Legends and Liars by Morgan Rhodes

Author:Morgan Rhodes [Rhodes, Morgan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2023-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

FOURTEEN

I lost track of Jericho in the minutes that followed but found Mika at my side taking me to my temporary room in the abandoned hotel. I let her lead me without argument, soon finding myself in a small room with a king-sized bed, a working bathroom, and cheery, bright wallpaper that seemed as fresh and new as it must have the last time someone stayed here half a decade ago. The electricity worked, and so did the hydro.

Mika was silent the whole way, her expression tight. And then she turned to leave without saying anything else.

“Just like that?” I said to her back.

Her shoulders tensed. “Just like what?”

“You’re just going to walk away from me right now?”

“That was the general plan.” She turned to face me. “Like I said earlier, you shouldn’t be here. But that was before I knew who your father was.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t know. All my life, I didn’t know the truth about him.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“I don’t care what you believe, Mika,” I replied. “But here’s what I believe about you: You’re not a murderer. Maybe you did some sketchy stuff when you were a Queensguard. It seems to come with the territory. But you’re not a heartless killer.”

“I’ve killed before.”

“Not an innocent eighteen-year-old girl.”

“Tamara is only twenty-six,” Mika countered. “And she’s every bit as innocent as you claim Celina is, only the difference is, Celina is the daughter of the prime minister, and Tamara is a witch. One gets a ticket to the royal Gala, the other gets decapitated—maybe, if she’s lucky. At least, that would be a quick death. Did you see her on the feed? They’d beaten her half to death. Do you think she resisted arrest? Or do you think they wanted to make it look like she did?”

The ex-Queensguard had successfully silenced any arguments from me.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I really am.”

Her harsh expression didn’t soften in the slightest. “I bet you are. Everything seems to turn out just fine for you, Joss. You’re a privileged princess, no matter who your father is. Some people don’t have as many choices or as many chances as you seem to get. You don’t know what it’s like to be someone like me. Or Tamara.”

“I’m starting to get an idea. In case you need me to fill in the blanks for you: Banyon’s my birth father. That means I’m a witch, Mika. I don’t know what my element is—maybe I never will—but it’s true. I know it.” I stared down at my hands. “I haven’t even begun to process what it all means. All my life, I’ve believed magic was evil. Not just bad or wrong, but pure, soul-destroying evil. And then I met Tamara, and I started to question what was truth and what were lies. And in the end, or, at least, as of now—which I hope like hell isn’t the end of anything—I am so alone and so damn scared.”

Mika nodded, drawing in a shaky breath.

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.