Hi, I’m Eliza!
This is a space where I share my writing, story pieces, poetry, and all the random ideas that live in my head.
✧ About me
I’m a co-author (and mostly editor) for the book Hidden Powers. You can find the account with character details, inspiration, and updates here
I like experimenting with graphic design, writing poetry whenever inspiration hits, and sometimes drawing based on things I see on Pinterest. I have a lot of story ideas- some are just concepts, some are only a chapter in, and some are pieces I got stuck on.
I’d love for people to read them, leave feedback, or even continue from where a piece stops. I think it’s really cool to see where other people might take an idea, and it helps me get unstuck too.
✧ What you’ll find here
• Short story snippets
• Ongoing ideas + concepts
• Creative experiments
• Occasional thoughts & inspiration
✧ Stories Masterlist (links updated as I add)
• Ballroom book: MMC , FMC
• Split
• Darkwood Mysteries
• Tell Me Something Real
• Lost Between
• Bonfire Girls Series: Sweet Tea and Sulfur
• Random Dialogue
• New Moon Mystery
• Deaths Eyes
• Ravin Rising
• The Last Library
• The Fall of the Blood Queen
• Broken Worlds
We pull into the drive after I put in another, longer code. The prince doesn’t talk the whole ride and I’m thankful- I don’t think I can deal with/take anymore of his questions right now.
I park the car in front of the shadowed house and get out, gently unbuckling and scooping up Luna. The prince stands at the front of the car, and I tell him the code to lock it, moving toward the door to start disabling some of the safety features. And let us in before turning back to the panel to start activating some of the features- ill do the others in my room and kitchen as soon as I lay Luna down
I lead the prince into the house and indicate for him to stay put. It's a very minimal open layout but filled with security and makes it more difficult for someone to sneak up on me forbid they can even get in but you can never be too careful. I walk to the room adjacent to the kitchen and lay Luna down. She stirs, grabbing my thumb with her small hand and I kiss her forehead before removing it.
Close your eyes, the world can wait. You’re safe with me behind this gate.
My voice cracks on the last word as the impact of the night floods me. I put her in danger. Now there’s a target over my head and she’s not safe. She’s not safe. A tear slips down my cheek as I look at her curled resting figure. She’s the most important thing to me- I have to keep her safe.
I close the door quietly behind me and creep to the closet- pulling out both a duffel bag and some sheets. I turn to the living room and toss him the sheets before hurrying around the house, packing necessities.
“What are you doing?” He asks, watching me with
“I put Luna in danger, we cannot stay here anymore- you're free to stay as long as you'd like I can run over the security with you.”
Before he can respond I turn back into Luna’s room, grabbing some pairs of clothing and her favorite toys. Luna stirs as I’m about to exit again, her voice soft and fragile “Mama, don't go.”
I freeze at the door, heart broken looking at her in her bed, in her home. I sigh and open the door, and freeze. The prince is standing there, body large and blocking the way for me to continue packing. Putting my fingers to his chest I shove him hard but he doesn't move.
“We need to talk.”
He turns to the living room then and I follow silently- he sits on the edge of the couch he made up- looking ridiculously large for the small thing- and I sit in the chair across from him, foot tapping and I twirl my pendant between my fingers.
His eyes lock on the pendant and his confusion increases as he studies it. Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, I tuck it back under my collar and lean forward, wringing my hands together instead as I wait for him to speak.
After a moment he finally asks, “Why do you need to leave? Where would you go?”
His face is serious but tone soft and I answer easily “I can’t put Luna in danger, I’ll find somewhere like I did last time.”
His face darkens “Last time?”
I freeze, “No matter, if there’s nothing else I really need to pack,” I start, standing up.
“Im not done,” I sit back down impatient- the longer we’re here the more danger she’s in. “You don’t need to leave- how many people know you live here?”
“None.”
“So how would anyone even find your way out in the middle of nowhere, your car is close to unidentifiable and even if someone figures out you’re here, you have top notch security and dozens of escape plans.”
I’m stunned into silence. He’s not… wrong. He relaxes, evidently seeing the [] on my face. “Now that that’s taken care of- why did you put yourself- and daughter- at risk to save me?” [something- her deflecting and calls him prince again]
“You know my name,” he says quietly, “Why do you keep calling me prince?”
“I know a lot of things” I reply, pain resurfacing. “Doesn’t mean I want to say them out loud.”
I go to the kitchen, leaving him in silence and start pulling up safety protocols before checking the comms. It’s quiet- too quiet. Anxiety gnaws at me as I listen and listen to hear nothing.
I finish checking locks and windows and systems before bidding the prince goodnight and heading to my room. I shower quickly and change into something more comfortable and easier to move in before picking up my dagger from the marble sink counter. I turn it in my hands, the reflection showing the broken, beaten down girl I am.
Weak.
I can’t even protect the one thing I care about most. I shut my eyes hard and moisture threatens to leak from them. I have to be strong. For my sister, for myself, and most importantly for my Luna.
I tighten my grip on the handle and move through the house, keeping my steps light, and breathing even to not alert the prince.
Coming to a stop outside Luna's door, I settle against it and watch the front door. Memories of my life before assault me- my home- my life- but most importantly memories of my sister. She was always there for me, even when our parents weren't, especially since our parents weren't. She comforted me, helped me feel less alone. She protected me and I failed to protect her. Even the last remaining piece of her burnt- our sanctuary- gone. My gaze shifts to the prince laying peacefully and rage fills me. My grip tightens on the dagger before the reason I’m doing this in the first place hits me at full force. He can’t die. She needs him.
“W- What do you want me to say?” She looks oddly nervous and tired now, her earlier fire extinguished now that we are safe. As we stand at the front of the car, the soft breeze puts a chill in my bones.
“Well how about why you decided to save me when the rest of you crew was set on my end? What about why your little girl- who I still don’t know the name of- showed up in the middle of a massacre.”
“Her name is Luna,” Morana blurted and ducked her head down. “And I don’t know why she was there- she was supposed to be safe in the car but she’s rather curious.."
“Why the hell was she twirling a dagger like it was a toy?” For whatever reason that was one of the parts that bothered me the most- she was good at the trick too, seeming to know her way around a dagger.
At that Morana smirked, “The blade is pretty dull and where I go, she goes for the most part, its always been the two of us, so she watches while I train and started picking up little tricks fairly quickly, since most of the day is spent at the headquarters she also became really good at reading people, one of the reasons she didn't have anyone to hang out with or watch her because she doesn't trust them- nor do I…” She trails off “Except this one woman- the one I knocked out, she seemed to like her alot… I’m glad she didn't see her…”
My mind spins with the onslaught of new information but gets caught on a detail- “Why is it just the two of you? Where’s her dad?”
At that, her expression goes blank and she turns away taking a deep breath before glancing back at me with an emotion I can’t pinpoint.
“It doesn't matter right now.” She says simply. “Lets just all get somewhere safe” She nods to the car and indicates for me to hop in as she slides into the drivers side.
There was something about the way she moved. Familiar, but not quite. Like a song he’d heard once in a dream.
I settle in the passenger seat as Morana turns the car on and settles in, pulling the pins and ties from the intricate hairstyle she wore and allowing her curls to fall down her back. She adjusts the mirror to look at her little girl before glancing back to check that all the buckles are secure. I glance back too, studying the small figure; they have the same midnight hair that flows in waves, although the girl’s is slightly lighter. And other than some similar bone structure that’s about where the similarities end. The girl has sharp lavender eyes and a lighter skin tone, though she is still young so who knows what she will look like. I’m strangely drawn to both of them, albeit in different ways but there's something about Morana's eyes…
“You’re hurt,” She leans over the center console to reach to pop open the dash compartment, her soft-looking midnight hair falling in my lap as she grabs a first aid kit and leans back, gently taking my hand and cleaning the small scratch before sticking on a small band-aid.
I study her as she works, taken aback by this flip side of her that the little girl released.
“We’re going back to my place if that's okay” Morana blurts, staring straight ahead now, “I don't really know what else to do with you and I already have a bunch of security installed…”
“Why do you need that much security?” Her fingers tighten on the wheel, turning her knuckles white.
“Better safe than sorry,” She replies coldly, “You should know that by now prince” she kicks the car into drive and pulls out, checking on her daughter one last time and ending the conversation.
The ride is silent as we drive through the dark roads, trees towering above like skyscrapers. Puzzle pieces of the night swirl though my head as I try to make a clear picture of the events- and the woman who saved me.
Pushing past the door we sprint through the night, trees blurring my peripheral as I take us to the safe spot I planned. Flashlights shine behind us as Luna wraps her arms around my neck tighter. Thoughts flash through my head, not of the escape- I planned that clearly- but of why Luna was in the halls. I know she’s little and excited, but she knows very well to stay in the car while on missions.
Suddenly, I grab the prince’s wrist and we dart behind a tree. His breathing is heavy as I let Luna down for a moment and she crouches beside me. I grab another blade from my boot and pass it to the prince who raises his brows. “Watch our backs, no matter what, don’t let anything hit Luna.”
I stare him down a moment longer, making sure he gets the message when his shoulder droops and his stony expression softens. I glance down to where Luna has now grasped his hand and is looking at him with wide eyes. I glance back up to him where a myriad of expressions flicker across his shadowed face.
I’ll never doubt her judgement but I know how looks can deceive- she may trust him but I don’t- I just hope he can take an order.
“Come here baby,” I crouch and turn, letting her get on my back before turning back to the prince with a glare, warning full in my eyes.
Voices grow stronger as guards and assassins alike from both sides approach.
“Let’s go.” I say, before darting from the tree and keeping to the shadows, my obsidian dagger in hand in preparation for unwanted guests.
I swerve, gritting my teeth as an arrow soars by, landing at the base of a tree not but a foot away. So much for watching our backs. I glance behind me to make sure he didn't get lost or I suppose captured, but he’s close behind, heavy breaths racking his body as his muscles flex from the long sprint.
I bounce Luna higher on my back and she tightens her arms, tucking her head in as I feel trickles of tears wet my neck. I wish I could wrap my arms around her, protecting her from the world but then I would be rendered useless and fail to protect her anyway.
I squint through the darkness for a plan and to make sure I'm on the right track, and I adjust to head more to the right. Scanning the trees, I snap my arms out and snatch an apple before tossing it in the opposite direction from where we are heading.
I slow and grab the prince’s wrist, pulling us to walk further in the shadows, away from the light of the full, silver moon. He starts to speak but I immediately shush him, listening for the direction the group seems to be going.
Away, good.
Now we just have to stay quiet. I crouch down for Luna to climb off but she just grips my neck even tighter, making my voice strained.
“It’s okay baby, I’ll hold you.”
Only then does she relax some, dropping her arms from my neck and slouches down. I turn toward her, feeling a strike through my heart at her watery eyes,
“Are you okay?” I ask softly.
She shakes her head quickly, tears falling more quickly now as my heart races and I start checking for injuries, panic racing through me at the thought of her being hurt under my care.
My baby, my poor baby.
She just shakes her head again and responds though soft, choked sobs. “I’m.. Scared” She starts shaking and I pull her into my arms, standing, I start rocking her while singing softly,
Sleep, my moon, the stars are near
They’ll guard your dreams, my little dear
The night is dark, but you’re my light
My heart, my hope, my fiercest fight
Close your eyes, the world can wait
You’re safe with me, behind this gate
No crown, no fire, no cruel goodbyes
Just you and me beneath the skies
I glance at the prince who’s just been quietly standing looking at the two of us with a look I can't decipher. I nod for us to keep walking and maybe it’s the tired look I wear that he just follows. Not too long after her cries soften does her body go lax and heavy, her even breaths against my chest as she falls to sleep in the comfort of my arms.
We keep walking, the prince in pace by my side through the silent night. Now that the barrage a people aiming to kill the prince- and now probably me - are gone. Not too long later my black (car type) comes into view. Moving to the driver door, I go to unlock it but sigh. I don't want to wake up Luna by moving her too much messing with the doors. I look to where the prince is standing near the hood, looking through me, searching for answers.
“Can you help?” I ask, nodding to the door.
Surprise flashes across his face before he moves beside me and I say the code. The day my life flipped upside down. He enters it and I lean forward for it to scan my eye and the lock clicks to open.
I nod toward the door behind the driver’s. “Can you open the door and move her seat belt out of the way?” He does what I ask and I move in after him, putting her down as soft as possible and buckling her up.
Thankfully once she’s out, she sleeps like a rock. I shut the door and turn back to where the prince is looking at me with a heated gaze, “You have some explaining to do.”
Smoke curled through the air as I sat up near the edge of the garden, feeling as if I were hit by a train. I coughed, air searing my throat as tears burned my eyes. My skin felt like fire and I soon realized why. Fire blossomed behind me, my home lit to the sun and ashes blowing through the wind, remnants of my shattering world. My previous blush gown, now stained my soot, swishes around my ankles as I turn, ripping off my false hair to reveal what is deemed a curse. I toss the blonde wig into the fire and let my black waves waterfall down my back as I turn from the fire and run through the dense wood, tears streaming down my face as my heart shatters to a million pieces, blowing away in the wind like everything else I once knew. I headed toward the only place that felt like a home, though now it may be lonelier than ever.
Cause it’s always
Sit straight be perfect
Never fall from grace
Work hard play hard
Always keep an A
Never have a feeling
Never have a home
Never sit in comfort
Never have a soul
Always work
Never play
Keep a smile
Don’t decay
Just keep saying you’ll be fine
Keep keep on living in the lie
So the big idea is that there's a series called Bonfire Girls and each book is like a girls experience and history and essentially an event at the camp..
I drag my bag out of the car and heft it up on my shoulder before sparing a glance back at my parents. My mom is looking at me with a mix of sadness and hope in her eyes and my dads looking down at his phone. I'm about to turn away again when he finally looks up, examining me head to toe, his expression twisting just enough to tell me he hates what I'm wearing. I turn away from the car, they don’t even know the worst of what I've done and I plan on keeping it that way. Let them cling to their practiced pity. I don’t want it.
I walk through the camp looking for someone who can point me in the direction of the cabin I'm staying in. The air smells of sunscreen and cedarwood and is humid enough for sweat to immediately start dripping down my back. The cabins are named and numbered but it all looks like nonsense to me- the names unreadable on the cedar. I continue walking till I reach the center of the camp where a large round firepit sits, plenty of seating on logs or stumps around it. There's a tall woman with sandy blond hair and ice blue eyes. A smile stretches across her face as she greets me.
“Hello! Im director Chantrea” She glances down at her wrist, which as black writing on it “Morana” She looks up, haunting smile still in place. I notice another girl next to me, she has short chopped black hair and emerald eyes that are looking at her shoes. She seems to like the director as much as I do.
I stare at the director, arms crossed across my chest now that my bags are at my feet. I sure hope she's not expecting a smile. “Perfect” she says “You and Lorelai will be bunking together in the twelfth cabin, ____ for the time being. I'll have Zyran take you there” I give her a puzzled look- there's no one else in sight and I'm pretty sure that's a made up word.
“Welome to camp!” I startle. A boy who came from god knows where is now standing by Chantreas side with a wide grin “Follow me please” He turns and walks, seemingly floats, away in the other direction and me and Lorelai scramble to grab our bags and keep up behind him. An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach and the hairs on the back of my neck seem to stand up. I glance behind me but find no one- the director somehow already from sight.
I hurry to catch up, unease settling in my stomach. The boy- Zane? Shows us to a cabin near the back of the camp- actually the very back. There's trees overhanging it and a fallen trunk that looks as if it narrowly missed the cabin and is half in the water of the lake. The stairs creak and he pushes the door open. It has no knob. He leads us in where we see two sets of bunks. “There are some sheets in the closet and we will have someone come get you for dinner” He says before turning and leaving, the door swinging shut behind him. I turn in a full circle taking in the room. There's no window. I walk to one of the doors, pushing it open. A bathroom, it has a small plastic sink and next to it is a toilet so low to the ground you're nearly sitting on it. There's no shower. Maybe they have public ones? I turn back to the room to find Lorelai rummaging through the closet before extracting two pairs of white sheets and tossing one on each bed. I see something dark move across the floor and Lorelai sees it too, because she jumps onto the ladder with a short scream, climbing to the top and curling up on the mattress, her eyes searching the ground frantically.
"You good?" I ask. Her eyes move to me as she slowly shakes her head. "I'm fine- I just have bad experiences with spiders"
"Okay…" "It looks like its gone now so do you want to come down?"
"Uh no thanks, i think ill stay up here... can- can you hand me my bag?"
"Sure" I say, walking over to lift her bag to her. She hauls it up and starts unpacking while I think of something to say, moving to unpack my bag on the bottom bunk on the opposite structure. "Why are you here?" I ask, trying to keep my tone light.
"Uh...I had bad habits for a bit"
"Drugs?" I ask but she shakes her head
"Not an addiction.." She starts before seeming to think about something. I turn to let her sort through whatever reason but she speaks up. "How about I'll tell you why I'm here if you tell me why you're here first?"
"Okay" I start, "I was with the 'bad' group in my neighborhood and we did art on the streets" I give her the basic response not willing to share much more. She nods, looking thoughtful "I'm here because I'm apparently 'mentally unwell'" she says vaguely and I gesture for her to continue. "I was working in garages and bartending for cash- where all the biker boys in town went," she adds, and quickly turns away, going back to unpacking, ending the conversation and leaving me to think in silence as I worked on unpacking my stuff.
I had just pushed my bag under the bed when someone strode through the door. The first thing I notice is her long, sliver hair that flows in soft waves down her back. Then I look to her face and see river blue eyes. “Time for dinner” She says, voice soft but demanding. She pivots back out the door and Lorelai and I follow anxiously. We follow her past some cabins before taking a sharp turn past the firepit and leading us to a large open wood building where campers where already getting their food and sitting. The director meets us at the entrance.
“Thank you Aelin” she says. The girl- Aelin gives a curt nod before excusing herself to get some food. “So how do you girls like camp so far?”
“The atmosphere is lovely” Lorelai says, glancing around and shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.
“The camp seems nice” I start slowly, “But our cabin door does not close, is there someone who can help with it?”
Her steady smile stays in place as she responds, the false cheerfulness starting to unnerve me. “Oh no, the new campers always have the open access cabin”
“I see,” I say slowly. I don't think I'm going to get anywhere with this. Lorelei is glancing around beside me, searching for a table and I turn awkwardly away from the concealer, hoping to end the conversation short, but stop cold. “Remeber to smile girls” The councilor spoke softly and slowly, the voice causing an eerie stillness to float over the cafe. The air gets cooler and the sun hides behind the clouds, but, as quick as the atmosphere changed, it flipped back to normal again, everyone resuming their activities, leaving me to wonder if it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I catch up to Loreli and grab some food before sitting across from her on a bench near the edge of the cafe. I glance around as she stares into her food. Everyone is acting normal, abet the frozen smile on all of their faces. I lean forward, “Did you see that?” “See what?” “Every- everything just froze and got cooler and darker when that counselor told us to smile” I can't have been the only one to see that- it lasted a solid five seconds.
The sound echos in my mind
Secluded from the world but yet still in it
I hear the anger, the frustration
the misunderstanding
Always misunderstood
I long to see people listen to each other
Not just hear but listen
Think
Consider
I long for people to live with compassion
But all I see is apathy
Apathy or anger
I see hate and division
When I wish I could see love and community
But it all deteriorates by greed
By fame and wealth It turns even the most selfless selfish
Turned like a coin in a fountain
There is an absence of kindness,
a void left by hearing
But not listening
Reacting
And not thinking
And as the yells echo through the walls
I wish I could stop it all.
I make my way toward the Prince, obsidian silk brushing my ankles.
The crowd sways in a hypnotic pattern, partners switching with each beat. I slip into the rhythm, dancing with a man near him, letting the rotations pull me closer and closer.
I’m spun to the next partner- his hand finds my waist as mine settles on his shoulder and something in me lights again at the touch. Stormy, grey-blue eyes meet mine, calculating but comforting, and for a moment the dance pulls me under: the sways, the twirls, the dips that send heat racing beneath my skin.
I force my mind back to the mission.
We don’t switch again. The music slows, soft and golden, and he keeps me close. Good. This will make things easier.
“You’re the most beautiful woman in this room,” he murmurs, breath brushing my ear.
Heat rises up my neck. I shake my head delicately, as expected of a woman in this ballroom.
“You really are,” he insists. “There’s just something about you…”
The music shifts that moment- lively again. Perfect.
I seize the moment, grip his wrist, and pull him into an adjacent hall. I twist us into the shadows. Shock flashes across his face- shock and confusion.
His breath hitches, the scent of spiced oud and cedar smoke curling around me. The ballroom’s chatter fades to a muffled hum.
“What in the world…?” he starts, confusion radiating from him. His eyes search mine for context, for anything.
I lean in, lips brushing his ear.
“If you want to live, stay quiet and listen.”
His eyes narrow. “Live?” He scoffs, barely a breath. “Do you have any idea who I am, girl?”
I drag him deeper into the service corridor, the party now a distant pulse behind us.
“I know exactly who you are. And I know that in five minutes your lead guard will realize you’re gone- and then he’ll disappear too. In seven minutes, a diversion will hit the ballroom. This entire party may turn into a massacre just to kill you.”
He stiffens, back hitting the cold stone wall as I pin him there. My perfume- lavender and spice- wraps around us, intoxicating him even as his expression hardens.
“I don’t believe you,” he snaps. “You pull me off the dance floor into a dark hall- how do I know you’re not the assassin?”
He tries to break free. I tighten my grip, smiling.
My hand slides down my thigh, brushing aside the slit of my dress. I draw the obsidian dagger, letting the dim light catch on its rough edge.
“Oh, I’m an assassin,” I say softly. “Just not here for your blood. At least not tonight.”
His eyes widen. He doesn’t even know about the blade in my boot.
“If you’re not here for me,” he murmurs, throat bobbing, “then who- ”
I cut him off with a low, humorless laugh.
“If I wanted you dead, Your Highness, you wouldn’t have made it past the second switch on that dance floor.”
His breath stutters. The truth settles between us like a blade.
I sheath the dagger.
“I’m here because someone else is hunting you. Someone with access. Someone you trust.”
“That’s impossible,” he whispers.
I lean in, voice brushing his ear like a threat or a promise.
“Your head of security. He’s not checking for weapons at the west entrance. He’s checking for pulse.”
A scream slices through the ballroom. Music cuts. The Prince snaps his head toward the sound, fear flickering across his face.
He looks back at me- serious now. Finally understanding.
I grab his wrist and pull him deeper into the corridor. He resists for a heartbeat- pride- but then follows.
We slip through the palace shadows, twisting through narrow halls toward the escape route. I halt at the sound of low voices. He stumbles into me, ready to object- of course- but I silence him with a gesture.
Peeking around the corner, I catch two guards arguing, panicked words drifting back:
“Prince… disappeared… kill…”
I glance at him. His eyes are wide.
We stay still- at least I do- until the guards move on.
I turn to grab his wrist again, but he suddenly shoves me against the wall, pinning my wrists above my head. His breath ghosts down my neck.
“Who. Sent. You.”
His voice is low, demanding, lips brushing my ear.
The closeness hits me like a blow. I freeze- just for a moment. Memories from the night wash over me, haunt me, as I remember the taste of his lips on mine.
His gaze is inquiring with hints of confusion as his eyes roam my face before meeting mine, and his breath catches.
He releases my wrists, stepping back. We stare at each other, something sharp and clashing sparking between us. His silver eyes flick to my lips before meeting mine again.
Adrenaline snaps me back.
In a flash, I reverse our positions, pinning him to the wall, rising on my toes to reach his ear.
“Don’t. Ever. Freeze. Me. Again.”
He tenses beneath my hands- hard muscle under fine fabric.
I push off him, grab his wrist, and pull him down the hall, fast but silent.
We don’t speak. He just follows, breath steady behind me, and I listen for footsteps, voices, anything that means we’re not alone. The back entrance is close. Our way out. Or at the very least his.
“Morana? They said someone had informed the Prince but you? I thought- what about-”
My blade is in my hand before she finishes. A quick strike with the hilt snaps her head back and she drops, unconscious before she hits the floor. I stand over her, grip tight, pulse sharp.
I can’t let her live.
If she wakes up, everything I’ve done- everything I’m risking- falls apart.
I feel him at my back. Close. Watching. Waiting to see what I’ll do.
“Are you going to kill her?” he asks quietly, voice low but steady.
I don’t answer. Not yet. My jaw tightens as I crouch beside the woman, checking for anything she might have been carrying- signals, blades, comms. She’s one of mine. Or she used to be.
His breath shifts behind me, a subtle intake. He’s putting it together.
“You know her,” he says.
I straighten slowly. “I know everyone who was sent here tonight.”
His silence is sharp. Heavy. I can feel the questions building in him like pressure behind a dam.
I step over the woman’s body and gesture for him to move. “We don’t have time.”
But he doesn’t move.
He’s staring at me like he’s seeing me for the first time.
“You hesitated,” he says. “You were going to kill her.”
My throat tightens. “She would have killed you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I turn away. “We need to go.”
He grabs my arm- not hard, but enough to stop me. “Why would your own people be here? Why would they be after me? And why,” he adds, voice dropping, “are you fighting them?”
The hall is too quiet. The air too thin. His eyes too sharp.
I pull my arm free. “Because I’m not on their side anymore.”
It’s the closest thing to the truth I’ve given him.
And it lands between us like a spark on dry tinder.
Before he can speak again, I spin, hearing rapid, light footsteps. I scan the corridor, dagger ready, but the face I see nearly stops my heart as my dagger clinks to the floor. A face similar to mine with midnight black curls falling her shoulder and striking lavender eyes looks up at me with a grin. My heart starts beating again rapidly as I rush toward my baby girl, scooping her in my arm, taking hold of the dagger she was twirling in her hands.
“Mama, Mama look!” She pulls away and takes her dagger as I stay crouched near her. She takes one more step back before stopping and spreading her arms wide with a grin filling her face. She then twirls the small dagger in her fingers moving her hands quickly together and apart while moving the dagger from one hand to another without pausing the spinning motion.
She repeats the trick a few more times before the blade slips from her grasp to the floor and she only then looks to me again, her smile fading some. “Are you ok, Mommy? Did you not like my trick?”
“No, no,” I rush to reassure her, a smile plasters on my face. “I loved your trick- it's just that you're supposed to be in the car…”
Before I finish, footsteps echo from deeper in the corridor- multiple, fast, closing in.
“Nevermind that” I scoop her up, grabbing her small blade and turn back to the door, the prince watching with a _____ [kinda like that expression where they're seeing something they hadn't expected to see in you and learning something new about you and also thinking and inquiring, and curious] gaze.
I narrow my eyes, daring him to speak but he thankfully, for once, decides to keep his mouth shut.
if your book could use a little stardust… these are for you💫 Perfect for late-night reading, journaling, or just getting lost in space grab yours on Etsy!
Drift into distant galaxies every time you open a book. This set of five 2" × 6" bookmarks is inspired by the calm magic of space, star-fill
Hope
Something that our young hearts hold on to, keep close
Cruelty
What stomps on your dreams, turns hope to ash
Survive
Is all you have left to do, all that you do once you’re gone
Numb
A void sitting inside, everything changes while it stays the same, you no longer feel the pain
Alive
Snapped back to the world, the loud streets and the cities filled with terror
You feel, all at once, snapped back to life like a branch in a thunderstorm You see the world again, not just the lives around you, you feel the interactions and beauty, the sun shining warmth down your back, you hear the life of breaths and the sounds of life surrounding you, the birds singing in the trees and the lovers in the coffee shop laughing. You’re awake, and won’t be put to sleep again.
