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386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2017
“I actually was pretty special, but not in a kick-the-gods-asses kind of way. More in the dropped-on-my-head-at-birth kind of way.”
“What have we told you about doors?” he asked.
“They move … so I shouldn’t lean on them.”
“Those who make it all the way through go on to the next round. The rest will possibly be sacrificed, depending on the whims of the gods.”
“One of the boys was going to check on me at any moment—and I didn’t want them to see me dragging the crazy-assed-sol down the hallway by her legs”
“I shrieked and tried to throw the jug of water on them, only to realize it was empty and all I had actually thrown was the jug.
Which smacked into Siret’s head.
He swung around with another snarl and I froze, both hands held out in front of me.
“Shit! Sorry, I meant to hit Rau … and I meant to throw the water not the jug! And I’m … shit”
“They had just dropped the whole beta bomb on me, and then immediately jumped into a wrestling match because I was naked.
They were all insane.
“We heard that!” Siret yelled, ducking to the side to avoid Aros’s fist."
“You should get revenge on him,” Coen advised.
“I should!” I immediately tried to kick my walk into a run—taking Coen’s suggestion as permission to punch one of them—but he caught my shirt again.”
“So … penises, right? I mean … just wow, so many penises. What would a girl even do with that many penises together in one place?” Shut up Willa. What the hell is wrong with you?
There was a beat of silence and then suddenly the room was filled with laughter."
“We’re upset that you removed it,” Yael interrupted. “You … you shweed!'
For a moment, not a single person even dared to breathe. Cyrus looked confused, but the others seemed to be torn between rage and amusement.
“What …” Coen paused, taking a deep breath, “the hell is a shweed?”
“It’s a cross between a shit-head and a weed,” I said, causing everyone to turn to me.
“Her idiocy is contagious,” Cyrus stated. He almost looked surprised.”
“I’m special,” I declared sarcastically. I actually was special, but not in a kick-the-gods-asses kind of way. More in the dropped-on-my-head-at-birth kind of way.
I wasn’t good at many things, but I was excellent at getting in the way. Especially if it was ‘in the way’ of something dangerous. Like a freaking curse that would split my soul into six pieces, leaving me only a tiny little morsel while delivering the other five slices to the five sacred beings who had been standing closest to me.
“So … my soul pieces haven’t been living inside them this whole time?”
“Soul pieces?” He had gone right back to frowning at me as though my head was full of straw. “Where did you come up with that idiotic notion?”
“It’s a skill,” I snarled, trying to yank my hand free. He only tightened his grip.
So I decided to kick him in the balls.
“I shrieked and tried to throw the jug of water on them, only to realize it was empty and all I had actually thrown was the jug.
Which smacked into Siret’s head.
He swung around with another snarl and I froze, both hands held out in front of me. “Shit! Sorry, I meant to hit Rau … and I meant to throw the water not the jug! And I’m … shit”
“Put me dow—”
“No.” Rome grunted the word more than spoke it, and his hand pulled up, landing a sharp smack right on my butt. “Be a good little curse and stay up there where you can’t hurt anyone.”
“Don’t you mean where I can’t get hurt?” I grumbled.
“Yeah. That too.”
“Standing right here,” I snorted out, lifting our joined hands. “No need to talk about me like I’m a piece of naughty furniture you just traded a bunch of tokens for, only to realise it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.”
Yael shook his head, his dark hair sliding across his forehead. “A piece of furniture would talk less and be of more use to us. Something for you to consider, Rocks.”
“We’re upset that you removed it,” Yael interrupted. “You … you shweed!'
For a moment, not a single person even dared to breathe. Cyrus looked confused, but the others seemed to be torn between rage and amusement.
“What …” Coen paused, taking a deep breath, “the hell is a shweed?”
“It’s a cross between a shit-head and a weed,” I said, causing everyone to turn to me.
“Her idiocy is contagious,” Cyrus stated. He almost looked surprised.
They had been going on about the pact and my boobs since we stepped into the room. All of them except Siret. He had simply crossed his arms and declared that my boobs were his favourite part of every sun-cycle on Minatsol, and that he was not okay with them being hidden. He was going to get slapped twice the very next time I found a chair so that I could reach his face.
They were always trying to assert dominion over each other, and I had become their favourite tool for dominion-asserting.
Whoever had ‘possession’ of me seemed to automatically become the center of dissension, as though they were taking more than their fair share of things. I had tried diffusing a few fights by reasoning that I wasn’t a thing to share, but they responded the same way every single time. They told me that I was their dweller; assigned to them, fair and square. There was even paperwork to prove it. Also, my soul was living inside them, free-of-charge, so apparently, that translated into ownership of my person.
“What is wrong with you, Five!”
“And this whole time you thought I was the good brother?” he asked with an arch to one perfect brow, tapping me beneath the chin. He was staring at my mouth now, as though he wanted to drag me back up against him. “I’m the brother that makes bad jokes while everyone else is trying to save your life.”
“It’s true,” Aros added, sounding a little bit exasperated. “You really should have seen that coming.”
I also couldn’t report the incident, because no excuse would be good enough.
The sacred sol was pretending to be my best friend, so that she could stab me, but my bowl of spaghetti saved me, and then she head-butted it, and now she’s unconscious.
“It’s been at the back of my mind for a while, but I usually ignore the back of my mind because I don’t like nasty surprises and that’s what it always gives me—”
“Rambling,” Aros cut in, his eyes flicking from the arena to me. At least this time he looked amused. “You’re rambling again, sweetheart. Get to the point.”
“I’m sorry, Willa. I couldn’t think of another way … your pain is …” He trailed off and Coen picked up the rest of the sentence.
“When you’re hurting, we’re hurting.”
“My pain doesn’t bother me,” Siret added, “but for some reason, yours …”
“It bothers us a lot,” Yael finished.
They were staring at me and I was both overwhelmed and confused by their words. I knew we had a connection—my sneaky soul and Rau had pretty much ensured that—but this felt like more.
This felt bigger.
⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Jealous Of Willa*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱
💫 ”We were all the same way: a little too impulsive, a little too reactive, a little too rough around the edges. It was why I let them stick around.”
I wasn’t good at many things, but I was excellent at getting in the way. Especially if it was ‘in the way’ of something dangerous. Like a freaking curse that would split my soul into six pieces, leaving me only a tiny little morsel while delivering the other five slices to the five sacred beings who had been standing closest to me.
The Abcurses
1. 'The whole world would feel my wrath for the remainder of this sun-cycle because I was Willa Freaking Knight. Which made no sense at all, but sometimes the world didn’t make sense, and we just had to accept what was.'
2. 'I just couldn’t help it. I didn’t like being pushed around, and I’d always thought that I’d go down fighting when my time to die finally arrived. I’d probably be fighting a pillar or a stone floor as I fell on my face, but it still counted
3. ”You need to back off,” Coen snarled at Yael, ignoring me completely. His hands crashing into Yael’s chest, sending him stumbling back several steps. “I saw her first.”
“Actually,” Siret interrupted, his voice a low growl. “I saw her first.”
“Actually!” I raised my voice above all of them, trying to get their attention. “There was a healer back in the seventh ring who definitely saw me first, although I’m pretty sure she regrets helping my mother give birth to me. Or if she didn’t before, she will once she hears about all the great work I’ve been doing in Blesswood.”
4. ”I anchored your life force to mine. The same way you anchored yours to Abil’s sons.”
“So … my soul pieces haven’t been living inside them this whole time?”
“Soul pieces?” He had gone right back to frowning at me as though my head was full of straw. “Where did you come up with that idiotic notion?”
“It’s a skill,” I snarled, trying to yank my hand free. He only tightened his grip.
So I decided to kick him in the balls.
Here’s from chapter 1 :Yael is an egotistical shweed!
“What’s a shweed, Willa-toy?” He spoke so quietly, so gently, so persuasively.
“It’s a cross between a shit-head and a weed”
“Is that a dweller word?” He was still using the voice. Still tugging on my hair. Still getting his revenge on me for calling him a shweed.
“It’s a Willa word.”14 chapters later :”We’re upset that you removed it,” Yael interrupted. “You … you shweed!”
For a moment, not a single person even dared to breathe. Cyrus looked confused, but the others seemed to be torn between rage and amusement.
“What …” Coen paused, taking a deep breath, “the hell is a shweed?”
“It’s a cross between a shit-head and a weed,” I said, causing everyone to turn to me.
“Her idiocy is contagious,” Cyrus stated. He almost looked surprised.
"You....you schweed!"
For a moment, not a single person even dared to breathe. Cyrus looked confused, but the others seemed to be torn between rage and amusement.
"What..." Coen paused, taking a deep breath, "the hell is a schweed?"
"It's a cross between a shit-head and a weed," I said, causing everyone to turn to me.
"Her idiocy is contagious," Cyrus stated. He almost looked surprised.
"So...penises, right? I mean...just wow so many penises. What would a girl even do with that many penises together in one place." Shut up Willa. What the hell is wrong with you?