" Oh, for the love of the Goddess, wipe your mouth," Chancellor Vesper says, tossing a handkerchief on the table in front of me. I don't take it. I merely stare at him with a dead-eyed expression that usually makes even my mother squirm. "You do realize what you have done is unacceptable and deserves an expulsion," he says. I say nothing still, feeling the thickness of Ginevra's blood dry up on my chin. He's been staring me down for about thirty minutes, demanding that I explain myself. But I don't. I did nothing wrong. I merely defended myself and he's seen that in his cameras--though, I think it's pretty strange that there are cameras in the restroom. I wonder if the cameras captured last night with Rune, and the moment before that as well. "Does Ginevra get punished for this?" I ask, raising my hand and the shard that's still sticking out my hand. "If she does, then I'll accept whatever punishment you give me." He pushes his glasses back and obs
I'm somewhere else today. It is cold. It is dark. I don't like it here. There is a familiar darkness lurking nearby and I do not need to see to know it is Him. Hekate. I turn around, squinting. I can't make out anything in the darkness, but I can feel an eerie presence around me. "Where is this?" I say into the darkness and it flickers. A little. Light shimmers from somewhere casting a shadow onto the land beyond. I can make out the shape of a castle, but that's about it. I'm curious. Very curious. I want to see more. His voice washes over me, bringing a strange warmth to me in this place that is freezing. I shiver slightly, suffering the sensation of wanting to snuggle something. Someone. "I have visited you. I thought I might show you my...home." Home, I ponder. "Why do you keep visiting me? Why bring me here? You wish to kill me like the rest?" He scoffs and it is the most human sound I have heard him make. "If I wanted to, you'd be long dead and rotte
I rear back, breath catching. "What? What...are you saying--what does that mean?" He turns from me sharply and his broad shoulders bunch up with tension as he stares at the wall. "Your ancestors have spun lies for centuries, pushing a narrative that is all but untrue, hiding the truth of what they have done to me and why I am really here, beyond the Void." I laugh. I hug myself and laugh harder. "You're lying." I don't doubt my father. Or the stories that I listened to every night as a child, woven from my grandmother's lips. I have heard of what my people went through at the hands of this tyrant. His brutality and cruelty that threatened to wipe out our existence. I don't doubt it for a second. "Sit." His command leaves no room for argument or fights and I hate that my legs are moving of their own volition. Somehow, against my will, I settle by the edge of the bed. I glare openly at his figure. "I am not interested in whatever lies you wish to speak."
I wake with a scream and my hand flies to my neck, touching it and feeling it for punctures. The skin is unmarred. I pant, gripping the sheets so hard, I hear the rip in the fabric. My breaths are hard and fast and it doesn't matter how much air I try to breathe in, I just can't get enough. Hands are suddenly in my hair; on my back. My face is pressed against s broad chest but I do not recognize the scent. Not in this state at least. It takes a while before my breathing slows and I become aware of my surroundings. I blink, vision clearing and I look around the vast room. Not the infirmary. It is nearly as big as my room back in Wolvedom, but this has less colour and decor. I let out a shuddering sigh and the arms around me loosen and pushes me back gently, enough for me to see that it is Darian.I feel a pinch of disappointment there. I'd expected...Rune. I could've sworn he was with me when I passed out. Perhaps, I had been hallucinating
Time flies quickly. Days blend together as one. The nights are better now. I haven't had nightmares in a while...or walking dreams. I've been studying and hanging out more with Maya and Darian and sometimes, just Darian. Darian's been sweet. Getting me things, coming to see me before he goes to bed, bringing me flowers and gifts and small sweet notes that feel very human. It makes me feel warm inside but not enough to want to be his anything. There have been no further incidents since I moved to the hall. Everyone mostly stays away from me now. They don't even point and laugh at me anymore. They don't even look my way. It feels like there has been some order or instruction that has been passed across that I know nothing of. "TAKE ONE LOOK AT ASTRID AND YOUR EYES WILL BE FORFEIT." Yes. It is that bad. I don't let it bother me much. I have been sticking to my space and my business. Being in the same hall with Rune and Ginevra makes it harder to avoid them. T
"One at a time!" The sentinels yell as they scan our IDs and let us through the doors that lead to the stadium. As I approach the check point, my heart races in anticipation. The stadium is massive, its walls towering above me, casting a shadow over the entire courtyard. The air is thick with excitement and the endless chatter, as well as hoots and bet hashtags. Everyone's wearing green--not me though. I hate green. I step forward and hand over my ID card for scanning, the beep signaling my entry. "Have you seen Darian today? I wanted to wish him before it starts but I can't find him anywhere," Maya says loudly beside me as we walk side by side, making our way inside. Darian is participating in the Games. He didn't tell me when I ask, leaving me hanging with a smirk and "you'll see. Cheer for me, princess." Well. That was before the fight. I shrug, keeping my expression impassive. "He was at the gym this morning. I've not seen him since then." "
"What?" I ask, taking great pains to wedge between our thrones a little distance as I push mine from his. I should know better. I end up looking stupid. I always do stupid things around Rune. That's the only explanation for trying to move a throne that is fixed to the ground. "You're a clown," he mutters, angling toward me and propping his head against his wrist. The glint in his green eyes is mischievous and a crafty smile teases his lips. "I quite like your aggressive side, Red." I blink. Heat creeps up my neck, spreading further until I'm pretty sure I have a full body flush going on. Does he call me Red to turn me Red? "Piss off," I say, settling in beside him awkwardly. Now I'm all self conscious. Touching my hair, twirling it around my fingers, rubbing my arms, peeling off the coat of my nail polish, all in a bid to ignore the fact that Rune's eyes are trained on me. Why in the three realms is he looking at me? Why is he even talking t
Chancellor Vesper makes his way to the middle of the field, flanked by sentinels on either sides of him. Behind him is a figure in those dreadful robes that I can never forget. The Grand Mistress. Her hair is styled in a complicated updo that must have taken hours of careful structuring, and her hands are folded in the overflowing sleeves of her robes. Her blank gaze is fixed ahead, but I have a feeling she can see everything. The silence in the stadium as they approach its center is unsettling. Chancellor Vesper waves dismissively at the teams formed below and they immediately clear the area, heading toward their designated seats. I spy Darian behind, moving at his own pace, like he has all the time in the world. My heart squeezes a little as I recall earlier this morning. I don't let myself dwell on it. Thinking on his words will make them real. And they are not. The ground under my feet moves a little and my eye is drawn to the centre where the the earth cle