Hatred Day (Hatred Day Series Book 1) by T.S. Pettibone

Author:T.S. Pettibone [Pettibone, T.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chrysanthalix Press
Published: 2016-01-29T08:00:00+00:00

PART III

What You Fear Most

Wednesday, 9 Days until the Hunt

Fragments of memories floated around Snofrid like a sunlit ash cloud. Some memories were tangible; others were husks, darker than the patches between stars—Ryuki, tucking her into bed with storybooks; Lycidius, smiling at her from across the hut; Parisa, laughing as she raced Snofrid to their secret forest tower; Desya, rescuing her after she got stuck in a tree.

Snofrid tried to concentrate, to hone in on one single thought, but a sort of hot, pulsing stupor had settled over her, leaving her tongue flappy and her skull pounding. She wanted to vomit again. Her fingers dug into the mattress, twisting as she wept.

Desya, who’d been rooted at her bedside for almost an hour, caught her in his arms, saying calming words that only strengthened her urges to cry. She sobbed into his shirt until the skin beneath her eyes felt blistered. “Desya,” she choked.

“It’s okay, Sno. I’m here.”

She clamped her arms around his neck, wanting to comfort him in return. The last image she recalled of her brother was his soot-dusted face streaked with tears as he screamed for his lost Parisa. All this had happened more than a year ago, but the memories were again fresh and she just wanted to hold him.

When she’d finally emerged from the Mania Mirror she’d lain paralyzed, vaguely conscious, with nothing but the feel of Desya’s calloused hand to ground her in reality. As the paralysis lifted, she’d felt too nauseous to form words and vomited across the tatami mats. She’d managed to hug Desya, to embrace the overwhelming happiness that she felt at having him back. It seemed as if she’d just been snatched out of the jaws of a terrible fate—that if the Mania Mirror had somehow failed, countless moments, insights, and feelings would’ve remained unnamed and lost to her forever—she’d have lost herself.

“Where’s Lycidius?” she said shakily.

“Asleep. He was awake for three days and just passed out.”

Her eyes locked on the door. She ached to see him walk through it, to be here now and to tell her that he still loved her. That in spite of what they’d promised, or what was forbidden, they could love each other openly.

Desya pulled away, steadying her so she wouldn’t fall over. “You weren’t out that long, Sno. It’s only Wednesday.”

She managed a nod. Little mattered in the moment except finding answers to her remaining questions. Her attention caught on the chain around Desya’s neck and, with a rickety hand, she pulled it from his collar. A welded band swayed from the end.

He eyed the ring guiltily, and she shook her head. “It’s okay, Desya. I know why you lied.”

He fisted the ring and dropped it back into his shirt. “No, it’s not. I should’ve told you the truth days ago.”

“If you had, I wouldn’t have understood it. I might’ve judged you for marrying a human.”

“But you won’t now. That’s all I care about.”

The bedroom fixtures started to spin and she held onto his arm for balance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.