Serving Quality Education
Serving Quality Education
Chapter 46 – A Court of Thorns and Roses Everything was black, and warm—and thick. Inky, but bordered with gold. I was swimming, kicking for the surface, where Tamlin was waiting, where life was waiting. Up and up, frantic for…
Chapter 45 – A Court of Thorns and Roses I was far away but still seeing—seeing through eyes that weren’t mine, eyes attached to a person who slowly rose from his position on a cracked, bloodied floor. Amarantha’s face slackened.…
Chapter 44 – A Court of Thorns and Roses Tamlin cried out as my blade pierced his flesh, breaking bone. For a sickening moment, when his blood rushed onto my hand, I thought the ash dagger would go clean through…
Chapter 43 – A Court of Thorns and Roses For my final task, I was given my old tunic and pants—stained and torn and reeking—but despite my stench, I kept my chin high as I was escorted to the throne…
Chapter 42 – A Court of Thorns and Roses It was a party like any other—even if it would likely be my last. Faeries drank and lounged and danced, laughing and singing bawdy and ethereal songs. No glimmer of anticipation…
Chapter 41 – A Court of Thorns and Roses What followed the second trial was a series of days that I don’t care to recall. A permanent darkness settled over me, and I began to look forward to the moment…
Chapter 40 – A Court of Thorns and Roses My second task arrived. Its teeth gleaming, the Attor grinned at me as I stood before Amarantha. Another cavern—smaller than the throne room, but large enough to perhaps be some sort…
Chapter 39 – A Court of Thorns and Roses From that point on, each morning and evening, a fresh, hot meal appeared in my cell. I gobbled it down but cursed Rhysand’s name anyway. Stuck in the cell, I had…
Chapter 38 – A Court of Thorns and Roses I tried not to look at my left arm as I scrubbed at the floors of the hallway. The ink— which, in the light, was actually a blue so dark it…
Chapter 37 No one, not even Lucien, came to fix my arm in the days following my victory. The pain overwhelmed me to the point of screaming whenever I prodded the embedded bit of bone, and I had no other…
Chapter 36 The sounds of a teeming crowd reverberated against the passageway. My armed escort didn’t bother with drawn weapons as they tugged me forward. I wasn’t even shackled. Someone or something would catch me before I moved three feet…
Chapter 35 My senses slowly returned to me, each one more painful than the last. The sound of dripping water first, then the fading echo of heavy footsteps. A lingering coppery taste coated my mouth—blood. Above the wheezing of what…
Chapter 34 The Attor kept its icy grip on my upper arm as it half dragged me to the throne room. It didn’t bother to strip me of my weapons. We both knew they were of little use. Tamlin. Alis…
Chapter 33 I might have been going to my death, but I wouldn’t arrive unarmed. I tightened the strap of the quiver across my chest and then grazed my fingers over the arrow feathers peeking over my shoulder. Of course,…
Chapter 32 I gave myself a minute—just one minute—to kneel in the remnants of the entry hall. Then I eased to my feet, careful not to disturb any of the shattered glass or wood or— blood. There were splatters of…
Chapter 31 The ball was a blur of waltzing and preening, of bejeweled aristos, of wine and toasts in my honor. I lingered at Nesta’s side, because she seemed to do a good job of scaring off the too-curious suitors…
Chapter 30 I had one task left to do before I returned to my father’s manor. The villagers who had once sneered at or ignored me instead gaped now, and a few stepped into my path to ask about my…
Chapter 29 Inventing stories about my time with Aunt Ripleigh required minimal effort: I read to her daily, she instructed me on deportment from her bedside, and I nursed her until she died in her sleep two weeks ago, leaving…
Chapter 28 There wasn’t much to my packing and farewells. I was somewhat surprised when Alis clothed me in an outfit very unlike my usual garb—frilly and confining and binding in all the wrong places. Some mortal fashion among the…
Chapter 27 I lay in bed, watching the pools of moonlight shift on the floor. It was an effort not to dwell on Tamlin’s face as he ordered me and Lucien to leave and shut the door to the dining…