#don’t mess with an Amani man and his family

[trippingtroll]

He ANGY

[darkestprompts]

The heroes, grouped by relationship issues

Inspired by the ask about relationships. I got sidetracked thinking about how the heroes might struggle with feelings and significant others in potential, and then realized some of them have similar issues. It got... long. Might as well post it!

Say hello to:

Repressed Mess Class - Crusader, Vestal, Flagellant

Basically everyone suffering from Acute Light Brainrot Syndrome. The physical aspect of the repression is likely more acute for Junia and Damian, considering Vestals are meant to be “pure” and Flagellants are meant to renounce everything but their “burden”. But even though crusaders can clearly be married, Reynauld has the added weight to have voluntarily thrown away a loving relationship for his dedication to the light... At least in theory (of course, if you get down to it it’s good old war trauma). These characters will have to wrestle with religious questions, lifelong habits and choices (or lack of thereof...) before opening up to anyone.

The Terrifying Ordeal of Giving a Damn - Bounty Hunter, Jester

These two have the same problem, going in opposite directions. Tardif is probably too comfortable with his role as faceless mercenary who cares only about his target and his money. Sarmenti, on the other hand, plays up the “deranged clown” shtick, mocks, laughs inappropriately, as if he couldn’t take anything seriously. Both are tactics that deflect attention from interior matters and make it difficult to form intimate bonds with them.

Oh Shit We Aren’t Just Fuckbuddies Are We - Grave Robber, Highwayman

Similar to the above category, but not as dedicated to keeping people away or pretending they don’t have feelings. Audrey in particular I see as very social. Still, both have had very poor experiences in the past (Dismas’ dead sweetheart, Audrey’s garbage husband) and probably don’t plan on developing romantic feelings under the present circumstances... Which doesn’t mean those can’t sneak on them. In a sense, they are the reverse of Repressed Mess Class. The problem doesn’t start at the beginning, it starts at the end.

Please Hold Me But Also Don’t - Arbalest, Abomination, Leper, Shieldbreaker

The woobie table. Basically everyone that would maybe love to hold and be held and engage in lovely intimacy but is terrified of it for some reason or another. Bigby, because of the Beast, Baldwin because of his decaying body and impending death, Amani because of the whole kidnapping incident and Missandei... She mentions her wanderlust and, considering how she lost her home and family, I get the sense that she’s always on the run so she doesn’t need to question her inability to form attachments.

Feelings, Remember Those From Preschool? - Occultist, Plague Doctor, Antiquarian,

All folks who were nose deep in their studies and goals and forgot that socialization is a human need. I see them as having more difficulty in forming attachments in the first place, but moving on to a relationship shouldn’t be a problem if the other person is into it.

Can Actually Say I Love You VIP Club - Man-at-Arms, Hellion, Houndmaster

No, seriously. Not to say those three aren’t traumatized or otherwise messed up, but I think when it comes to relationships, they are the most likely to just be honest and not fuck around for too long. Hellion might yell it from the top of her lungs, even. They aren’t inclined to deceit, detached from people or held down by massive cultural taboos. Sure, they may hesitate because they are in a nightmare village where people die all the time, but it’s as close to normal anxiety about your crush as you are going to get.

[dreamland2005universe]

What Life Are You Looking For? Chpt.1

I was running down the alleyway screaming for help but it was no use, no one was around. I felt the guy gripping onto my arm and pulled me into his chest and he grabbed my other arm.

“Nice try, pretty girl,” the guy said.

I tried to scream again, but he put his hand on my mouth tightly. I struggled fiercely. The guy held me tighter pulling me back into the alley but I was making it difficult for him.

I felt him grabbed something and felt a sharp pain in my chest and I screamed in pain.

“Girls seem to never listen, huh.. and you were going to be a good girl for our collection,” he said and stabbed me again and everything turned black.

I never thought my life would turn out like this, but what do I know I’m dead. That’s the only thing I remembered on that day, and I only remember me waking up in an alley next to my dead body in a dumpster.

I have been dead for three weeks, and I wasn’t in Heaven or Hell. I didn’t understand it. I went home and my mother and father were really worried about my disappearance and they tried to find me, but the cops found me 4 days later after I was killed . I didn’t know how to talk to them. I was a ghost, but I couldn’t do anything to show them I’m there.

It hurt me too much to see my parent’s depressed state, so I left the house and never returned.

I was confused about why I didn’t move on when I died. I walked for hours in the city streets, not sure where to go. I saw a few people, and they were laughing and messing around. Some started to disappear out of thin air. They all disappeared one by one and then there was one more about vanishing, a boy that looked my age.

“Hey wait..,” I yelled.

The boy jumped in surprise and turned to look at me. It was dark so it was hard to see and there were dim Street lights. I could tell he was dark-skinned and had black hair that was in dreads.

“Uh who are you,” he asked.

“Um, my name is Kaytlyn. Are you a ghost too?” I asked him.

he scoffed.

“Of course I am or you wouldn’t be able to see me if I wasn’t unless wait is you a human,” he asked panicked.

“I wish, but sadly I’m a ghost,” I said in a small tone.

He walked up to me.

“I’m guessing you died recently and you don’t know where to go,” He asked me in a kind voice.

I nodded. I had my arms crossed, and I looked down. I still couldn’t handle that I was dead, it was too much for me. I was glad that I found a ghost that can help me with this problem.

“Well, I can help. I can introduce you to my group,” he said.

“Really,” I asked him.

“Yeah, of course, I want to help a pretty girl like you. ,” he said.

I smiled a little.

“So how did you die,” the boy asked.

“I was murdered,” I said.

He looked at me with sympathy.

“It’s okay, would it make you feel better to know I was murdered too,” he asked.

“Well I guess but how is that supposed to make me feel better? I lost everything and being dead is better than what was going to happen to me” I said.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about that now since you are well… dead,” he said.

I looked at him.

“I know but I haven’t moved on and it’s been three weeks and I’ve been walking around the streets and mopping around not knowing what to do,” I said.

“Do you know what your unfinished business is?” he asked me.

I thought for a moment. I forgot ghost had unfinished business before they can move on to the afterlife. I wasn’t sure what my unfinished business was. I thought for a few minutes trying to think what it could possibly be. The only thing I can think of is finding my killer who the cops never caught but I didn’t know how I was going to do something about that

I looked at him. I knew I just met the boy but I felt like I could trust him. So I walked closer to him and I put my arms around him.

“I’m not really sure. Maybe finding my killer but I don’t know how I am going to help cops do that,” I said.

“true, we can help you on that if you want to really move on,” he said.

“Well I will never be able to find him so I will never move on so I’m stuck a ghost,” I said in a disappointed tone.

“Well, you will have fun as a ghost. So let me take you to my friends and we will help you,” he said.

I nodded.

“Put your arms around me since you are new and never worked out your abilities yet. I will have to take you there myself,” he said.

I knew I just met the boy but I had a feeling I could trust him. I walked closer to him and I put my arms around him tightly.

“Oh, and my name is Thomas but you can call me Tommy,” I said.

“And you can call me Kayt,” I said.

He nodded and he did a motion and we disappeared we traveled thew a weird glowy thing but then it stopped and we arrived at a room that was a living room and I looked at the area and it was an abandoned apartment. Even though it was abandoned the place still looked nice. There were five people in the room and they all looked at us. I let go of him and they gave both of us confused faces.

There were three boys and two girls. One of the boys that were dark-skinned that looked a few years older than me walked towards us and looked at me then at Tommy.

“Tommy who is this white girl,” he asked.

“Her name is Kaytlyn. She is new to being a ghost and I wanted to help her since she needed it,” Tommy said.

“Tommy you can’t just bring in a stray into our place and think that we will automatically help her,” the guy said.

“Come on Man, look at her she needs help, and plus she is so pretty,” Tommy said saying the last part quietly to him but I still heard it.

“Fine but just this once,” the guy said.

The guy sighed and then looked at me.

“Well, welcome to the ghost life Kaytlyn. I’m Chaquille. You can stay with us if you want and I can help you with being a ghost,” he said.

“Thank you I would like that and you can call me Kayt,” I said.

He nodded and put his arm around me and faced me towards the other ghosts.

“That’s Booker, Jay, Amani, and Teagan,” he said while pointing while saying their names.

Chaquille put his arm off of me and the girls walked up to me.

“Hello, Kayt it’s nice to meet you. It’s nice to have another girl in our group,” Teagen said.

“Yeah, we needed another girl, so since you are staying here you can sleep with us in our girl’s room,” Amani said.

Amani and Teagen looked so pretty. Amani was light dark-skinned with curly brown hair and had beautiful amber eyes. Teagen had long blonde hair and she had blue eyes.

“So what’s your story. How did you die,” Jay asked.

“Um I don’t want to talk about it,” I said.

“I get it you can tell us when you want to,” Booker said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Hey, who wants to go to Club G,” Chaquille asked.

“Yes,” they all said at the same time.

“What’s Club G,” I asked.

“It’s a Club Just for ghosts. It’s the best place ever for ghosts in this city,” Chaquille said.

“We are going to get ready and you are too,” Amani said grabbing my arm and dragging me to their room. The girl’s room looked so beautiful there were led lights and there were two vanities. Their beds were pretty too.

“I have a pull out a bed from under my bed so you can sleep on and we can share my vanity,” Teagen said.

Amani went to the closet and grabbed a pink, blue, and green dress. She gave me the pink dress and handed me some pink shoes.

“That dress will look good on you,” Amani said.

“It’s pretty thank you,” I said and we all started to get dressed into the dresses.

“So what was your life like before you died,” Amani asked.

“My life was as normal as it could be. I had perfect parents, I had good friends and a loving boyfriend,” I said and felt sad that it was all gone.

“Wow, your life sounds so much better than how mine was. I had a horrible life and it all ended with my parents killing me,” Teagen said.

I looked at her and was shocked that she said that her parents killed her.

“Why did your parents kill you,” I asked.

“Oh they couldn’t stand me and wanted to get rid of me and the worst thing is they never got put in jail. They hid my body and acted like they never had a daughter,” She said.

“But didn’t the school you went to notice your disappearance,” I asked.

“No, because my parents told the school we moved,” she said.

“Your parents seem like smart people when it comes to what they did,” I said.

“Yeah they were because they were never caught,” she said.

Teagen then went to her vanity and started putting make-up on. Amani grabbed my hand and sat me down on her vanity bench and sat next to me and grabbed the foundation.

“Can I help you with your makeup,” she asked me.

I shrugged.

“Sure,” I said.

She smiled and started putting makeup on me.

“What about you, what was your life like before you died,” I asked Amani.

She looked like she was debating whether to tell me or not but she sighed and looked at me.

“Well, my life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I died from a drug overdose and the drug was meth. I was in a bad time in my life and meth was my savior till it finally killed me,” Amani said.

I felt bad for these girls. They lived horrible lives that got them killed and I had a decent life and I was killed for escaping my captors.

“My family was really poor and meth was my escape. I hate that I left my family at the bad time we were in but I’m glad because they have fewer mouths to feed,” She continued.

“But they probably miss you so much,” I said.

“They do but they are better off without me,” Amani said.

I nodded in understanding.

She finished up my makeup. I grabbed one of her brushes and started to brush my beautiful strawberry blonde hair. I felt to courage to tell them how I died so I spoke up.

“I was killed when I tried to escape human traffickers,” I said to them.

They both looked at me and Amani put her arm around me and hugged me.

“Well you are away from that nightmare and you are safe now since you are a ghost now,” Amani said.

I smiled and I hugged her back and continued to brush my hair. I put my hair up in a tight ponytail. I then stood up and I put on the shoes Amani gave me.

“Hey let’s take a selfie for our Ghostgram,” Teagan said getting up an iPhone appeared in her hand.

“Yes this will get me more followers,” Amani said.

Teagen faced the camera to us and we took a quick selfie.

“Send that to me,” Amani said.

“Of course,” Teagen said and started to type on her phone.

“Hurry up girl,” Booker said outside the door.

“We will be out in a minute,” Teagen said.

Amani and Teagen grabbed their purses and we walked out of the room. When the boys saw us Chaquille whistled.

“You girls look hot,” he said.

“Aren’t we always,” Amani joked.

“See you at the Club in a second,” Jay said and disappeared.

They all disappeared but Tommy stayed and walked over to me. And offered his hand to me and I took his hand.

[imagines-by-billie]

Golden Eyes.

Part 6.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5

A/N: I’m sorry in advance, this is a really sad chapter.

Warnings: ANGST, gun violence, death and blood.

Masterlist

“I’ll stay.”, you whispered. You felt Shawn relax in your arms, you hadn’t even realized that he was tense. This wasn’t something you’d think would ever happen. You thought you’d eventually find someone, yeah, but not someone like Shawn. Oh God, your hair had to be a mess now too... the tight hairdo had been destroyed during the night and was now laying around you in weird ways.

“I’m sorry if this is weird...”, Shawn’s voice brought you out of your thoughts.

“Don’t worry about it.”, you assured him, “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“But I want to talk about it.”, he looked into your eyes, “Y/N, I don’t want to forget about this.” You were speechless, was he really serious? You never pictured him as the type to want something more after a night like the two of you shared.

“Me neither...”, you were shocked at your own words, even more shocked that you meant it.

“Really?”, his face lit up.

“I mean... there’s no use in forgetting it.”, you mumbled.

“So then, would you mind maybe... meeting again? Under better circumstances...”, he asked softly.

“I thought this was a pretty good circumstance.”, you grinned. He chuckled as he rolled on top of you.

“Then maybe we should do it again?”, he grinned down at you.

Your relationship kept going. You’d show up at his house on Friday nights, spending Saturdays with him and perform in the evenings. On Sundays you get home in the morning.

It wasn’t always sex that would happen during those nights, sometimes you’d just lay in bed and talk to each other. Shawn would hold you close and cradle you in his arms as he played with your hair or drew small figures on your skin.

Sometimes it’d be the complete opposite. Shawn would have his head in your lap as you played with his hair and scratch his head. That was something you learnt about him, he loved when you played with his hair.

You learned a lot of things about him. Mostly that he was not as smooth and suave as he pretended to be. He was soft, caring... even emotional at times. It was refreshing.

You learnt about how his family died at an early age and that he was taken in by a mobster who taught him everything that he needed to know. That was how he got to where he was now. 

You patiently listened through his rants, understanding that 

One night after Shawn had fallen beside you, both of you still panting, you noticed something was off. He wasn’t a smiley as he usually was.

“Is something wrong?”, you asked as you pulled the covers over your chest, leaning your head on your hand.

“Maybe you shouldn’t perform tomorrow...”, he muttered, “You know, you could just spend tomorrow with me. We won’t have to do anything, I can cancel the event-”

“Shawn, what are you talking about?”, you stopped his mumbling.

“I had a meeting a few days ago...”, he groaned, “... it was about a threat I had gotten, about tonight... someone had sent in a letter, saying they’re going to shoot the place up. My coworkers told me to go with it anyways, and they’d be ready for the guy.”

“Shawn...”

“No!... no... Y/N, I don’t want to put you at risk.”, he took your hand, “I can’t fucking loose you too...” You brought his hand up to your lips, placing a soft kiss on his bruised knuckles... you didn’t even want to know where those bruises came from...

“I’ve stayed this long...”, you whispered, “I’m not leaving now.”

The night of the event came. You had spent the day calming down Shawn, assuring him that everything was fine. But even you were a bit scared. 

For Shawn it was probably ten times worse, having to be in charge of an even he knew could go terribly wrong.

Marilyn made sure that you were alright ever so often, since she had seen you being stressed.

“I brought you some camomile tea, Ms. Y/L/N. It should calm your nerves down a bit.”, she smiled innocently as she handed you the cup, “And make sure that your voice’ll hold through out the night.”

“Thank you Marilyn. And you know you can call me Y/N, right?”, you smiled at the maid, who you had now found out was only 17 years old.

You had asked Shawn about her during one of your late night talks. Shawn had apparently seen her begging on the street one night when he drove by. In his own words she had “barely any clothes on and looked like had barely eaten for days”. He was quick to take her in, seeing his younger self in her.

“Oh, okay then... Y/N.”, she said unsurely, but still smiling like she always was.

Once the guests started pouring in you noticed a familiar face... Alexandre Von Claude was sitting by one of the round tables.

Once Shawn had his speech you pulled him to the side.

“Von Claude is here!”, you hissed, “Don’t tell me you sent him an invite!”

“If I didn’t I might as well be dead!”, Shawn hissed back, “Besides, I didn’t think he would come! He never does!”

“Fuck...”, you sighed, “If he dies tonight, you’re screwed!”

“I know! I’ll try to get him out! Just try to act normal!”

You were about to keep bickering with him but the band started playing the intro of your first number, and you were forced to walk out.

You put on your best smile even though you were absolutely frightened. 

During the middle of your second number there was a gunshot and everyone in the room went silent for only a second... then came the panicked screams and everyone was running.

In the crowd you saw someone aiming a gun towards Shawn, who was helping a young woman up from the ground after she had tripped. Your legs moved on their own and you sprinted off the stage and pushed him aside.

Thank God that Anne didn’t come tonight...

You grabbed the gun that Shawn always had in his belt and loaded it, before aiming it at the man who still held his gun in a vice grip. Without thinking, you fired, and everything slowed down.

The man ran away just in time... revealing the man who sat behind him, Alexander Von Claude. You hit him right in the chest and felt your blood run cold. His men around him spotted you and started making their way through the masses of people running in fear.

You couldn’t move, your brain told you to run like hell but your legs didn’t react. Not until Shawn pulled you up to your feet.

“C’mon, follow me!”, he hissed in your ear and pulled you with him as he ran.

You followed Shawn to Marilyn, who was standing by a torch attached to the wall. With shock evident in your eyes, Marilyn pulled on the torch which opened up a hidden door in the wall.

The three of you ran in and you could hear Von Claude’s men shouting behind you. Shawn held your hand tightly as you all ran through the long white corridors. The footsteps of your followers echoed through the halls and only made you more scared.

“I’ll hold them off, okay?”, Marilyn said as you and Shawn reached a long metal ladder.

“What? No, they’ll kill you!”, you argued.

“They’ll catch up to us if I don’t stay.”, she said and you could see the slightest bit of fear in her eyes.

“Marilyn’s right...”, Shawn’s words were barely a whisper and tears were brimming in his eyes.

“You can’t be serious!”, you cried and let out a muffled scream when you heard another gunshot.

You looked over at Marilyn, her eyes were wide with shock as she fell to the ground. In the distance you could see the men who were hunting you down... you, not Marilyn. Blood pooled around her lifeless body... the bullet wound had formed in her upper back and blood was spreading across the white fabric of her dress.

“No!”, you let out a blood chilling scream but before you knew it Shawn was carrying you up the ladder.

You clung onto his body as tears streamed down your face. The world went blurry, but maybe it was your eyes. Shawn opened some sort of trap door and lifted you out of the cramped ladder.

You crawled away from the trapdoor and hurried over to a bush. You hunched over yourself and puked into the bush, tears streaming down your face making you even colder.

Shawn pushed something over the trap door to prevent the men from following you.

“Y/N... Y/N.”, Shawn took you by your shoulders.

“She was only seventeen, Shawn! Seventeen! She didn’t have to die! This is all my fault!”, you screamed into the night.

“Y/N, darling... None of this is your fault. Just keep quiet for me, sweetheart...”, he cooed and pulled you close to his chest.

You sobbed against his chest until your cries turned into whimpers and hiccups.

“We can’t stay here, Y/N...”, he whispered softly, “Do you know anywhere we can go?” You calmed your breathing, giving yourself time to think... where could you go? Surely the whole city was gonna go after you now... then it hit you.

“Anne.”, you said quietly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

golden eyes taglist: @star-adorned @itrocksmysocks @justmesadgirl @bellagrayson-wayne@random-writer06 @min-amani @obeysciles​ @adventurousbooknerd@shawnsweetheart​ @someinsanefangirl​ @delightfullyspeedyearthquake​ @futuremrspcy @abbersalp @greedydevil @stokedmendes

permanent taglist: @turtoix @wronglanemendes

[syrahnbloodfeather]

When One Door Closes

Syrahn said nothing in the sanctuary of her office aboard the Red Raven. The coarse scratching of her quill against the parchment was distractingly loud with everything else being silent. Both Lord Zaetan and Lord Victus stood at parade rest before her desk, occasionally exchanging looks while they waited for her to speak; but her eyes were fixed on her work, even as the side of her face was dark and swollen from being backhanded by her potential rapist.

Lord Zaetan nervously cleared his throat before uncomfortably saying, “My Lady, if this is a bad time… we can always return la-...” He cut his sentence short the moment she dropped the quill back into the inkwell and leaned back in her seat.

“Tell me what you’ve learned from our guest.” She spoke curtly, her voice teetering on the edge between contempt and frustration.

“His name is Bel’theran Stillwater, one of many elves banished from the High Kingdom. They call themselves the Ren’dorei… the Children of the Void. Highly susceptible to the Holy Light, as you discovered already.”

“The Regent Lord has declared all Ren’dorei traitors, and any found in the High Kingdom should be executed.” Lord Victus spoke cautiously to avoid Syrahn’s ire, but there was a distinct warning in his words; the Glade Queen’s gaze flickered to Victus for a split second before returning to Zaetan.

“Do we know who hired him?”

Lord Zaetan lowered his head and cleared his throat. “No, my Lady. I must admit… I lack the stomach for these kinds of interrogations. He is surprisingly resilient, but I'm afraid I might punch him to death before we get anything useful.”

Miriam took another sip from her glass while she watched her younger sister; she couldn't tell what she was thinking with that hardened scowl spread across her face, but she hardly needed to. Syrahn was clearly out for blood, and she was only a few commands away from shredding any subtlety and nuance this situation had left by going on a public warpath. “Professional interrogators are hard to come by these days, but we just so happen to have one on call. Lord Iveth Greyshade served King Anasterian by carving Amani trolls for information… perhaps he could put the gloves on again to help clear his name?”

Lord Victus shifted about uncomfortably in his boots before saying, “I don't think that's a good idea. House Greyshade can hardly be trusted! And how do we know they didn't send them against you, my Lady? I can imagine Iveth would merely butcher our only lead and give you a false name to throw us off track.”

“No.” Miriam quickly retorted. “I'll oversee the questioning, personally. If he murders this Void Elf under my watch, then I suppose he will only prove his guilt. When Amaeris tried to poison our wine with the Longest Day, I suspected it wasn't just House Sunlust involved. I called upon Lord Iveth to question her before I put her to the sword. I was satisfied with his work on her… I'm sure he would be eager to get on your good side, Syrahn.”

She was hardly interested in torture, but she was desperate for answers; these attacks are pushing a wedge between her and the other houses, and they're becoming more frequent as time goes on. If she was to put an end to this before something irreversible happened, then she would need to get her hands dirty. “If you think he can help us, then send for him. I can't afford to waste any more time trying to find these culprits.”

“You're making a mistake.” Lord Victus muttered under his breath, but everyone else in the room heard; the Glade Queen rose from her seat before he could finish.

“A mistake?” She repeated. “A mistake would be calling off my Honorguard in the middle of a crisis. A mistake would be trying to flee a group of armed invaders, leaving Zaetan to fend for himself. Four men would still be taking turns raping me if Zaetan hadn't followed the tracks that led to our crash. I would imagine they wouldn't let me live after they had their fill.” Lord Victus closed his eyes and remained silent, but Syrahn wasn't finished. “Your incompetence almost got me killed. Is there anything else I'm missing? Do you know who hired them?”

Defeated and clearly embarrassed, Lord Victus grinded his teeth together before muttering, “No ma'am…”

“I'm declaring martial law.” Syrahn commanded. “No one enters or leaves the Glade without proper identification. I want guards working around the clock to ensure this tragedy never happens again.” She paused for only long enough for Victus to reluctantly make eye contact. “Secure our southern border. Attuned our constructs to shadow magic and send them in to hunt down every last Void Elf in our home. I also want a list of every person and every business that suffered as a direct result of this invasion.”

“At once, my Lady.” Lord Victus wasn't even out the door before the Glade Queen snapped her glare onto Zaetan; he certainly seemed more relaxed than his fellow Captain of the Guard - Syrahn couldn't figure out if that made her more or less angry.

“I want you and the Honorguard to protect my sister when she visits House Greyshade. Under no circumstances are you to let what almost happened to me happen to her. Have I made myself clear?”

“Abundantly, my Lady.” He gave her a modest bow before turning to smile at Miriam. “Shall we make our way down to the surface?”

She finished the rest of her glass of wine before answering with, “I'll meet you by the castle portcullis. I have a few words I'd like to say to my sister in private.” Zaetan nodded before turning to leave. Slowly Syrahn sat back down in her uncomfortable seat, too angry to finish her writing yet too wound up to take a break. Miriam poured more wine into her crystal glass in silence, took a few brief gulps, and then turned her attention to her youngest sister. “I just want to let you know that… I’m proud of the work you’ve done leading the Amber Glade.” She paused only long enough for Syrahn to meet her gaze. “Viridias would be too soft and forgiving. I’d be a ruthless opposite. I… what happened in those woods… will be repaid. I can assure you of that.” Syrahn’s scowl faded, despite still being angry; hearing Miriam talk to her like this was certainly a new experience… and one she wouldn’t get used to for a long time. “How are you feeling…?”

“Terrified.” The Glade Queen suddenly looked exhausted again. “Not for my life… but I fell on my stomach. I’m afraid my child was hurt, or worse…” Her very first child was still far too small for her to feel their kicking, which let her imagination run wild with their fate; Syrahn so desperately wanted to carry to term, and if she ended up giving birth to a stillborn, she would never forgive herself. What would she tell Ijiro? What would she tell her friends? What would she-

Her downward spiral ended abruptly by the gentle squeeze of her hand. Miriam was standing over her now, clutching her clammy palm to anchor her back into reality. “Send word for Doral. If anyone can help ease your worries regarding your future firstborn, she’s the one for the task.” Reluctantly she released Syrahn’s hand. “Take care and stay safe. Hopefully by this time tomorrow we'll finally have answers.”

“Hopefully the Red Raven isn't sabotaged and I don't plummet to my death.” The Glade Queen sighed, only half-joking; her sister didn't laugh on her departure from the office.

Miriam could see the billowing smoke rising from the Market Square from here. She could only imagine what kind of damage these invaders have done to the Glade, and how much it would cost to fix it; only this time they didn't have anyone to pin the blame on to foot that bill. Conflict of interests and violence were to be expected when her family rose to power, but that was over a year ago. House Flamesunder was gone, their ruling members executed and the survivors banished, yet now she almost wished for those days again. That was back when the enemy was direct and right out in the open. They were grueling times, but simpler times as well; if she didn't figure out who was behind all of this soon, the people her family swore to protect and shelter will march on the Amber Castle. Their guards might be able to crush their rebellion, but without the lifeblood and allure of the Outer Sprawl, the Amber Glade would continue to bleed until it bled out entirely. That's something she couldn't let come to pass.

Lord Iveth proved once again that he was a reserved man. She wasn't impressed with the spooky clock she was forced to sit beside in the Greyshade Estate while he took his sweet time gathering his tools, and he mostly kept silent on their way back to the Amber Castle. Maybe it was being surrounded by Syrahn’s Honorguard when all that's recently happened was pointing to him, or perhaps he feared he was walking straight to his death at the hands of Miriam. How he felt mattered little to her- whether he was innocent or not. He would remain a free man unless Syrahn openly declared him responsible for this mess.

The clouds had finally passed beyond the ocean horizon by the time they reached the entrance to the dungeons. Lord Zaetan went in first, followed by Lord Iveth and Miriam, who were both trailed by the rest of the Honorguard; although she wasn't expecting any trouble, she decided she could never be too careful. “How do you plan to go about this?” Miriam’s gaze drifted over to the pale elf’s sunken face. “I'd wager interrogating a Void Elf is a tad different than what you're used to.”

“A masked man has many secrets. A naked man has fewer. A flayed man has none.” Lord Iveth sighed, not quite sounding exhausted so much as he was indifferent; there was a calculating calmness in his dull eyes, prevalent now more than ever. “Our guest may be soiled by the Void, but he is still mortal, more or less. I will have the answers you need, and soon.”

“Will you?” Miriam asked as they turned the final corner and began walking down the long hallway to reach the Void Elf’s cell. “I don't think I need to remind you on how important this information is. I don't just need answers, but they need to be accurate. How can you guarantee whatever he says will be reliable?”

“For two hundred and seventy years I have flayed elves and trolls alike in service of House Sunstrider. Not once have I ever failed them.” Lord Iveth couldn't help but sound proud of maintaining such a grisly occupation, but Miriam wasn't about to interrupt. “Agony is humbling. He will tell us the truth once his story stops changing.”

She didn't ask anything else once they reached the cell door. Yet while Zaetan fiddled with the dungeon keys, she couldn't help but wonder how House Greyshade was even accepted into the Amber Glade. Truth be told they were rich and powerful, two prerequisites of even gaining the Glade’s attention, yet they were on the waiting list for decades. Did the late Lord Kael’kro Sunlust have plans for such a renowned torturer, or did he have something even more devious in mind? Or was this the work of House Flamesunder? She didn’t want to think about the leading caste of the Amber Glade comprised of a house of warlocks, let alone two; for better or for worse, she didn’t have the time to. When Zaetan opened the door, all three of them paused at the disconcerting sounds they heard coming from the dark. Bel’theran was choking on a mass of flesh so large it forced his mouth wide open and was breaking his teeth; he was also convulsing and thrashing violently against his restraints against the wall.

“Stay back!” Lord Zaetan’s spellbreaker runes began vibrating the moment he stepped into the cell. He extended a hand out to block Miriam and Iveth from approaching, but the pale elven lord ducked underneath his arm and entered the cell anyway. “Iveth what are you doing?!”

Lord Iveth approached the dying Void Elf to observe the pitiful state he was in. Upon closer inspection the Void Elf’s bottom jaw was broken in several places, his neck warped and swollen, and the foul-smelling mass in his mouth was in fact his own tongue; whatever poison or spell he was suffering from, Lord Iveth was unfamiliar. When Bel’theran noticed his presence, he opened his eyes wide while unleashing tears of blood to trickle down his shattered face. “What a terrible fate…” Iveth managed to whisper before he heard the elf’s ribs shattering like the low grumble from a falling tree.

Lord Zaetan managed to pull Iveth out of the cell and slam the door shut before the explosion sent a shockwave through the floor, walls, and ceiling. Even the reinforced iron door warped and twisted from the blast, and was nearly ripped right off the hinges. The explosion in such a confined space also caused their ringing ears to pop, sending most of the elves to the ground. Miriam pressed her palms against her ears, wincing from the disorienting pain before the Honorguard began checking their surroundings for a possible ambush. She heard Zaetan shouting at the top of his lungs, but despite kneeling a few feet beside her, he sounded nearly a quarter mile away. Miriam saw Lord Iveth approach from the corner of her eyes while the guards struggled to return to their feet, and with an outstretched hand he helped lift her off the ground; the blood rushing out of her head threatened to rob her of consciousness, but while he held her steady, her hearing slowly began to return.

“Sta… status...!” Zaetan weakly shouted. The Honorguard pressed their bodies up against the walls to prevent falling flat on their faces; the sonic boom that affected them likely bounced around in their helmets and made them extraordinarily susceptible - a design oversight Lord Zaetan wasn’t about to ignore. He reached out and pushed at the door to open it, but it whined loudly at his touch before falling forward into the cell. Immediately he and the few guards at his back began retching at the putrid stench now assaulting their senses. It was like a dragon's egg ravaged by disease was cracked open and shoved in their faces; without a doubt the worst stench they may ever experience.

Lord Iveth approached the cell again, but this time Lord Zaetan and the rest of the Honorguard were too preoccupied trying not to vomit in their helmets to stop him. He scrunched his nose at the pungent smell but otherwise seemed unfazed, stepping into the cell to witness the remains of Bel’theran. “What do you see?!” Miriam commanded from down the hall, covering her nose with her sleeve while her eyes began to water. “What happened?!”

Iveth looked around to see very little of the Void Elf’s remains. Every inch of the cell was covered in black blood and gore, dripping down from the ceiling like syrup. Black tendrils writhed in the puddles on the Ground, likely the remnants of the Void infused in his body. What looked like half of a femur sat in a mess where Bel’theran was tied, and when Lord Iveth turned to look back at the others, he noticed bones buried in the wall that once supported the door; several ribs and even a tooth.

“Someone got to our guest first.” He took great care to avoid getting anything on his clothes, lest he have to burn them.

Zaetan pulled his helmet off before nearly spilling his dinner all over his boots. “Impossible…! I had guards stationed here ‘round the clock!”

“The Void is a volatile thing. Infusing himself with such magic proved to be a fatal mistake.” Iveth pushed the words out through a clenched jaw. “Whatever or whoever sabotaged our guest did it right under your nose. If it weren’t for that iron door, we would all be dead right now.”

“Evacuate the dungeons.” Miriam could still feel the ringing in her head, but she was stable enough now to retake command of this situation. “I don’t want any of this… blood… to get on any of our other prisoners. And get a team down here for cleanup! If this seeps into the ground there’s no telling what could happen!”

[taylorfennersbookishworld]

The Saturday Review is a weekly meme hosted by me (Taylor Fenner's Bookish World) where fellow book bloggers and readers can share what books they've recently reviewed.  The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever by Addison Cole Blurb: Fall in love with Addison Cole's rich and romantic storytelling, and discover the magic of the Montgomerys. In The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever...  Leaving New York City and returning to her hometown to teach a screenplay writing class seems like just the break Grace Montgomery needs. Until her sisters wake her at four thirty in the morning to watch the hottest guys in town train wild horses and she realizes that escaping her sisters' drama-filled lives was a lot easier from hundreds of miles away. To make matters worse, she spots the one man she never wanted to see again-ruggedly handsome Reed Cross.   Reed was one of Michigan's leading historical preservation experts, but on the heels of catching his girlfriend in bed with his business partner, his uncle suffers a heart attack. Reed cuts all ties and returns home to Oak Falls to run his uncle's business. A chance encounter with Grace, his first love, brings back memories he's spent years trying to escape.   Grace is bound and determined not to fall under Reed's spell again-and Reed wants more than another taste of the woman he's never forgotten. When a midnight party brings them together, passion ignites and old wounds are opened. Grace sets down the ground rules for the next three weeks. No touching, no kissing, and if she has it her way, no breathing, because every breath he takes steals her ability to think. But Reed has other ideas...  ** The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever is a Sweet with Heat novel and conveys all of the passion you'd expect to find between two people in love without any graphic scenes or harsh language.  If you're looking for a more explicit romance, pick up the steamy edition, Embracing Her Heart, written by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster. Addison Cole is Melissa's sweet-romance pen name. My Review: This will teach me to read blurbs instead of blindly signing up for blog tours because of cute covers. A romance novel without sex scenes or swearing... oy boy.  I will say, this book was "cute" and a quick, easy read that grabs the reader right away. I can see this book being perfect for the more innocent reader or the type of novel a mother could share with a teenage daughter.  I do like the second chance romance trope and if you're like me that will draw you to this book.  Overall, I should have read the fine print on this one because it's not for me. Clean books that focus heavily on romance instead of physical attraction aren't my style but it was an okay read.  My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 2.5 of 5 Stars! On Thin Ice by Julie Cross Blurb: Brooke Parker never expected to find herself in the tiny town of Juniper Falls, Minnesota. Of course, she also never expected to lose her dad. Or for her mom to lose herself. Brooke feels like she’s losing it…until she finds Juniper Falls hockey. Juniper Falls girls’ hockey, that is. Jake Hammond, current prince of Juniper Falls, captain of the hockey team, and player with the best chance of scoring it big, is on top of the world. Until one hazing ritual gone wrong lands him injured, sitting on the sidelines, and―shocking even to him―finding himself enjoying his “punishment” as assistant coach for the girls’ team. As Jake and Brooke grow closer, he finds the quiet new girl is hiding a persona full of life, ideas, and experiences bigger and broader than anything he’s ever known. But to Jake, hockey’s never just been a game. It’s his whole life. And leveraging the game for a shot at their future might be more than he can give. Each book in the Juniper Falls series is STANDALONE: * Off the Ice * Breaking the Ice * On Thin Ice My Review: Have I mentioned how much I love this series?? I was so excited when I heard the series would be continuing with On Thin Ice and the yummy Jake Hammond. Brook is the new girl, the quiet girl with the messed up past and the screwed up parents, neither of which she wants to talk about. But that's okay, because she's really interested in listening lately. Meanwhile, Jake is finally a senior, top of the food chain in school and hockey. Captain is in his sights and he's hoping for a good scholarship. But with senior year comes a hockey team tradition Jake would rather forget about. When the tradition goes horribly wrong and Brooke witnesses the whole thing Jake and Brooke will form an unlikely truce that blooms into trading secrets and confiding in each other and eventually into love.  While they spend more and more time together Jake's life is imploding, his spot on the hockey team seems less important than before, and keeping quiet about things he thinks is wrong becomes increasingly harder while Brooke is just trying to start his life over again.  Overall, I loved this book so much and I was shipping Brooke and Jake from the beginning. The reader also gets to see the couples from the first two books but On Thin Ice is a standalone, you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one (even though I highly recommend Off the Ice and Breaking the Ice!). If you love Contemporary YA Sports Romance, this book is a must for you! My Rating: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I love the orange color of this cover and the couple depicting Brooke and Jake are perfect) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("Small town boy, meet city girl" is not a bad tagline but it doesn't tell much about the magnificent story inside or the struggles of the characters) Characters: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (Brooke and Jake are both well-developed characters with real-life struggles that they must overcome. I like Jake's struggle to make his father, his coach, his teammates, and the town proud of him while wanting to tell the truth about what really happened and the guilt and responsibility he feels. Brooke is adjusting to life in a much smaller town, her mother's depression, life with her grandmother who seems all up in her business, and her father's arrest - each in their own would be a major thing but she handles all of it so well.) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟 It's contemporary YA romance. There isn't much worldbuilding to develop other than telling the reader that it's a small, hockey obsessed town. Like, really hockey obsessed. Not that it isn't done well, because it is. It's relatable when you live in a small town like I do.  Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (This is not just a one-dimensional romance, or a sports romance. Yes, two characters fall in love, yes there is a sport that they both play, but it goes deeper than that. It talks about the weight of expectations, hopes, and dreams of the many being pinned on the few, how snap judgments in a small town can ostracize you whether the talk is true or not, generations of hazing within an organization (in this case a hockey team), and the influence of coaches and other adults on teenagers and how the pressure from them makes you question what is right or wrong.) Overall:  🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.4 of 5 Stars! Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely Blurb: James Patterson presents a bold new heroine—a cross between Katniss Everdeen and Annie Oakley: Serendipity Jones, the fastest sharpshooter in tomorrow's West.  Seventeen-year-old Serendipity "Pity" Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She's been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great.... In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity's struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot. My Review: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I love how colorful this cover is and how it looks old-times yet you can see a city skyline in the background behind the cover model. I love the pink woven into the model's hair and her clothing gives you a sense of the old west despite this being a futuristic dystopian novel.) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (The blurb convinced me to read this book even though I usually don't like dystopian novels or westerns. It made me want to find out more.) Characters: 🌟🌟 (While I appreciated Pity's struggles I had a hard time liking her as a character. There was nothing unique about her. She's a sharpshooter with great aim, but so is Amani in Rebel of the Sands which I enjoyed much more than this book. She's another beautiful girl slated for a marriage that she doesn't want until she runs away and finds herself in a western show type thing. It's a trope I see a lot, the whole "maybe the grass will be greener on the other side, oh wait it isn't" thing.) Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (While I struggled with the characters, I loved the worldbuilding in this one. It's a crazy wild-west-meets-dystopia mash up and I could see it so clearly. The mix of new technology and old western style, dusty towns and glittering, dangerous cities.) Story: 🌟🌟🌟(I'm torn about the story. I've read this book twice, once in physical format and once on audiobook and I find that when I don't connect with the main character it makes it harder to finish a book, even if I like the worldbuilding or premise. This book felt ununiquely unique. It had the awesome mashup of worlds but it was bogged down by worn-out tropes and themes that have been seen so many times before. I struggled to get through this one both times and honestly if it weren't for the cover, blurb, and James Patterson's imprint, I might not have picked this one up at all if I knew what lay inside beforehand.) Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4 of 5 Stars! Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston Blurb: Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him. Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them. When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive. What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves? My Review: Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (I love most sci-fi covers and this one doesn't disappoint. The colors, the spacecraft - this cover begs to be picked up from the shelf) Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("A girl without a past. A boy without a future." This makes the book sound mysterious without even knowing what the book is about. Why doesn't the girl have a past? Why won't the boy have a future? It begs you to crack it open and see why) Characters: 🌟 (I've heard this book is an Anastasia retelling, but as I DNF'd this one I will never know. Judging by the main character's name and the tagline I can see that's the direction the author was going. As for the boy... she's in love with a glitching metal boy, that much I got, but I'm kind of over the girl falls in love with a machine thing. There's nothing here that I haven't seen in other sci-fi or other Anastasia retellings.) Worldbuilding: 🌟 (Again, I DNF'd this book fairly quickly so I didn't get to see much of the worldbuilding but what I did read wasn't very unique.) Story: 🌟(Again, nothing unique here. There's been a flood of Anastasia retellings hitting the shelves over the past year or so ranging from historical fantasy to sci-fi and this one wasn't one of the better ones. And as far as sci-fi goes, it's not Defy the Stars (which I could compare it to romance-wise.) Overall: 🌟🌟.6 of 5 Stars! My Rating: 🌟🌟 2.6 of 5 stars! 

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