Ringed by Silver by Becky Puff

Author:Becky Puff [Puff, Becky]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

The Test

(Summer, Year 3)

I

mogen shifted uncomfortably in the prickly bush, trying to find a position that gave her a better view of Senri and Erasmus. They were sitting together, forty feet away, with their backs to her, and appeared to be arguing about something. Senri's muscles were tense, and he gestured animatedly while Erasmus tossed his head and snorted from time to time, but all she could hear was a rumble of voices. She wished she could skirt around the outside of the clearing to find a place where she could see their faces, but that would put them even farther away, with the pond between them. Anyway, Senri always sensed her presence when she moved around too much.

As all the girls in Imogen's class turned sixteen, they had suddenly become boy crazy, talking of nothing but which masters they thought were the cutest or the boys they glimpsed in Belchrulish on their rare excursions into the town. Imogen noticed the boys as well, and there were a few she could imagine herself kissing as she lay in bed awake at night, listening to the walls whisper restlessly to each other, but she wasn't very interested. Some of the big boys at the orphanage had wanted to kiss or touch her, and she had not liked it at all. Most of them gave up after a few jagged cuts from her makeshift weapons, leaving her for more easy prey, but the experiences she remembered vividly left her with an aversion to the opposite sex.

In fact, Senri was the only boy she allowed to come near her. Imogen supposed it was because he looked so different from any boy she had ever seen. His flawless green skin and swirling blue eyes were exotic, while his beautiful face and long purple hair were almost feminine in appearance. Also, Senri never acted like any boy Imogen had ever known. He always moved and spoke so carefully and slowly when he was near her, giving her time to decide how she would handle his advance if he were approaching. Imogen tried imagining herself being romantic with Senri, but something always stopped her from visualizing too much. His appearance was too flawless, too convenient. She knew he changed the way he looked, becoming whatever she needed him to be most at the moment. Older and reassuring when she needed comfort or protection, or young and innocent when she was nervous or overwhelmed. Most of the time, he seemed exactly her own age and exactly her own height, aging and growing along with her. She watched him whenever she thought he wouldn't notice, trying to discover why his perfect face bothered her.

She sat in her classes staring into the distance with glazed eyes while she was supposed to be listening to her teachers, pondering instead over the mystery that was Senri. He always wore the same neat, clean tunic and britches whenever she saw him. Even right after he got out of the pond, his

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