Splintered (Splintered, #1)

by A.G. Howard

I’ve been collecting bugs since I was ten; it’s the only way I can stop their whispers. Sticking a pin through the gut of an insect shuts it up pretty quick. Some of my victims line the walls in shadow boxes, while others get sorted into mason jars and placed on a bookshelf for later use. Crickets, beetles, spiders … bees and butterflies. I’m not picky. Once they get chatty, they’re fair game.

Oh yea....I'm gonna like this book

“Now, you listen, Alyssa Victoria Gardner. Normal is subjective. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not normal. Because you are to me. And my opinion is all that matters. Got it?”

An uneasy knot forms in my chest at the next line of text: While wreaking havoc in the mortal world, netherlings stay connected to their kind by using plants and insects as conduits to the nether-realm.

He grabs my hand and holds my finger against his lips. His eyes darken, thick lashes narrowing. “Al,” he whispers. “Butterfly!” Dad’s shout carries through the open window. I jump, and Jeb boomerangs to his side of the car.

Goddamn it dad wtf

“What does that mean, ‘He rides the wind’? Who?” I ask Alison, no longer caring about giving my secret away to her. She glares at me, intense and silent. Dad watches both of us, looking paler by the second.

I did not think she woud spill th beans.

What happens next is like a dream. The clouds swirl overhead. Rain starts pounding down. I watch through the downpour as—in slow motion—the wind whips her braid around her neck. A hacking cough shakes her throat and she doubles over, fingers clenched around the braid to loosen it. “Alison!” I leap toward her. It barely registers that my ankle no longer hurts.

Wtf

Why Electroconvulsive Therapy Is Right for You or Your Loved One.

Umm what

The rabbit hops into the wavering candlelight. His unbuttoned red tailcoat flaps open, revealing his rib cage. Jeb curses, and I slap a palm over my mouth. It’s not the White Rabbit or any kind of rabbit at all. It’s a tiny, dwarfish creature the size of a bunny. The legs, arms, and body are humanoid but fleshless—a bleached-out skeleton.

“No. They’re beautiful and haunting.” He squeezes my shin. “An artist is only as good as his subject.”

I don’t want her to ruin my moth’s pretty wings. I throw my hands over the scissors to stop her. The moth escapes unscathed. But I’m not so lucky …

“No one else has ever bled for me.

“You left,” I accuse him, fighting to stay awake. “I was hurt … and you left me.” “A mistake I vow on my life-magic to never make again.”

I think i like this guy

Tehe

“I’m not wasting another second drawing you,” he whispers against my lips, “when I can touch you instead.” He presses his mouth to mine.

“Don’t,” I murmur, in a daze. He draws back, eyes heavy and dark. “You want me to stop?” “No.” I’ve fallen asleep praying for you to look at me like this. To touch me like this. “Don’t break my heart.” Moth shadows glide above him in the mirrored ceiling, distracting me from the fierceness of his frown. “I’d cut mine out first.”

Or perhaps our innocent maiden was feeling guilty for the money she ‘borrowed’ from your other girlfriend’s handbag, and you, being the noble knight, decided to comfort her.”

“You would’ve loved the spider soup, being so adept at wounding insects.” I wince.

hahaha

All these years I’ve been killing bugs, and now karma’s here to make me pay, in spades.

“No one knows what he or she is capable of until things are at their darkest.

What do you think?” “I think the mouse must’ve had a nose for tea.” I slap a hand over my lips, embarrassed by the senseless reply.

Without a second thought lol

dated Tae … to try not to think about you. Hoping that it might get you out of my system. Just like with the pencil and sketchbook, it didn’t work. Then I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way. And if you did, I was afraid of …” Jeb studies the cigarette burns on his forearms through the sheer black stripes of his sleeves. “Go on …,” I press. “Of unloading my baggage on someone as sweet as you.”

But she knows the truth. That you’re it for me, Al. Only you.”

<3

“Tumtum juice alters a person’s inhibitions, magnifies their hunger. But it’s not hunger for food. It’s experiences they crave. Had it been me instead of your toy soldier, I would’ve found a means to slake your ravenous hunger without resorting to berries.”

Bro... Omg lol

Jeb whoops his gratitude from below. “You’re beautiful, baby!”

I still dont know how i feel about them

“And Al,” he says, his jaw tight. “No matter what happens, we’ll find each other again. You’re my lifeline. You always will be.”

Okay. Maybe i do like them