’m lying on a blanket in the garden in nothing but a bikini, chasing that just-tanned glow for when Owen chooses me over his pathetic little pet. I block the blinding sun with my hand to find whoever just called me beautiful, surprised to s







