On the morning we left Starling Castle, we met Gideon and Leo on horseback while we were half a day’s ride from Perch. Xander had been right about us meeting them on our way out. Gideon seemed anxious at seeing us this early in the morning, but when Diana and Xander explained what had happened, Gideon had also fallen into a sour mood. I was happy to see little Leo again, and he was a great distraction from the others’ brooding attitude. He sat in between Gideon’s legs, holding the horse’s mane. His eyes lit up at the sight of me, and I pressed my horse closer to Gideon’s, gesturing Leo to come and sit on my horse for a while. I didn’t know if they had used the forest path to leave the city of Maple, but I knew their horse must have been tired of holding up all that extra weight. They even brought back a tiny chest with some of my nicer clothes. I thought it was a friendly gesture on Gideon’s part, but it was pointless since riding on horseback with a gown was tough. I preferred keep

No one came to get us for three days. Xander’s patience had thinned to the point where he was becoming irritable. None of us dared to leave the house except Diana, who was human. She went out for food and supplies, then returned and left again if we required something else. Gideon, Nimu, Leo, Xander, and I had preferred staying indoors, peering through the windows. We were now in the city where red was forbidden. Looking at the citizens walking past the house, I saw none with red hair. I dyed mine brown to ensure the redness wouldn’t attract unwanted questions. I thought it more prudent for when we would need to go to the Arcane Library. I wasn’t planning on wearing the enormous hat again. I thought it was over the top for the gowns I had in the small chest we had brought. We were lucky that Lady Lucia had left some of her crinolines and petticoats here from her last visit. We hadn’t had enough space to bring my own, and I wanted to dress according to being engaged to a lord. This

After days of not hearing anything from Denis, we assumed he had no intentions of aiding us, so we prepared to leave the city. Diana had been a mess since she found out her brother was still alive and had not answered her note. “Do you think he read the message you gave him?” Diana asked me for what seemed like the hundredth time. We had had this discussion on more than one occasion, and I answered each time in the same manner. “I don’t know. I only know Denis took it and placed it in his front pocket. Will you tell me what was on that piece of paper I gave him?” Diana bit her lip while she continued folding some of our clothes. She kept the message secret, not wanting us to know what she had written. It had caused quite a commotion with Xander, who feared that Diana would betray and sell us out to her brother. I understood his annoyance, but I also understood the secretiveness Diana was keeping. The Chickadees had knowledge that no one else possessed concerning the contents of

I closed my eyes and searched for what could unlock the memory orb. I let my energy wander through the glass sphere, pulling some of the power from it. I slowed my breathing and listened to the vibration passing through my fingers and flowing in me. I imagined it looking like a series of small strings tied taut inside the orb—protecting its content like a package needing to be unwrapped. I didn’t quite know what to do, so I whispered an unlocking incantation and felt my magic tug at the invisible strings that resided within. It didn’t want to open. I tried a different approach; I would force the strings and break them. I gathered as much energy as I could muster. My body heated up, and the memory orb became hot as well. I needed to control my power, or it could shatter the delicate magic that created the small spherical storage. Sweat dripped from my forehead, gliding down my side temples and lining the base of my neck. I needed to create a balance between high force and a gentle

The whip cracked in the air. I felt the leather strings touch my lower back, and as Shrike pulled, I could feel my skin lift and tear. Once the hooks were out, I was flung back near the post. I stopped breathing and tried to control the pain. I had not expected that. “The show is for my personal amusement, as well as to install fear in your mind. Fear in the body is no fun, but fear in the mind, now that is entertaining. Regarding the reasons why I am doing this… let’s just say it’s simply to pass the time until the king arrives, and then we get down to the nitty-gritty.” I felt the leather touch the inside of my ribs. Again, the skin pulled as the hooks receded. Shrike inflicted four more hits, but those had been higher on my back, where my skin was thicker. It pained me less than the previous ones, but I still had to muffle a cry. I started sweating from the pain and noticed that my feet and knees were slipping in the small pool of blood that was accumulating under me. At this rat