MasukTayaThe force of his punch carried me off the heavy oak chair and sent me crashing to the stone floor. My chair shattered around me. Fragments of crockery and a mug exploded in a burst of shards. The platter of food clattered and spilled. I lay there stunned, pain pulsing in my face.When I finally tried to speak, agony lanced down my spine. Only then did I understand my jaw had been knocked from its socket. Tears sprang to my eyes, and I blinked them away. Despite the pain, I forced myself to look up at him.He rolled his shoulders. His back straightened. He cracked his neck, the sound sharp and painful in the quiet kitchen. His hands curled and uncurled, knuckles streaked with red.He took a deep breath, the exhale a low rumble, and looked down at me sprawled on the floor. "Fool," he muttered, shaking his head. "You really thought you were that clever." His voice was rough, contemptuous, so easy to use now. So different from the quiet way he spoke, the way he enunciated each word.
TayaHe shook his head, cutting me off. "Enough questions, Taya. Eat your food.""But...""EAT." His voice boomed across the table, the first time he had raised it to me since we made peace.I went quiet, rolling the now tasteless food around my plate. These mornings had always been the best part of my day, and now it was just...I swallowed hard, the sour taste of the spoiled food coating my tongue. "I sent a message to him," I said simply, unable to keep my voice from trembling.Instantly, the room went cold. Goosebumps rose on my arms as a physical chill crept over my body. I shivered, my heart pounding nervously in my chest.Father's head snapped up, his gaze locking with mine across the table. My throat went dry. The urge to back away from my own father overwhelmed me. I gripped the edge of the table, fighting the instinct to flee from the sudden, palpable menace radiating from him. His eyes narrowed, darkening into an abyss that threatened to swallow me whole.He laughed, a nerv
TayaEarlier that morning."Damn it, Taya," I muttered, flipping the salt pork with a spatula. Grease hissed and popped in the hot pan. "You call that cooking?"I slid the crispy, slightly burnt meat onto a platter, then cracked eggs into the pan. Scents of pork, char, and simmering milk filled the warm kitchen. I hummed quietly, a song echoing in my mind, as I stirred the eggs.The door creaked and I glanced over my shoulder. Father was coming in, his left foot dragging across the stone floor. I smiled, watching him lower himself into a chair at the table."I'll have this ready in a minute," I said, sliding the eggs onto the platter. "Bread's just out of the oven. And I brought the strawberries I picked yesterday. Still warm from the sun."Father smiled back, his dark eyes crinkling. I brought the platter to the table, then poured him a full mug of milk. Our mugs were mismatched... mine had a small chip, his a slight crack. I liked that they each had a story.I sat across from him, t
Sera"Stay back! Don't come closer!"Her hands clawed at the ground desperately, searching for anything to use against the massive beast. "Go away, please! Go away!"A stone. She hurled it at the wolf's shoulder, but it simply bounced off without effect.Dirt. She flung a fistful at its muzzle, but it scattered ineffectually across the wolf's face. A broken branch. It shattered against the wolf's broad chest, splintered pieces clattering to the ground. But still it came.Still sobbing, Runa pleaded with the wolf itself. "Please... don't hurt me... I'll be good, I promise! Just send me home..."But the wolf was unmoved. It kept coming, its pale eyes fixed on her. Steady. Unhurried. Relentless.The wolf's jaws clamped down on her leg, piercing through flesh and muscle. Bone cracked and splintered beneath its teeth. "AHHHHHH!" Runa screamed, writhing in agony. "Stop, please! Stop!"She thrashed and kicked, trying desperately to free herself. Blood gushed from the wound, soaking the dank
Sera"...and when I find you, you little bitch," the one eyed man rasped through broken teeth, "I'll make you beg before I..."The raider's curses cut off mid-sentence. The grey wolf's head snapped up, ears pricked, hackles raised in a bristly stripe down its spine. It backed away, tail tucked tight, almost disappearing from Runa's narrow view between the gnarled oak roots.A flicker of movement, huge and impossibly fast, crossed the orange-lit strip before her. Then a man's legs buckled, knees hitting the ground inches from her face. His spear clattered against the roots and he scrabbled at the dirt, mouth open in a silent scream.Huge paws filled the gap between the roots, muddy claws extended. The man's hands clawed helplessly as his body was heaved backwards out of sight with a wet tearing sound."It's them! Rogues!" one raider cried, his voice quavering. "Rogues!" Another took up the shout, baying it frantically. "Rogues, run!"Huddled in the burrow, Runa heard the word, a term w
Sera"Stop!" a voice yelled behind her.The dirt was cold and gritty under her bare feet as she ran. Her breath came in short gasps. Thorns scratched her ankles. The night air stung her face.She saw the world in flashes. Roofs tumbling, sparks spiraling. A giant furry shape dragging someone by the leg. A line of people with neck ropes stumbling. A body on the ground that she had to jump over. A dog barking into empty space.The oven was burning. Hesper's oven, where she baked bread each morning.She prepared to leap over a body in the smoke-filled path, but her feet faltered when she recognised the well-worn boots with their mismatched laces, the tousled blond hair, the faded blue shirt with its patched elbow."Wicket," she whispered. She wanted to run to him, to touch his shoulder, to shake him awake. But the men were behind her, their shouts and the clash of steel and the cries of her people. She couldn't stop.She kept running, her heart shattering. One last glance over her should
SeraNight fell fast, and with it, the temperature plummeted. We had three fires going, but the heat didn't seem to travel more than six inches past the flames. I sat on a log by the middle fire, pulling the wagon fur around my shoulders, shivering so hard my teeth were literally clicking together.
LyraShe ignored me. She dropped to her knees, her hands sliding down to the waistband of my trousers. She shoved her fingers inside the fabric, gripping my hips tight. With one sharp pull, she dragged the pants and my underwear down to my ankles. I stepped out of them, kicking my boots off in the
Lyra"Tell the girl to step into the room," he said."Leave her out of this," I said. My voice came out as a pathetic, raspy whisper. I cleared my throat, trying to find some spine. "She didn't do anything. It was my idea to come in here.""Tell her to step into the room," he said, his eyes going d
LyraThe voice didn't belong to Nadia. It didn't belong to me. It came from the metallic object resting directly behind my hip.Nadia froze. She pulled her mouth away from me and yanked her fingers out of my body. She stood up quickly, wiping her wet mouth with the back of her hand, her chest heavi







