Recent content by Althea

Her sleep was deep and heavy and mercifully empty. No dreams, no falling, no knives or hands pinning her down. Her body drank it in greedily, knitting itself together as best it could. She'd needed it, and perahps in some small subconscious place beneath the exhaustion, she was aware that...

Her eyelids were already growing heavy, the sharp edge of adrenaline ebbing away and leaving only exhaustion in its wake. When he spoke of disgraced knights and drink, she nodded and let out a quiet huff of a laugh, dry and humourless. “Figures,” she murmured. “Leoric,” she repeated quietly as...

She shook her head faintly at his apology, a small, dismissive motion. He was helping her and apologising for it. That was new... When he leaned back at last, relief loosened something in her chest and she let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. A quiet, humourless laugh...

Her eyes squeezed shut, forcing tears to drip from her lashes. Her breaths came quick and shallow with pain and panic. The adrenaline had nowhere left to go, it left her shaking, a fine tremor running through her arms and shoulders as the pain finally caught up. When he nicked the skin she...

She went rigid the moment his hand touched her shoulder, every instinct screaming at her to pull away. The blanket felt thin, useless. She hated feeling so vulnerable, and the urge to curl in on herself was almost overwhelming. She swallowed hard, the warmth of his palm sinking into her skin...

“A knight…?” she murmured, the word catching in her throat as the tweezers slipped and bit into her skin. She hissed softly. She listened as he spoke, and with every quiet admission something cold and hollow settled in her chest. Proud once. Faith lost. Punishment. It was uncomfortably...

She glanced back over her shoulder to be certain he was facing the wall before she tugged her shirt the rest of the way off, hissing as the wet fabric dragged over embedded glass. Another quick look, then she unwound her bindings and let them fall aside. “That’s quite a name…” she muttered...

She watched him closely, every movement measured, weighing truth against instinct. When he promised not to tell, she gave a short, reluctant nod. The tension didn’t leave her shoulders, but it eased just enough. “Yeah,” she muttered, eyes flicking to the hammer at his hip, the unspoken truth...

She had been braced for anger. For excuses. For the sort of greasy justification men usually reached for when they were caught out. Not this. Not the way his fire dimmed further and they way he seemed so lost for words. The look on his face, like she’d knocked the wind out of him with words...

She watched him carefully, every line of her tense with distrust. Silvery green eyes caught the dim glow of his dying flame as he returned the hammer to his hip and let the fire gutter down in his hand. She noted the way he kept his palms open, the careful distance, but it didn’t soften her...

She heard him shout, but she didn't stop. She ran hard through the twisting, labyrinthine streets, boots slipping on slick stone, lungs burning as the rain battered her face. Left, right, over a sagging boardwalk, between shacks so narrow she scraped her shoulders. She didn’t slow until the...

She grimaced as Gav yanked a fistful of her hair, forcing her head back. The blade hovered above her face, reflecting her own terrified eyes back at her. Her chest heaved, lungs screaming, and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable. Then, a blur, a gust of wind. Blood sprayed...

She fought and writhed like a feral cat. Her boots lashed out, striking whatever came close, stomachs, ribs, a jaw, anything she could reach. Her back slipped on the blood soaking through her shirt, the glass digging deeper with every thrash. Each movement sent a sharp wet sting across her...

Close.. so close. Just a few more strides and she would’ve been through the door and into the rain. Instead, the table wasn’t there. Her boot found only air. She yelped as she crashed down, clattering through a mess of chairs. Her shoulder slammed into the floor first, pain detonating through...

Wingless sky rat? Thea’s brow knit just a flicker, just enough to show she heard it, but she forced it smooth again and swallowed the retort burning in her throat. She knew how brutal these men were, and how breakable she was. The joys of hollow bones.. But, they did have their advantages, and...