hare. Cerise took it. “That’s perfect, Jack. Just in time. And so nicely cleaned, too.”
Jack grinned. She liked it.
“Come, sit.” William pushed a glass of Adrianglian tea in his direction. Jack swiped the cup and landed in the nearest chair. Cerise set a pan on the fire, threw some chopped bacon into it, and started peeling an onion.
“How’s it going?” William asked.
“Fine.” Jack kept his voice flat. He’d have to go about this conversation very carefully.
“How’s school?” Cerise asked, chopping the onion to pieces.
“Fine.”
William and Cerise looked at each other.
“How’s the school really?” William asked.
Jack looked at the table. He was one week into his first year of the Royal College. The College was a big deal. It cost a lot of money and had the best teachers, and he had to pass a load of exams to be admitted. George was two years ahead of him, and he loved it. If someone else had asked him, Jack would’ve said the school was fine because Rose and Declan were paying for it, and he didn’t want to be ungrateful. But this was William’s house, which meant he didn’t have to lie.
“It’s strange.”
“Strange good or strange bad?” Cerise added onion and garlic to the pan. The aroma tugged on Jack. He licked his lips. Cerise cut the rabbit into bite-sized chunks and swept the meat into the pan, too. Mmmm, smells good.
“Strange strange,” he said. “People don’t talk to me, that’s fine. I don’t need to talk to them, either. But they talk behind my back all the time. The girls are the worst. They huddle and whisper things, and when I try to be nice and talk to them, they get all weird. They’re calling me Brother of the Cursed Prince.”
William sat up straight. “What?”
“They call George the Cursed Prince because he does necromancy. And I’m his brother.”
Cerise sighed and stirred the meat. “Girls at your age are odd. I know, I was one. Adults expect them to have little romances, and they kind of think they ought to have them because that’s what grown-up women do, but really they’re little girls, and they have no idea how to go about it. Boys are a mystery. Ask Lark. She will tell you.”
Lark was Cerise’s younger sister. Jack looked down at the table again. “Lark and I aren’t friends anymore.”
Cerise stopped stirring the rabbit in the pan. “Since when?”
“Since two weeks ago.”
“What happened?” William asked. “Did you do something?”
Jack shook his head. “She said that she and I were too much of the same. She said I was wild and she was wild, and when we got together, we were crazy. She says she isn’t mad at me, but she won’t go to the woods to hunt with me anymore. She spends time with George now. She says he’s civilized.”
He wasn’t even sure what the hell that meant. One day, Lark was there; the next, she wasn’t. It pissed him off and made him sad, until he was too confused to do anything about it.
William fixed him with his wolf eyes. “Lark is broken in the head.”
“Damaged,” Cerise said with steel in her voice.
“Damaged,” William repeated. “Sorry. You know about the slavers?”
Jack nodded. Years ago, slavers had come to their house in the Edge and tried to kidnap Rose. His sister had the strongest magic in the Edge. Her flash was pure white, and she still practiced with it at least an hour every day. The magic made her valuable.
“Slavers stole Lark,” William told him. “They put her in a hole in a ground and didn’t feed her. One of them got into the hole with her to molest her.”
Jack bared his teeth. “What?”
“She killed him with her magic,” Cerise said. Her face looked strained, as if she was trying to keep herself calm. “They stopped feeding her. It was just her and his body for over a week. She didn’t know how long she would stay in the hole or when we’d find her.”
They both looked at him. This was an adult thing or a human thing, and he wasn’t
Jack grinned. She liked it.
“Come, sit.” William pushed a glass of Adrianglian tea in his direction. Jack swiped the cup and landed in the nearest chair. Cerise set a pan on the fire, threw some chopped bacon into it, and started peeling an onion.
“How’s it going?” William asked.
“Fine.” Jack kept his voice flat. He’d have to go about this conversation very carefully.
“How’s school?” Cerise asked, chopping the onion to pieces.
“Fine.”
William and Cerise looked at each other.
“How’s the school really?” William asked.
Jack looked at the table. He was one week into his first year of the Royal College. The College was a big deal. It cost a lot of money and had the best teachers, and he had to pass a load of exams to be admitted. George was two years ahead of him, and he loved it. If someone else had asked him, Jack would’ve said the school was fine because Rose and Declan were paying for it, and he didn’t want to be ungrateful. But this was William’s house, which meant he didn’t have to lie.
“It’s strange.”
“Strange good or strange bad?” Cerise added onion and garlic to the pan. The aroma tugged on Jack. He licked his lips. Cerise cut the rabbit into bite-sized chunks and swept the meat into the pan, too. Mmmm, smells good.
“Strange strange,” he said. “People don’t talk to me, that’s fine. I don’t need to talk to them, either. But they talk behind my back all the time. The girls are the worst. They huddle and whisper things, and when I try to be nice and talk to them, they get all weird. They’re calling me Brother of the Cursed Prince.”
William sat up straight. “What?”
“They call George the Cursed Prince because he does necromancy. And I’m his brother.”
Cerise sighed and stirred the meat. “Girls at your age are odd. I know, I was one. Adults expect them to have little romances, and they kind of think they ought to have them because that’s what grown-up women do, but really they’re little girls, and they have no idea how to go about it. Boys are a mystery. Ask Lark. She will tell you.”
Lark was Cerise’s younger sister. Jack looked down at the table again. “Lark and I aren’t friends anymore.”
Cerise stopped stirring the rabbit in the pan. “Since when?”
“Since two weeks ago.”
“What happened?” William asked. “Did you do something?”
Jack shook his head. “She said that she and I were too much of the same. She said I was wild and she was wild, and when we got together, we were crazy. She says she isn’t mad at me, but she won’t go to the woods to hunt with me anymore. She spends time with George now. She says he’s civilized.”
He wasn’t even sure what the hell that meant. One day, Lark was there; the next, she wasn’t. It pissed him off and made him sad, until he was too confused to do anything about it.
William fixed him with his wolf eyes. “Lark is broken in the head.”
“Damaged,” Cerise said with steel in her voice.
“Damaged,” William repeated. “Sorry. You know about the slavers?”
Jack nodded. Years ago, slavers had come to their house in the Edge and tried to kidnap Rose. His sister had the strongest magic in the Edge. Her flash was pure white, and she still practiced with it at least an hour every day. The magic made her valuable.
“Slavers stole Lark,” William told him. “They put her in a hole in a ground and didn’t feed her. One of them got into the hole with her to molest her.”
Jack bared his teeth. “What?”
“She killed him with her magic,” Cerise said. Her face looked strained, as if she was trying to keep herself calm. “They stopped feeding her. It was just her and his body for over a week. She didn’t know how long she would stay in the hole or when we’d find her.”
They both looked at him. This was an adult thing or a human thing, and he wasn’t