A Girl in Black and White (Alyria 2)

“I still don’t understand why he chose you,” Magdalena said. “Your magic’s practically nonexistent. He even spoke about pledging Calamity.”

The girls’ eyes suddenly all came to me, recognizing I could compel. And knowing my antics as the Girl in Black, it looked even more damning. My mind reeled with something to absolve me. “I’m terrible company,” I said. “Bored him to tears.”

They all seemed to accept that quickly—too quickly—and I got a little offended.

“Witches,” I muttered.

They all laughed.

“What’s wrong with your hair?” Magdalena asked, pulling on my locks. My gaze shot down, a rush of unease coursing through me.

The very tips of my wheaten strands were turning ashen.

“What did you do? Dip it in dye?”

“Um. . .” My mind spun, trying to come up with an excuse. “I heard it’s the newest trend.”

“Huh. I’ve never heard about that,” Magdalena said.

“That’s because you lack a sense of style,” Juliana returned right away. At that moment, I was glad she’d say anything to argue with Magdalena.

The girls

laughed when Magdalena threw a piece of bread at Juli in retaliation. I didn’t find much amusing, though. Because somehow my Shadowed side was pushing its way to the forefront.

The twinkling lights in the dark sky were beautiful, like tiny versions of the moon. I lay on my back, looking up, my legs hanging over the edge of the magistrate’s roof. I loved to look at the nighttime sky, but I also didn’t. I couldn’t understand what was up there, and the feeling that I was only a blink in this world left this heavy unknown feeling on my chest.

All I knew was that this land was mine. And I could never go anywhere else. The thought that I could somehow be the cause of its destruction had been a weight on my shoulders since I’d found out. Life wasn’t fair. But if it were, it would be too easy.

I didn’t know how I’d gotten here. It felt like yesterday I’d been waking up on a cottage floor in Alger, and now I was in this big city, one girl in a sea of people with this unknown future ahead of me.

A smile pulled on my lips when a golden star streaked across the sky. I hadn’t seen many since I’d been here, and I wondered if Alyrians were merely not falling in love anymore. It was a depressing thought, but this one small moment brought some peace to me and, for some reason, had me sitting up and glancing past the chapel’s bell tower to the palace. I could see his room from here. The doors to the terrace were open, and my heart jumped when I saw his form walk past them.

This could be his last night in Symbia, and it seemed that he wasn’t even going to try and seek me out. A sense of rejection ran over me. And then frustration, covering up the pang in my chest. What was in Elian anyway? A camp for madmen? Well, he would definitely run it.

I shouldn’t have cared he wouldn’t seek me out before he left. Hadn’t I been trying to rid myself of his attentions not too long ago? What changed, and why did I suddenly wish for the opposite?

I’d lain here for thirty minutes, coming to terms with how much I hated closure—and I knew he’d redefined that word for me too. In fact, he was messing up my whole vocabulary.

I shouldn’t have been concerning myself with Weston anyway because I had bigger problems. Like the Shadowed part of me I couldn’t force down any longer.

Two familiar voices made me perk up, and I got to my feet and walked to the front of the home. I put my hands on my hips and looked down. “That was awfully inconsiderate of you to rat me out, you know.”

Their narrowed gazes shot up to me.

I took a step off the roof, and then fast-traveled to the ground.

“The magistrate has men searching for you,” Tuko said, looking disgusted at my use of magic in front of him.

“Yes, I’m quite aware. Though, he must have sent out his worst king’s guards because I’ve been strolling about all day.” I pursed my lips. “You two haven’t been in that search party, have you?”

They both frowned at that, but then Steady let out a half-amused, half-frustrated breath and leaned against a column, lighting a cheroot.

“It might take me a while to forgive you two,” I told them.

Tuko only snorted.

“You would have watched me hang,” I said, disappointed. “Well, I guess I’m not sorry about this.”