“You look tired. Have you been sleeping well?” I saw it in her eyes, all that I tried to avoid. That suspicion that threatened to dig up all my roots, to rummage through what I kept deeply buried. I knew the true words resting on her lips, a sword awaiting to be unsheathed.
Has the demon returned?
“Yes. I just got carried away with a book, that’s all.” I forced a smile.
“Well, now that you’re here”—my sister stood, eyeing my mother and then me—“we can finally talk about tonight,” she squealed.
She looped her arm around mine and toted me off towards Pari, who had not missed a single mark by the looks of her target. Words spilled from Olivia, far too many for me to gather. She was excited about the initiation ball tonight, and I should have been too, so I let her continue without protest. Her bright, blue eyes were wide and filled with excitement. Unlike mother, every emotion showed clear on her face. She was a near replica of our mother: cascading golden hair, softly tanned skin, and tall, slender limbs. Though similar in looks, they differed greatly in many ways. For one, Olivia was kind.
“Aren’t you excited to see who is being initiated? We could meet our husbands!”
I forced my grimace into a smile. She was young at nineteen, eager to start courting. I was considered old at twenty-six, and I didn’t think I could hold my weak attempts at courting any longer. Suspicion had long past arisen. People were talking, and the last thing my parents wanted was for the people of Kilthorne to finally deem me defective. As much as spending the rest of my life alonewith my books seemed enticing, I was beginning to fear it could be as awful as everyone said it was.
“I already promised Thomas a dance.” I didn’t intend for my tone to sound so disappointed.
She stopped abruptly, grabbing both of my arms. I was surprised at her strength. “Why haven’t you told me?” Her smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger.
“I’m telling you now.”
“Well,” she said as we continued on. “He is quite handsome, and I heard that ...”
I lost her voice upon the subtle breeze that shifted my hair from my shoulder, exposing my nape to the chill. The back of my neck pricked. That familiar stone settled down within my core. I glanced over my shoulder and met nothing.
“Charlotte!” Pari’s voice broke me from my stupor. She bounded towards me, her vibrant purple gown wafting behind her. The color complimented her bronzed skin and her thick, black hair that hung straight down to her hips. With the daggers in her hands, she looked like a warrior goddess. “What took you so long? I had to throw my dagger at something after spending even just ten minutes with those Elwood women.” She nodded towards the table. “Olivia here is the only one with any substance, though they never let her talk.” She nudged a grinning Olivia with her shoulder.
I didn’t even get to answer her question, thankfully, before she already shifted her attention. “Have you practiced what I taught you?” She handed a dagger to Olivia, who plucked it up daintily.
“Olivia.” Mother’s voice cut through the air.
Olivia’s shoulders fell as she returned the dagger and reluctantly trotted back.
“Well.” Pari turned back to me. “Let’s see how you’ve progressed.”
* **
Pari’s once hopeful exterior promptly deflated as we observed the results of my dreadful execution. One dagger sat just at the edge of the target, another was buried within the soil just before the target, and the last held firm in a tree just past the target.
“Hmm.” Pari’s hands were at her hips. She twisted her lips to the side, thoroughly inspecting the scene. “This is truly awful. I’ve never seen such poor aim.”
I tried to be offended, but the evidence was before me. “You know it’s not my thing,” I muttered.
Her earthen eyes narrowed slightly as they slid over to me. A subtle glare. “It’s going to have to be,” she said bluntly.
I sighed. Anytime I gave true thought to using a dagger, my limbs seized. Even though the one on the receiving end would want to devour me, I still couldn’t bear the thought. I despised the violence, which was even more reason to settle into what was expected of me, to marry someone who could protect me, so I didn’t have to.
“You seem off today.” She inspected me. “Well, more off than usual.” She was used to my distant states. She knew of the hauntings, like everyone else, though she did not know that they had never stopped. No one did, except for Elsie.
“I stayed up too late last night.”
“Reading?” She smirked.
I pressed my lips together.
“You know, instead of reading about romance, you could have one of your own. Did I hear you are to dance with Thomas tonight?” She grinned.
“Yes. I’m afraid the time has finally come. I must just pick one already.”
Her face fell. “That doesn’t seem very romantic.”
