“Yeah, we worked hard on that book,” Thystle added with a pout.
Oh.
For the love of Holy Drake, that explained why the book was unfamiliar.
“Youwrote it?” I asked incredulously.
Cobalt nodded proudly. “It was a group effort.”
Now I almost felt bad for scolding them. Almost.
I exhaled a long breath while pinching the bridge of my nose. “Look, I appreciate the fact that you took time and energy to write something, but—”
My brothers’ eyes widened simultaneously. At the same time, a shiver ran down my spine like a premonition.
I spun around to come face to face with Alaric. My heartbeat stuttered.
“I’m finished reading the book,” he stated, holding the hefty tome in one hand.
Before I could respond, Aurum and Thystle rushed forward.
“Did you like it?” Aurum demanded. “It was awesome, right?”
Thystle butted in. “Oh, what about the part with the lyrics in between the prose? And the part with the—”
Alaric dumped the book on the ground. My brothers gawked in stunned silence.
“No, I didn’t like it,” Alaric said. “I got five pages in before realizing it was a hot mess. Frankly, I’m insulted that you forced me to read it.”
“My book!” Aurum cried. He grabbed it, cradling the sand-dusted tome like a fallen comrade. “How dare you insult our work?”
The hairs rose on the back of my neck. I disliked Aurum’s tone towards Alaric. I fixed my glare on my brother, ready to verbally silence him, but I was beaten to the punch before I could even open my mouth.
“If you think this book is worth reading, you need a reality check,” Alaric declared without missing a beat. “It’s a jumbled disaster of the English language.”
Aurum narrowed his eyes. “Listen, cat—”
“Enough, Aurum,” I snapped, stepping towards my brother before he angered me further. “Let me see that book.”
I snatched the hardcover from him and flipped to the first page. I went into it wanting to give my brothers the benefit of the doubt. After all, they’d put energy into creating it, and that was commendable.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before I understood Alaric’s point of view.
It was a calamity of the written word. It was unspeakably bad. Typos littered every page. Obvious grammar mistakes burned like neon signs. Random lyrics interspersed the paragraphs. The prose itself made no sense. I couldn’t tell if it was fiction, nonfiction, or some kind of bizarre memoir. Despite my best intentions, I truly didn’t understand any of it.
“What... is going on?” I asked, dumbfounded.
Alaric huffed. “See? I told you.”
Thystle looked dejected. “Is it really that bad?”
“I’m sorry, but yes,” Alaric replied.
Crimson sighed. He didn’t look as upset as the younger two. “Well, wedidwrite it in a caffeine-induced frenzy the night before the challenge.”
I arched an eyebrow. For volunteers who’d taken up the mantle of running a popular game show, they didn’t sound organized or prepared.
“Did you think about the challenges in advance at all, or are you flying by the seat of your collective pants?” I asked.
