Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
“You just do.”
“Right. And what about you? Will you move on?”
“Circumstances are different for me. I’m still in danger. You’re free to go your own way—”
“This isn’t as simple as a Fleetwood Mac song, Adriel. I have no money. No family.”
She frowned in confusion. “What is a Fleetwood Mac?”
“Fleetwood Mac. You know, Stevie Nicks. Anyway, that’s not the point.”
“What is the point, Juniper?”
“We…need each other.” At least right now, they did.
Exhaustion pulled at Adriel’s eyes as she looked away, appearing frail and frightened. Juniper remembered how she’d comforted her upstairs but had no clue how to reciprocate.
“I can sit with Ruth for a while so you can wash up and change out of those dirty clothes.”
As if only then considering that her attire might need freshening, she glanced down at her smock-like dress and frowned. “I suppose that’s a good idea. Were there dresses?”
“A few, but not the kind you’d like.”
Soon after Adriel went upstairs, the pipes rattled with rushing water. Juniper smirked, wondering how a hot shower must feel to someone who lived on a primitive farm since the days of colonization and copper coins.
Once Ruth dozed off, Juniper lowered the television volume and wandered the house. The air smelled of paper and dust. Antique furniture filled every room. Gray particles gathered in the intricate eyelet designs of doilies. Even the candy jars wore a sprinkle of time.
Spotting a black spool of thread on a sewing table, Juniper pried open the narrow drawer and dug out a blue bobbin for protection. Snapping small strands of thread from the spool, she draped tiny pieces over latches and locks throughout the house.
She scanned the parlor, wondering what they would do if someone got past her flimsy security system. Would they choke an intruder with a lamp cord? Or maybe throw a paperweight. As far as weapons went, they were fucked.
The water shut off, and she glanced at the ceiling, reminded of the lethal weapon wandering around upstairs. Did Adriel even realize how strong she was?
Juniper tracked her footsteps. The old floorboards betrayed her every step with creaks and moans—another welcome security measure.
After checking on Ruth again, she quietly drifted upstairs, curious if she could sneak up on Adriel. When her hand reached for the knob, the door flung open.
“Why are you skulking around?”
“I wasn’t skulking.”
“You were.”
Juniper glanced down at Adriel’s clothes and smiled. “You found a dress.”
“More like an undergarment.” She turned away from the door, leaving an unspoken invitation at the entrance.
The room lacked the putrid green charm of the attic bedroom but made up for it in Pepto-Bismol pink ruffles that lined every chair, pillow, curtain, and coverlet. Juniper sat on the bed.
Adriel fussed with her hair, her fingers fluffing the short, copper spikes as she frowned at her reflection in the vanity mirror.
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel bare without my things. I never thought I’d miss wearing a kapp, but, without it, I feel…incomplete.”
“You look normal.”
She turned. “You’re sure?”
Juniper shrugged. “You look nice.”
Adriel glanced down at her dress, tugging at the pink material barely brushing her knees. “I’m used to more modest attire.”
“Isn’t vanity, like, a sin?”
Her sharp green stare cut to Juniper. “I’m not acting vain.”
“Sure you are. I’m not judging. That’s what girls do.”
“Well, I do not.”
How did she bounce from a fresh-faced innocence to a lethal predator so seamlessly? Perhaps it was a gift, a survival tactic from living within a stringent patriarchy. Was the innocence an act or genuinely part of her character? Such questions made her wonder how self-serving Adriel might be if this ex of hers found them.
“Why didn’t you help me?”
“I beg your pardon?” A cold chill rushed through the air.
She hadn’t meant the outburst to sound so accusatory, but she needed to understand her part in all of this. “You were there, outside of that room, whenever they held those meetings. You could have helped me.”
“I couldn’t—”
“Bullshit. You’re small, but you’re far from helpless. I watched you attack that man an hour ago.”
“I did not attack him. He was sedated. And that’s different. He was mortal—”
“So am I.”
Adriel’s frown deepened. “You’re not. You’re something…other. I can scent it in your blood, and your body heals without the aid of intentional magick.”
Apparently, they had both been studying each other. “Well, I’m at least half mortal.” That was the half she liked.
“And the other half? There’s more than sorcery in your blood.” When she remained silent, Adriel sighed. “Had I helped you, there would have been severe consequences. The elders forbid us from interceding in council business.”
So, despite injustice, she put her own safety first—just like the others. Good to know.
“Juniper, if I could have done something, I would have—”
“Do you know what they did to me?”
Her lips pressed tight, but she did not look away. “From the hall, where I sat, I could hear most of the inquisitions.”