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First Day
publish date:
2026-06-02 08:43:50
Latest chapter
Blood and Mercy Questions
KaiI’m in the front seat staring at the apartment building and thinking this is the first time I’ve been outside in five years, the first time I’ve left the mansion grounds for anything, and it wasn’t even for myself.It was for a girl I don’t know who got suspended for fighting.It was for Cassie.The realization doesn’t sit well but I don’t have time to examine it because Cassie and her sister are standing on the sidewalk about forty feet from the car and whatever’s happening between them looks like it’s about to combust. I sit here and watch through the window as Cassie tries to calm down a girl who looks like she’s about ready to explode.Mara—Cassie talked about her that night in my studio doorway, talked about her sharp edges and her anger—is standing there with her whole body pulled tight like a wire about to snap. Her arms are gesticulating and even from this distance I can see the fury radiating off her in waves.She reminds me of Lily. Not her face or anything physical, j
Blood and Mercy What Does He Know..?
CassieWe pull up outside our building and Mara has the door open before we’ve fully stopped, her feet hitting the sidewalk and carrying her toward the entrance.I call thank you to the driver over my shoulder and scramble out after her. “Mara, wait—”She stops walking and turns around. We’re maybe forty feet from the car. Close enough that if Kai’s window is open, even a crack, he might be able to hear us.I don’t know if it is and I don’t dare to turn back.Mara’s looking at me and there’s something in her face I’ve never seen before, something that’s past anger and into territory I don’t know how to navigate.“You’re working for him, Cassie. For the Petrovas. After what Miles did—” She stops, her voice breaking. “How could you?”The way she says the name makes it sound like a curse. “Mara, keep your voice—”“Oh you don’t get to do that.” She shakes her head and her hands ball into fists at her sides. “You don’t get to tell me to keep my voice down, not with what you’re risking. Are
Blood and Mercy She Knows
Mara is staring at me, waiting for me to deny it, to tell her she’s wrong, to say something that makes this make sense. But I can’t. The words are stuck somewhere in my throat and all I can do is stand here on the sidewalk outside her school while the silence between us grows heavier with every second that passes.Her eyes narrow. “Cassie.”It’s not a question. It’s a demand. I grab her arm before she can say anything else, my fingers closing around her elbow harder than I mean to.“Get in the car,” I say quietly. “We’ll talk about this at home.”She yanks away from me but she moves toward the car anyway because what choice does she have. I’m her ride home. I’m the one who showed up when the school called. I’m the only person she’s got right now even if she hates me for it.The back door opens and Mara climbs in, her boots scraping against the doorframe on the way. She glances once at Kai through the gap between the seats, just long enough for me to see her taking him in, filing aw
Blood and Mercy You’re Working for Him
CassiePrincipal Grace is sitting behind her desk and she looks exactly how I remember from the last time I had to come here—a woman in her fifties with graying hair pulled back in a neat bun, wearing a cardigan that’s seen better days and glasses that sit too low on her nose. She looks tired in that particular way people get when they’ve been dealing with teenagers and bureaucracy for too many years.“Ms. Brennan. Thank you for coming so quickly.” She gestures to the chair across from her desk. “Please, sit.”I sit and my hands immediately want to start shaking again so I press them flat against my thighs and wait.“I’m so sorry about this,” I say before she can start. “Whatever Mara did, I—I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”Principal Grace’s expression softens slightly. “I appreciate that. But we need to discuss what happened today.”She folds her hands on top of a file folder on her desk and I see Mara’s name printed on the tab.“Mara was involved in a physical altercation d
Blood and Mercy Don’t Fall Apart
CassieThe car door closes behind me and the sound of it feels final, like I just crossed some invisible line I can’t uncross.I’m in the back seat and Kai is across from me and the driver is pulling away from the mansion, and my brain is still trying to catch up to what just happened. I pull up Mara’s contact, and press call.It rings once.Twice.Three times. VoicemailI hang up and try again immediately because maybe she just didn’t hear it, maybe her phone was in her bag or she had it on silent or—Voicemail again.My fingers are shaking when I lower the phone to my lap and I realize I’m breathing too fast, each breath coming shallow and quick like I can’t quite fill my lungs all the way.What happened? The principal said incident but that could mean anything. Mara could be hurt. She could have hurt someone else. She could be in trouble with the police or expelled or—I press my thumbnail hard into the soft part of my palm and use the sharp sting to anchor myself.Stop spiraling.
Blood and Mercy Is this Progress…?
Cassie The next morning I’m in the library returning a book I finished reading last night when I couldn’t sleep.The library is massive, two stories tall with built-in shelves that stretch all the way to the ceiling and one of those rolling ladders attached to a rail so you can reach the top shelves. There are reading chairs scattered throughout, deep leather things that look like they’ve been here for decades, and tall windows that let in streams of morning light.I’m tucking the book back into its spot on one of the lower shelves when I hear voices coming from deeper in the room, near the reading area by the fireplace.I freeze, my hand still on the book’s spine. Katrina’s voice, measured and controlled like always.“Ethan called again yesterday. He’s worried about the Bradson account. They want to meet with you before they commit to the next phase.”Kai’s response is flat and dismissive. “Tell him to handle it.”“He can’t handle everything alone, Kai. The company needs you. You w
Blood and Mercy Monday, Four Days From Now
CassieKatrina goes still. Like she wasn’t expecting me to say yes so fast.Then she reaches into her bag. Pulls out a pen and slides it across the table.It’s heavy when I pick it up. The kind of pen that feels important just holding it.I flip to the last page.There’s a line at the bottom with t
Blood and Mercy The Contract
CassieI’ve never been to a café like this before.White marble tables. Gold accents on everything. The kind of place where the lighting is soft enough to make everyone look expensive. There’s a glass case near the counter filled with pastries that probably cost more than my grocery budget for a we
Blood and Mercy They won’t Know
CassieI don’t know how long I sit there. Could be twenty minutes. Could be an hour. Time feels strange right now, like it’s moving too fast and too slow at the same time.Eventually I get up. My legs are stiff and my back aches from sitting on the hard floor, but I make it to the break room and po
Blood and Mercy The Test Result
CassieThe break room smells like burnt coffee and something else I can’t quite place. Maybe it’s the trash nobody’s taken out in three days, or maybe it’s just the weight of too many double shifts soaking into the walls. I don’t know anymore.It’s three in the morning. The fluorescent lights overh
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