I wanna taste love and pain, I wanna feel pride and shame
My smirk softens into a grin, and I reach up to tuck a stubborn piece of hair behind my ear, the breeze trying to pull it loose again. I open my mouth—half a question forming about what sort of occasion he means—but I don’t get the chance to ask.
A void viper lunges from the bushes like it’s been waiting for the cue.
I suck in a sharp breath, body snapping taut, my dagger in hand before I can even think—
But I don’t have to.
The hedges move faster than I do. Branches twist and lash out like whips, thorned and deliberate, seizing the viper mid-air. They wrap around its writhing body, one curling tight around its neck, and then yank it backward into the depths of the rose maze.
I blink. My blade is still raised, frozen in mid-air. Slowly, I lower it and glance at Jack.
“I tend to just run into it,” I mutter, my voice a tick higher than it should be. I clear my throat and try again, gesturing vaguely at the hedge with the tip of my dagger. “...Did you do that? Or are we gonna get swallowed up by homicidal topiary too?”
I spot something else shifting in the hedges. I squint a little, raising my dagger again. I shift a little toward Jack. You know, the guy that has lightning magic like mom and has who knows what else up his sleeve. But this time when the viper darts out, I'm ready for it.
It's low to the ground, and I swing my dagger down in time to pin it through it's body to the ground. It writhes, and I grimace with a shiver before I take my other dagger and jab it through the head. "I hate these things."
A void viper lunges from the bushes like it’s been waiting for the cue.
I suck in a sharp breath, body snapping taut, my dagger in hand before I can even think—
But I don’t have to.
The hedges move faster than I do. Branches twist and lash out like whips, thorned and deliberate, seizing the viper mid-air. They wrap around its writhing body, one curling tight around its neck, and then yank it backward into the depths of the rose maze.
I blink. My blade is still raised, frozen in mid-air. Slowly, I lower it and glance at Jack.
“I tend to just run into it,” I mutter, my voice a tick higher than it should be. I clear my throat and try again, gesturing vaguely at the hedge with the tip of my dagger. “...Did you do that? Or are we gonna get swallowed up by homicidal topiary too?”
I spot something else shifting in the hedges. I squint a little, raising my dagger again. I shift a little toward Jack. You know, the guy that has lightning magic like mom and has who knows what else up his sleeve. But this time when the viper darts out, I'm ready for it.
It's low to the ground, and I swing my dagger down in time to pin it through it's body to the ground. It writhes, and I grimace with a shiver before I take my other dagger and jab it through the head. "I hate these things."
Theea
I don't wanna take my time, I don't wanna waste one line
