Page 78 (1/2)
I don’t bother to brush away the tears coursing down ht of me broken and sucks on his teeth like he wants to taste me
"Good-bye, Maven" I wish there was more I could say, but there are no words for his evil He knohat he is and, worst of all, he likes it
He dips his head, al to the pair of us Cal doesn’t bother to look and grips the bars instead, wearing at the metal like it’s Maven’s neck
"Good-bye, Mare" The sone and, to o It’s like he’s suddenly understood what he’s done, and what’s about to happen to all of us "I told you to hide your heart once You should have listened"
How dare he
I have three older brothers, so when I spit at Maven,hi fro tie seep away again When Cal settles back against s led to this day, for all of us A forgotten son, a vengeful ether, they’ve written a tragedy
In the stories, the old fairy tales, a hero co forwhen the Sentinels arrive, led by Arven hi walls, his presence makes it difficult to stand, but they force me up
"Sentinel Provos, Sentinel Viper" Cal nods at the Sentinels when they open his cell They pull hi death, Cal is cal thery or bewildered or both A king killer should not be so kind The soldiers are even worse He wants to stop to say good-bye to theht of hi else After a while, he goes quiet, losing the last bit of will he has left As we clirows steadily nearer Faint at first, but then a dull roar right above us The arena is full, and they’re ready for a show
This started when I fell into the Spiral Garden, a body made of sparks, and now it ends at the Bowl of Bones I’ll leave as a corpse
Arena attendants, all dull-eyed Silvers, descend on us like a flock of pigeons They pullme for what’s to come with briskand pulling, shovingsuit This isso simple to die in, but I prefer the scratch of fabric to the whisper of silk I think dimly ofto hide And they died for it No one paints ht spent in a cell More pageantry Once I wore silk and jewels and pretty ss is easier for theain, I can see they’ve done the same for Cal There will be no medals, no arain The fire burns still, sned hi soaze, simply because there’s nowhere else to look
"What are alking into?" Cal finally says, tearing his eyes away from mine to face Arven
The old man, white as paper, looks back on his former students without a flicker of remorse What did they proe over his heart, the crown made of jet, diaiven eneral In his wisdo has decided you are to at least die with glory" He s sharp little teeth Rat’s teeth "A good death, the kind a traitor doesn’t deserve"
"As for the Red girl, the trickster" He turns his fearsoht of his power threatens to drag me down "She will have no weapons at all, and die like the devil she is"
I open myof poison "King’s orders"
No weapons I feel like screao, even to die Maven’s words echo sharply inThey don’t need to hide my blood if they can claim my poere faked soer to step out onto the sand, to send my sparks into the sky andto run away, butI have left, won’t even allow that