Children of Icarus by Caighlan Smith

Author:Caighlan Smith [Smith, Caighlan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 9781782024927;9781782024934;9781630790578;9781630790585;fiction;curious fox;switch press;young adult;children of icarus;fantasy;mythology;survival;monsters;dystopia
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2016-05-16T00:00:00+00:00

twenty-four

When dinner comes, I tell Elle I want to stay in the girls’ room. Elle asks if I plan to eat dinner with Collin again, but I tell her I don’t want to do that tonight. She’s so happy she goes to get food for both of us.

For the whole day, I’ve been waiting for someone to come retrieve me, and that worry doesn’t lift as the evening passes. I’m sure that at any moment someone will find me to speak about what happened. What if they kick me out of Fates for hurting Ryan? Collin surely wouldn’t let them do that, not after I explain what happened. But even if Ryan was bullying me so terribly, does it excuse the fact I stabbed him?

Elle doesn’t notice anything’s wrong. She chatters happily, seeming in a better mood than she has been since I started spending time with Addie. She even fetches the blanket pieces for me so I can get to work. I’d like to finish this, at least, before I’m dragged out to answer for my crime.

When I first reached Fates, I thought it was a haven from the monsters in the labyrinth. Then I thought the girls’ room was a haven from the bustle of my fellow Icarii, and after that the mess hall was a haven from Elle’s suffocating presence. But even there, Addie was rude to me and I was never comfortable. I was never comfortable in any of my supposed havens. None of them are substitutes for my apartment, back in the tower. I was always comfortable there. Even when we had company, I could retreat to my room. I didn’t even mind when Mother came in to wake me up when I slept in five minutes past my alarm or to put away laundry while I was studying. I would always end up helping her with the laundry. I loved the smell of the fresh clothes, but not as much as I loved Mother’s fleeting thanks.

If Mother and Father were here, they’d make sure I didn’t get in trouble for what happened with Ryan. They’d want him in trouble. Father would bring him to the priest, and Mother would speak to his parents, and one or both of them would tell Auntie, and she would spread nasty rumors about Ryan and his whole family. They would each protect me, in their own way, even if I asked them to let it go. Even if all I wanted from them was a hug.

But Mother and Father aren’t here. The closest thing I have is Collin, and Ryan may have already turned him against me. I don’t know what I’ll do if that happens.

When Collin comes to ask me to dinner, Elle happily tells him I’ve already eaten with her. Collin is surprised and a little worried, but ultimately lets it go. I’m sure it’s the last time he’ll be worried about me, after somebody at dinner tells him what happened.

After dinner, Collin comes to collect me for our nightly talk.

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