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Julien picked the colors seven years ago, based on what he thought looked cool and dangerous. Nobody should let sixteen-year-old boys pick anything.
“Cosette Pellerin has very attractive brothers. And cousins. And that one uncle.” “You didn’t.”
Julien’s unsure whether he’s more fascinated by the giant magic cats, or the way Will seems to light up as he talks about them.
“I like cats.” Julien goes still, staring at him for an unreadable moment, then glances away for some reason. “That’s perfect.”
This place is incredible. Rumi sprawls across the rug. We’re the only fellcats in Whatever-haven. Everyone is so impressed with us.
Maybe that’s what he finds so interesting about Will. Will isn’t trying to impress him at all.
“Rumi was right. You’re a good kitten.” Whisper nearly stumbles. “She called me what?”
“How should I announce you?” “Please don’t announce me,” Whisper replies, and enters the hall.
“I don’t want to be a blank slate. That’s why I want to keep this scar.”
“I took this scar for you,” Whisper says. “That’s not a bad thing. I’ll never regret it.”
“Have you ever thought about running away?
Gays sure do fantasise about running away huh
Whisper closes his eyes in numb cowardice, but that can’t protect him from Julien’s broken laugh. “Was anything real?”
“They said you’re the weakest of your brothers. But I never had a chance, did I?” Julien’s grin is brutal. “I am the weakest. My brothers are just that good.”
Julien rushing into the cell, shoving past the guards, and kneeling in front of him. The hallucination is so vivid. Whisper’s subconscious perfectly captures the panicked timbre of Julien’s voice. The seductive warmth of his proximity. “I said not to harm him,” Julien snaps over his shoulder.
“Get out,” he says, the words sharp in his throat. “I heard the client…” Julien’s fingers tense against his cheek.
“And you believed me.” Hemlock laughs. “I just wanted to suck up to you, so the others wouldn’t bother me.
Bitch? Still unsure, sounds fake.
“I was going to kill Julien for you.” “Should I be impressed?” Hemlock demands. “That’s what we do.
SKANK
She adjusts with vicious elegance and stomps his knee into the cot, so hard the cot creaks.
Bitch frfr
Knees buckling, the adrenaline leaves him in a rush. Whisper staggers, falling— Into a pair of strong arms and a familiar, comforting scent.
And Will—Whisper—chokes on a sob and flings himself forward. “Is she breathing? Is she breathing?”
Girl, why do you care
Nadine clears her throat. “Respectfully, Your Highness, fuck you.”
<3
If Whisper was the sort of person who would choose Julien over his little sister, Julien never would have fallen for him.
“I wish I’d figured it out sooner. If I’d known the deal was the same—my life in the balance, same as usual, I would have chosen differently.” The wind shivers through the room again, but everything else in the room is still. After a moment, Julien says roughly, “Then I’m glad you didn’t know.”
“Your Highness,” Nadine says, sounding tired and annoyed. “Are you done flirting with the assassin? Or spilling state secrets, or whatever you’re doing?”
I knew you were suspicious, and in fact, just yesterday I asked Nadine to investigate you again. But I also knew you were a good person, so I fell in love with you anyway.”
“Fuck!” Lucien yelps. “Sorry!” “Please stop helping!” Julien snaps over his shoulder.
Whisper looks up at him, eyes wide and vulnerable. The next moment, an impassive mask slides back over his face, as if nothing has changed since Julien first met him in the garden and wondered why he was so tired.
Rumi sits behind Fisk, cleaning her paw with a large, raspy tongue. Tell the kitten I’m not speaking to him, but Fisk has forgiven him because Fisk is an idiot. She pauses. You are also an idiot. “Rumi’s giving you the silent treatment,” Julien says.
You can use it to control me, even if you’ve never used blood magic before. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Ask me a question, and I’ll answer it truthfully.” Julien grins, though his heart hurts. “One, that’s very illegal in Silaise. Two, do I really need blood magic to get your obedience,
“I could have died because I fell in love with him. Instead, I’m alive because he fell in love with me.”
❧
Inside, a woman in her late twenties sat in a rocking chair, knitting by the fire. She dropped the knitting when she saw Whisper but didn’t seem surprised. “Fuck me,” she said. “They’re getting younger every year.”
Father sent Hemlock to kill Whisper rather than let him fall into Gaspard’s hands. Whether it’s cruelty, control, or a twisted sense of kindness, Father doesn’t like loose ends.
“What token of mine were you planning on taking?” Julien asks. Another wave of guilt crashes cold through Whisper’s lungs. “Nothing.” Each word hurts. “Nothing was good enough, and I couldn’t forget you anyway.”
“He says Hemlock returned in one piece. No consequences for failing to kill me,
Ergh
“Lily, that was the one…” “The one you’re jealous of for no reason, yes.” Whisper’s lips tighten.
He knows two things for certain: he can’t trust anyone, and he wants his dragon back.
