Page 31 of A Grave Not Made For Mourning
I like it.
I pick up the branch I’d thrown at her, standing over the monster. I hit her until each of her branches fall off. I hit her until she has no means of fighting back.
And then I reach down, shoving my fingers into her eye sockets, the bark softening—as if to flesh—at my touch.
One by one, I rip her eyes out—the only way to kill a pernipe.
I do what I couldn’t when it mattered.
It doesn’t seem so hard now.
It doesn’t seem nearly as important, either.
Chapter 6
What’s a Life Without
the Consequences?
I
t’s almost a relief, returning to the academy and letting other people’s chaos drown out my own. The moment I step on campus, it all crashes into me: their stress, their love, their woes. Adrenaline writhes against my muscles, pushing through my skin itself. I itch to move, run, do anything.
But I’m exhausted.
I collapse into bed, the weight of the day dragging me under.
The sleep is hardly restful.
When I wake, I search for Lucian, finding him in the combat room. He fights with Yuki, but when his eyes meet mine, they’re smug. Every drop of him is. He thinks he convinced me to be here, to do what I’ve already done.
I swallow my annoyance. The arrogance he must possess to think there’s anything he could do to pique my interest inmydead mother.
As I glare past him, my eyes snag on the armory in the back of the room, left open. With swords, shields, and a pair of twin blades with green and gray stones embedded into the hilt.
They’re gorgeous. I could see myself using them, fighting the way Lucian fights Yuki.
I could have used them against the pernipe.
Perhaps I would, if I were allowed in Combat Training.
Lucian approaches, sheathing his sword. He’s out of breath and sweaty as he asks, “What did you find?”
I don’t look away from the blades in the armory. I want them for myself. Would anyone notice if they were gone? There’s so many.
“Not here.” Before I can stop myself, I add, “Are those all the weapons?”
“Not even close. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
I wonder what other weapons would call to me. I can still feel the pernipe’s life buzzing in my hands, taking power back from the thing that deemed me powerless. I don’t know how long I’ll hold this feeling in my fingers, but I like it. It’s a reminder that I can save myself. That maybe, just maybe, I can save the next person.
“Let’s go,” I mutter.
I follow as Lucian walks through the academy halls, ducking my head as students pass. They’re already suffocating me; I fear what eye contact would do right now.
When Lucian approaches the academy exit, I grab his arm.
