Curse and Whisper
Page 45
Her jaw dropped. “Your direwolf form is beautiful. How did you shift back with your clothes?”
“Practice.” He plopped down next to her and looked up at the sky. “It’s not comfortable, but it is convenient. Once you’ve been doing it for so long, you get the hang of growing the animal over top of it all. Any shifting for the Protégé, yet?”
Her shoulders loosened a little, and she smiled. “No. Just an Ethereal form so far. I’ve grown to appreciate it.”
He had a nice smile, she thought. It was a little wolfish with his long canines, but it wasn’t threatening or scary. He had been nothing but kind to her during their few encounters.
“Look up there,” he said, dangling his legs over the cliffside. “The moon, she waxes. Just a sliver glowing behind the clouds. Guess we missed her going completely dark when she was hiding behind all the clouds the other day.”
“It’s pretty.” She lay back in the grass. “I don’t think I look at the moon enough. Something about it just makes me so still inside.”
He pointed to another patch of the sky. “How does that one make you feel?” His body shook with a silent laugh. “That little red thing up there?”
Tizzy smirked. “One of my books calls it the Scarlet Star.”
“Ridiculous.” He waved away the thought and lay back with her. “That star is called the Red Dragon.”
“Such a stupid name.”
He laughed out loud this time. “Yes, but do you know the story behind the name? It’s even stupider. You have, of course, heard that it was the dragons who made all the stars, right?”
“Of course, of course. Or so the dragonkind brag.”
“Well.” Canis cleared his throat and tried to keep a straight face. “Dragons were fighting for space to make stars all the time. Made a very big deal out of it. Back in the early days of the cosmos, a dragon wasn’t anyone unless they had at least one star. There was this one dragon, real little guy, who didn’t think he had any hope of being like the rest and getting a star out there in the sky. But he finally gathered all the materials to do it, and he was going to put his very own star up!
“But it would be his only one, and after he got started, he realized that stars all look the same. Some are big and some are small, but beyond that, there’s no way to tell them apart! So he decided to make his red. That way, he would never lose it!”
Tizzy stifled a laugh but couldn’t contain it. It felt so good to laugh. “That’s so cute.”
When her giggles finally subsided and silence washed over them, Canis turned to her. She stared up into the night, lost in thought.
“Did you want to be alone right now?” he asked. “If you need solitude, Tizzy, I can leave. I will understand.”
She let out a long sigh. “No, it’s okay. I think I like this. Your company is nice, Canis.” She turned to meet his glance. “Thank you.”
“What a relief. I like your company too.”
They spent the rest of the night staring up at the moon, making small talk. Not once did they mention the deaths. The knot in Tizzy’s chest loosened just a little.
THE END
Dramatis Personae
The Town of Suradia
House Hallenar
Lazarus Hallenar, the Owl - 1st born
Adeska Hallenar-Jinzera, the Peacock - 2nd born (mother to Mariette Hallenar-Jinzera and Alor Hallenar-Jinzera)
Rhett Hallenar, the Crane - 3rd born
Tizena “Tizzy” Hallenar, the Falcon - 4th born
Aleth Hallenar, the Raven - 5th born
Rori Hallenar, the Dove - 6th born
Queen Allanis Byland-Hallenar, the Hummingbird - 7th born
Athen Hallenar, the Cardinal - 8th born
Council to Queen Allanis:
Right Hand: Athen Hallenar
Left Hand: Lora Shiekh
Master Advisor: Lazarus Hallenar
Master Battlemage: Gavin Castillo (tutor to Isa Vega)
Master Knight: Jurdeir Jashi
Master of Dusk: Ravina Songo (mother to Djara Songo)
Master Cobalt: Crown Prince of Saunterton, Ashbel Lovell
River Warden: Tye Sloat
Chamberlain: Madame Blanche Sloat
The City of Saunterton
Lovell Keep
Immediate Council to Queen Anavelia Lovell:
Right Hand: vacant
Master Advisor: Otes Baird
Master Battlemage: unknown
Master Knight: Milla Deshen
Master of Dusk: Sinisia Alvax
Master Cobalt: unknown
Davrkton Court Representative: Duke Orin Undomien
Chamberlain: Sir Troyer
Cup-Bearer: Lishe
The Town of Davrkton
Marble Palace
Council to Duchess Oksana Undomien:
Master of Dusk: Lobsang
All other council positions unknown
The Convent
Led by Louvita and Ziaul
Other members:
Talora Bhalla
Eidi
Dacen
Aleth Hallenar
Tizzy Hallenar
Torah Vaillancourt
Korrena Vaillancourt
Ilisha of the Willow Clan
Canis
Other notable figures of the Mirivin Mainland
King Mabus of Vandroya
Lord-Hunter Cyrus (from Vandroya, currently hosted in Davrkton)
High-Priest King of Caequin
Kenway and Naia of the Sheerspine Spire
About the Author
AJ Gala first started writing in kindergarten when she learned the alphabet could be used to make words. Her first book was written in Crayola marker and featured a princess with way too many pets.
As she grew older, her stories matured and became long and epic. The world of Rosamar was born after she fell in love with tabletop roleplaying, and its where most of her half-finished novels take place.
When she isn’t writing, she draws or explores Downtown Sacramento for vegetarian restaurants. Currently, she lives in Northern California with her husband, two cats, and an angry turtle.
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