Absolutely absurd.
I swayed back and forth, counting blades of grass between my hooves as I waited for the crowd to make it to me.
Eventually, Tommins approached.
I carefully lifted my painting from the ground, holding it in front of me like a shield.
My fingers smudged the wet paint at the edges. It slipped under my fingernails, made my grip tenuous.
I held my breath.
Ringing filled my ears.
“Fuck yeah! Go Ginny! Woo!” Fiella yelled.
“Go Ginny, go! That’s our artist!” Kizzi joined in.
My friends screamed and clapped obnoxiously loud, and I couldn’t help but grin. My heart warmed.
I couldn’t even tell them to hush, I was too nervous.
I caught a glimpse of the stranger where he stood on the edge.
His face was stark pale, drained of any color, and his brow was pinched like he was in pain.
He squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment.
And then he turned and fled.
I glanced down at my painting. It wasn’tthatbad.
I had painted the dark silhouette of a woman with the setting suns behind her, dragon wings spread at her sides as though she were about to take flight. The dragon wings were difficult to paint, so they were a bit hazy, but they werewings, nonetheless.
“The Mother of the Dragon,” I had titled it.
Some of my pride diminished, though I tried not to let it.
Tommins nodded. I couldn’t interpret the expression on his face. “Not bad, Miss Ginger.”
“Woo!” Fiella screamed again.
Tommins glanced at her, his cheek twitching before he moved on to the next contestant.
I brought my painting to Fiella while I joined the crowd to look at the rest of the paintings.
The stranger was nowhere to be seen.
CHAPTER 19
Shade
Shards of sharp, jagged memories rattled around in my brain, tearing a bloody path through my thoughts.
My skull was attempting to split itself in half, I was sure of it. White hot agony sliced between my ears, burrowed behind my eyes, gouged beneath my nose.
I had to fight to stay upright. My knees threatened to give out.
Darkness swallowed the edges of my vision, almost obscuring it entirely. The sounds around me faded into a high-pitched ringing.
