Anthem Novels & Stories

The second letter had a drawing of a grayish trunk with pink flowers rising from it, below, also in golden letters, was written "Judas-tree" Third letter had the drawing of small and delicate blue flowers, on it was written "Don't forget me". Artemisia looked at the moth woman, her expression had a trace of fear, her eyes were focused exclusively on the letters. It became the fourth letter. Avenca was the name of the fourth card, the drawing on the front of the card was of small green leaves that formed a larger leaf. The fifth card had a white flower, that Artemisia knew, it was spring brood. When younger, her mother would ask the family tailors to embroider the flower on the girl's dresses

Verse 2 (Female Vocals): mmmmm… ahhh… I care not for empty…fading looks, But strength and gifts and manly vigor. Ride with me through starlit skies, With scattered stars and whispered sighs. Ooh…oooh….Inanna…goddess of love… But first, my love, a price to pay: You must fight for me to join the play. To keep me close, to feel my flame, You must earn your place in this divine game. Around the amphitheater, the air shifted—guests leaned forward, entranced. A few clutched their hearts. Some whispered.

The Princess has to keep an eye on Jin then. It… didn’t mind.) Anemone: the flower that indicates feelings of being forsaken and bitterness–the flower of anticipation, considered as a ward from evil in the Western Kingdom instead of the usual daisies or roses Sir Edward must have had in mind. It was why she chose the flower to be given away on a passing fancy; the very same flower she had given to Lady Amelia Sanscroft right before her very death; her friend's mother. Dead mother, the Princess added to herself as she sat in front of her vanity mirror and began to comb her long locks of ebony.

“Queen Emilia, the honor is ours. Kaiser Mies sends his warmest regards and his earnest wishes for continued alliance.” As the Aeternum retinue passed, a grand, stirring melody filled the air—the Anthem of Unity. Its sophisticated harmonies, played by a full brass and string section of Aeternum musicians, resonated through the streets, unlike any music Star City had ever known. It spoke of shared destiny, of a future forged together, not in subjugation but in collaboration.

*Poppy* The air in the car felt heavy as we bounced along the dirt road, the rhythmic bounce of the wheels barely covering the chaos swirling in my mind. I couldn't shake the image of Dante's lifeless body, now shrouded in white silk and adorned with calla lilies and black roses. Each flower seemed to mock the tragedy, a haunting reminder of our failure. I gripped the edge of the seat, trying to steady my raging heart. The news we carried was more than just the death of a warrior; it was a ticking time bomb, threatening to ignite a war between kingdoms.

He gazed once again Into the void of night, feeling dwarfed by the events he had put into motion. Five hundred miles away, the albino named Amorth stood over a small basin of water and dabbed the blood from his back, watching the patterns of red spinning in the water. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, he prayed, quoting Psalms. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Peggy nodded. Katherine began to chant words low: "Ahnika, mater flammarum, mater mortis, te invoco ex regno umbrarum. Per sanguinem antiquum, per ignem qui non moritur, per pactum quod numquam frangitur—ascende. Ascende ad limen inter vitam et mortem. Ostende te filiae tuae. Ostende te Annitore.*" Peggy picked up the chant, stumbling at first, then finding the rhythm.

She smelled of wolf. Full wolf, not the suppressed register I was projecting behind the Switch, not the dampened human-baseline signal I was broadcasting as Lyanna Black. The real thing, clean and particular, the scent of a bloodline with depth in it, the specific compound of someone high-born and aware of it and comfortable with the awareness. My Silver Dawn receptors catalogued it automatically. High rank. Not the highest in this compound, but high enough to move through it with the proprietary ease she was currently demonstrating. I kept my face exactly where it was and did not let the cataloguing show.

Suddenly, an uninvited guest crashed the wedding halfway through. It was Carlo. He was bony, wearing a wrinkled suit, and holding a wilted bouquet of roses. He staggered in front of me, babbling, "Rosa… look, I brought you your favorite roses. Won't you marry me? Let's get married today." Luca's bodyguards moved in to remove him, but I held my hand up. I took the wilted bouquet of roses and looked straight at him. "Oh, Carlo. Look at me. Take a good look... Whose wedding do you think this is? This is my wedding. Mine, and I'll be marrying Luca. And you? You're just a madman crashing someone else's wedding."

She had said little for hours, only watching, calculating, her silence heavier than words. At last, near the deepest point of the night — when the stars themselves seemed to flicker with fatigue — Thalia pressed her hands flat against the map and whispered the final verse. The smoke thickened, sinking over the glowing violet flame that marked Amara’s position. It swirled, enclosing the light, dimming it slowly as the air thickened with the scent of crushed valerian and nightshade.