Ama leaves us, walking off into the open space. Klef and I look around. The middle is a grassy field, which has some of the grass upturned with fresh earth underneath, lending itself to crash-landings of fresh dragons, if Ama is to be believed. But off to either side of this field there are dozens of trees, patches of flowers, and even some benches, rocking chairs, and a table or two, all human sized. Klef stretches his wings out, and sighs. “Oh, yeah, baby! I could get used to this kind of space!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAp3Vnkr9rZ9
I chuckle. “You had that at home, bird brain. You’re the one who decided to join me today.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAidDAtB7big
“And I’m glad I did!” Klef says, flying up into the air a good 10 feet. “Just look at this view! This is amazing!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAIeBOR5jRc2
I laugh. Klef’s happiness is contagious. “I can only fly if you carry me, or I’m on a swing, remember?” I tease.640Please respect copyright.PENANA6y0zvaOtcR
“Easily remedied,” Klef says, swooping down and picking me up around the waist to lift me into the air.640Please respect copyright.PENANAOvsricGmMl
I squeal at the sudden touch and laugh. “Wow, this really is amazing!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAV35sKkid9i
“I told you!” Klef exclaims, flying in a circle to see everything. “This is so cool! I wonder if any dragons would be willing to race me?”640Please respect copyright.PENANArzEjGzKQEU
I smile and shake my head. “You would lose hopelessly.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAxxSgYl15YR
“Maybe so,” Klef agrees with a nod. “But wouldn’t it be fun?”640Please respect copyright.PENANASTqKdhP18Y
“Only you, Treble. Only you could turn a murderous situation and make it this happy.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAVEc4c4iGBm
Klef grins and glides to the ground, setting me down. “We’re a good pair, that way. I show you the clouds and you make sure that my wings don’t burn from getting too close to the sun.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAEoZhZVxKZB
“Yeah, well, the stench of singed feathers is not pleasant,” I tease.640Please respect copyright.PENANArClUne3DKb
Klef laughs. “Oh, you just ruined my romantic moment!”640Please respect copyright.PENANA3v0cOzCkpL
I grin. “You do it to plenty of mine,” I point out.640Please respect copyright.PENANATZfCZHnuIu
“Shut up,” Klef says, but he’s smiling.640Please respect copyright.PENANAGpmw0VvswM
“Or what?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANAxkdHGbXhaJ
“Or I’ll have to kiss you,” Klef responds.640Please respect copyright.PENANAYVzl5AtWyo
“Ooh, I’m so scared,” I say.640Please respect copyright.PENANA6rSjoOY3Ru
Klef lifts up on his toes and offers me a light kiss, which I return with a little more pressure as my acceptance. We break apart after a few seconds, before Klef can wrap his arms around my waist or I can muss up his hair, in an attempt to look normal to anyone walking by. “Want to sit on one of the swings?” I offer.640Please respect copyright.PENANA8H2JlWockN
“Sure,” Klef says. “I guess I can put up with some fake-flying for a little while.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAKa0HqlhB62
“Well, excuse me, but not everyone can fly,” I scoff as we walk over. “Your mocking swingsets is rude and I’m personally offended. Not all of us were tossed off a cliff when we were little.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAb6leG0DdRB
“I wasn’t little,” Klef says, scrunching up his nose. “It was 5 years ago. I wasn’t little.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAXHqKXdpBn1
“Little enough to tease you,” I say, sitting down on a bench swing and pushing it back with my feet. When Klef sits down I let go and lean back into the seat. “How long do you think it will take us to die this time?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAhazBfWiI5k
“I dunno,” Klef shrugs. “Am I supposed to?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAgdSI0H8VdY
“I guess not, that’s my job isn’t it?” I sigh.640Please respect copyright.PENANALt869mOhYl
Klef looks over to me and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Hey, sweetheart. You’re more than just your dreams, okay? I know everyone here is all focused on how you can predict the future, but people who really know you? They care about you for you. And those people are out there, don’t say that they aren’t. I, for one, cared about you since we were little kids. Even if you did forget me.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAC6IBmuWMpt
I laugh. “Kleftis, I was, like, 3. You really expect me to remember something that happened when I was a toddler?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAfNYuWTMdt5
“I did, Iridescence,” he says.640Please respect copyright.PENANAqFN4az2nMR
“You were smitten, that’s why,” I tell him, pointing a finger. “I enjoyed being around you, but I wasn’t smitten.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAp3QEXBIGOE
“Oh, you wound me, Ride,” Klef says, grinning. “You make me sound like a lovestruck fool.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA1COIfH9KDa
“You’re a fool, all right,” I laugh.640Please respect copyright.PENANAZWqNQwmI0I
Klef grins and pulls me closer to him on the swing. “So… I don’t want to ruin the moment, but you know, you’ve dropped a lot of hints about us having a future together lately. And I’m not just talking about the kids thing either. Are you… I don’t know what to say. Expecting something of me?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAzliaFFevhI
I frown and sigh. I know this was coming, but I don’t want it to be right now that we talk about it. “No, not really, I don’t think,” I say. “I just… couples sometimes talk about futures together. What they might see happening if they stay together. We never do. I mean, I do sometimes, but you don’t really join in. I guess it’s a cultural difference, or something? I mean, you were raised in Constell, I wasn’t, I was born and raised in Argentor, and most couples over there just… spoke about what they saw happening to each other if they stayed together. I wanted to share that with you.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAPzq50EPcYP
“That’s all?” Klef asks. “Ride, couples in Constell would do that too. I just thought it was a given we would stay together, you know? Something that wouldn’t change no matter what. Together… to the end of the Ride. Or the Treble. Either one.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAFhAadWljh3
I groan. “Klef! You do not get to complain about my puns and then make some of your own!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAMopt6HcjXO
Klef pouts. “Aw, you’re no fun. You’re never any fun.”640Please respect copyright.PENANADK4qNMT6zy
I scoff and roll my eyes, catching the glint of something in the sun. I freeze. Klef immediately is focused on me and tense. “What? What is it?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAZuN0Uszcxn
“I could have sworn I just say something glinting in the light,” I whisper. “Somebody’s out here besides us.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA8cG4YASlYt
Klef frowns. “Well, that’s why we’re out here, isn’t it?”640Please respect copyright.PENANArQYlvCNo5h
“I know it is, Klef, but I’m nervous,” I hiss. “I don’t exactly want to die.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAIyhqBCaUs3
“Ride, take deep breaths,” Klef says, standing up. “I’ll go check it out. You’re probably still rattled from this morning.”640Please respect copyright.PENANASxjqqmrFVD
He’s put on an act like we would do when we’re out thieving. I put on my best worried smile, which doesn’t take much faking, and nod. “Be careful,” I warn, and it’s not an act at all.640Please respect copyright.PENANApAnoxZO12e
“I will,” he says, like he ever listens to that warning.640Please respect copyright.PENANAlX8hDnXyPQ
Staying still on the bench takes all of my will power. I know that it might be one of the people we can trust who’s staking out where we are, but it could just as easily be a killer. I lean down to tighten my sandals when I feel a cold cylinder press into my neck. A gun. “Don’t make me shoot ye, lass,” a familiar voice warns. “I will if I have to, but my friend’s the one who wants ye dead. I just want ye gone.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAO8zmhsabih
“And your friend would be?” I ask in low tones.640Please respect copyright.PENANAnzXhR6lcmD
“A concerned party, from the real Crusaders,” the voice whispers.640Please respect copyright.PENANAUGa7JpJ9Mx
I tilt my head as much as I can with the gun pressed to my neck, and see the gorgon from yesterday staring at me, willing me to look into their eyes. I won’t give them the satisfaction of turning me into stone, though, however temporary the curse may be. “The real Crusaders? We are the real Crusaders. Everyone here.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA8CDlDAkDQc
The gorgon laughs. “Aye, if ye believe so. But the real ones would know better.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAOQRBODUpWD
My stomach does an involuntary flip. I don’t like this conversation. “Look, I’m sure whatever you want, we can work out something. You said you don’t want me dead at your hands? I’m sure that can be arranged. But I need to know what you want from me in exchange for my life, all right?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAfFkvEhk9EY
“Change your prophecy,” the gorgon whispers. “Change it away from the real location. Just for long enough that the real Crusaders can complete their mission and then you can live.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAtLJqkn7Vs3
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “S-sorry?!” I whisper frantically.640Please respect copyright.PENANAQcvcIpfNVv
“Change the prophecy,” the gorgon repeats, digging the gun into my neck. “Or I will shoot you.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAZuhCtan7Qf
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “How do you expect me to do that? You were there when I shared the prophecy, I can’t just take it back!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAUnPsplnGTn
“Ye’ll figure something out. Yer a clever lass. Just change the prophecy.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA2tMPjyqFuf
“No,” I say, waiting to feel the pain of a bullet entering my body.640Please respect copyright.PENANAZzB4fp6gSi
“No?!” the gorgon hisses.640Please respect copyright.PENANA3NaamagJQt
“No,” I repeat, louder. “I will not change the prophecy. What are you going to do about that?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAbO4RYTdTRt
The gorgon hisses. “Just know you put this on yourself, lass,” they say, and the gun clicks.640Please respect copyright.PENANAXxvFZ4gUmC
I throw myself off the swing and roll on the dirt just as there’s a deafening BANG that cuts through the air. I stand up and rush to the gorgon, hitting them in the waist. Both of us collapse to the ground as we wrestle for control of the gun. They make a grab for it but I slam my fist into the inside of their elbow, and they retract their arm, pulling it to their chest and hissing. I grab the gun and point the opening at their head. “What did you mean by the real Crusaders?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANAgojqKTrNni
They sneer. “Ye would have better luck shooting me, lass.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAoL7VDf9hNM
I growl. “What did you mean by the real Crusaders?” I repeat. “Last chance, before I turn you over to my dad to deal with.”640Please respect copyright.PENANARvysopbLzg
They laugh and say nothing. I stand up, keeping a foot on their chest and the gun trained on their head. “You brought this on yourself,” I toss to them, before turning my head over my shoulder and yelling, “Klef! Get your butt over here, you just missed me nearly getting killed… again!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAPxB1aBxzYk
That gets him across the field like a shot, wings bristling and ruffled from a quick flight. “Ride, I left you alone for 2 minutes, how do you nearly get killed in 2 minutes?!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAoOSswLF4gF
I shrug. “They had a gun.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAOz32n8Roxt
Klef shakes his head. “Ride… you know that’s not what I meant.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAU4ggzGYzwe
I laugh. “Yeah, I know. But, y’know. It’s funnier to answer like that, especially because it annoys you.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAt0HC3kIqmg
Klef nods. “Where are the others? Shouldn’t they have come over to protect you?”640Please respect copyright.PENANA1dQwGN5tdg
I shrug. Bobbi dashes up, panting. “The… armory… stolen… all… weapons!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAMosXX8Z49e
“They stole all the weapons?!” I ask in disbelief. “Who is they? And why are they stealing all the weapons?”640Please respect copyright.PENANA6wMiIGBDhZ
Klef looks to the gorgon who’s still pinned on the ground. “I have a feeling this one knows. Maybe your dad could beat some sense into him and he’ll fess up.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAhqNroFPZIF
“Good idea,” I say, lifting up my foot.640Please respect copyright.PENANANz9KxgJENU
Klef yanks the gorgon up none-to-gently. “Do you guys have a jail? Or a dungeon?” he asks Bobbi.640Please respect copyright.PENANAl9bC4dyfvK
“We have something better for traitors,” Bobbi says, crooking a finger. “The interogation rooms.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAnuZJYcsTOH
I follow behind Klef and Bobbi all the way to the front of the complex. Bobbi takes the gorgon and puts them in one room, and locks the door, before opening up a door right next to the one they threw the gorgon in, and leads us inside, where we can see through glass the gorgon banging against the door. “Woah.” Klef says.640Please respect copyright.PENANAoEoJKixOPO
“Can they see us?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANAyt3K82PLOr
Bobbi shakes their head. “Nope. To him, this pane of glass is a mirror. He helped design this, so he knows we’re back here, observing, but he can’t see who or where we are, if we’re in here at all after a certain point in time, or hear us. We’re safe to sit back and watch in here.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAhdqYDwd9KK
“Can we sic my dad on him?” I ask. “I’m pretty sure he’d like to take the first bite out of this guy.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAeEKoZhoEHS
Bobbi shrugs. “If you can find him, go ahead. He stormed out awhile ago, so he might be sulking in his quarters, which he rarely lets anyone know the location of, let alone invite them in.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA9rHvQxL5UY
“I’ll find him,” I say. “It shouldn’t take too long.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAtica0fS64i
Bobbi’s lips twitch slightly. “You know him that well?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAfnDOAT5CKH
I grin. “I’m his kid, Bobbi. What do you expect?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAgoQ1paG6Jb
Bobbi shrugs. “Right. Go on, then. I’ll be here.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA894VvUvEdI
I walk out and Klef follows. “Ride… could I talk to you for a sec?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAMmY7Qcy0Mh
“Sure. What about?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANAiLSHXzAr8d
“Well, have you considered… that your dad might not want to see you?” he questions. “I mean, he said himself he couldn’t sit back and watch you kill yourself. What if that principle still stand in his mind. I doubt that clown was working on his own.”640Please respect copyright.PENANACoMZWrq35o
I shrug. “What do you want me to do, though, Treble? Not tell him? I’m sure that gorgon could give away some, if not all, of his accomplices. Once we know who we’re looking for, the both of us are as safe as we ever was, and Dad won’t have to worry over this. He’ll be happy to hear we caught the guy.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAZQC7XbFnvp
Klef looks at me doubtfully, but nods nonetheless. “So, where do you think your dad camps out?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAFnfz4U4uyJ
“Oh, that’s easy,” I say with a laugh. “The closest place to the cafeteria around here. He loves to cook, when he can, but he hates people finding out about it, because Mom would always tease him.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAaAzdlxeKPs
Klef laughs. “Okay! I never knew that! My intimidation from him has gone down a bit now, though.”640Please respect copyright.PENANABx4a6JQH6l
“Don’t let on to him you know,” I advise. “He’d kill me if he knew I told you.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAwcrqNAMrR5
“My lips are sealed,” Klef says. “So where’s the cafeteria?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAogiRcSbCuX
“I figured you’d know by now, seeing as how you can never stop eating,” I tease.640Please respect copyright.PENANAV4ItjRcbSg
Klef blushes. “Okay, I may or may not have asked around on my way to finding you in the library, so we could get a late breakfast after this fiasco was over.”640Please respect copyright.PENANANZp29xLowJ
“Why did you act like you didn’t know?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANAlEcoYM22jo
“So you wouldn’t shame me,” Klef sighs, hanging his head.640Please respect copyright.PENANAnZuh45PI4a
I grin. “Well, the teasing can come later. Right now, we have to let my dad know I’m not dying.”640Please respect copyright.PENANADmJhG4BJIH
Klef nods. “Right. Not dying is always good.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAXGhktH4ZTm
I chuckle and follow Klef to the cafeteria. “Can I get a bite before you talk to your dad?” he asks. “I want to be moral support, but I’m starving.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAHBWrtxrWIq
“You don’t have to be moral support,” I tell him. “Go on and get something to eat. If you see anything you like, nab one for me, too. I’m a little hungry myself.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAwW1G1cDrYm
Klef nods and walks into the cafeteria. I put one hand on the wall as I turn my back to it and walk down the hallway, until I feel a seam in the wall where there shouldn’t be one. I dig my fingers into it and pull it open with a grunt, finding a small but tidy bedroom inside. It doesn’t look lived in, save for a folded up piece of paper on the desk. There aren’t any clothes, the bad has been made, and while there must have been pictures on the wall based on the difference in fading paint, those have been taken down as well. I don’t think I’m in the wrong room, though. Only dad would have a secret bedroom by the cafeteria just because he doesn’t want to let anyone know he can cook. I walk over to the desk and examine the paper. It has my name written on it in Dad’s calligraphic writing. I frown and open it. What would Dad have to tell me that he couldn’t in person?640Please respect copyright.PENANAdlL658zyov
Iri, I’m really sorry. If you’re reading this, it means that you have survived at least long enough in your hair- brained scheme to find my rooms and try to talk to me. Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but I refuse to stay here and watch you die, even if against all odds stacked against you no one kills you or kidnaps you or tortures you.640Please respect copyright.PENANAjnV4Bhyw8b
“No,” I whisper, my eyes stinging.640Please respect copyright.PENANArz4KCNWdzT
I care far too much about you to watch you come to an untimely demise. I wouldn’t be able to do it the first time, let alone the second. You’ll have to forgive me, but I’ve gone pack to take care of the packs. As much as it pains me to say it, sweetheart, you are not the only one in the world who I care about. And if you don’t make it through this, I can’t sit around and mope about it. I’ll have to move on, to take care of the others that need me. So I’m skipping over the moping step and the trauma of watching you die. If you somehow survive all of this, please come talk to me. I’d love to make sure you are all right. But until you can definitively say you’re safe, I’d prefer you don’t contact me. It’s nothing personal. I just… can’t deal with that. Remember, sweetheart, that I love you always, even if you may not see it.640Please respect copyright.PENANAzmDYXP1Mr8
Dad640Please respect copyright.PENANAanmREBk5j3
The paper falls through my fingers. Dad just… left. He left without me, grieving my death, because of something that hadn’t even happened yet. I caused him to grieve my ultimate death prematurely to the point where he was throwing himself into his work as a way out of grieving. Me. He could kill himself working too hard, I had seen it happen before. If I don’t finish this quickly, and ensure Dad that I’m okay, he could kill himself with worry, and it would be my fault.640Please respect copyright.PENANAy1YC660pcq
Someone touches me on my shoulder, and I jump. I turn to look and see Klef looking at me with concern. “You okay? You didn’t answer me when I walked in. I was gone a little longer than I had hoped I would be.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAjloUuVOTb8
“How long?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANAk0X7JCLxpx
Klef shrugs. “I don’t know. 15 minutes, at least. Please don’t tell me you were standing there the entire time I was gone.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAmPslC9WZCN
I swallow. “I don’t know, I guess I was.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAzwhSseJzWa
“What happened, Ride?” Klef asks, moving me to the bed.640Please respect copyright.PENANAMYB5HMue1W
I sit down and shake my head. “Dad’s gone, Klef. He’s gone.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAhk42bfFpmw
“Gone?” Klef asks. “What do you mean?”640Please respect copyright.PENANA0HyJXnEkj8
I point at the letter on the floor. “He’s gone. He decided he couldn’t stay here and watch me supposedly kill myself, so he went to work himself to death.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA6f8RhACHwc
Klef looks at the ground. “I don’t think he would work himself to death, Ride.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAa3WoczKpnL
“You don’t know him like I do, it’s his way of mourning,” I explain. “He’s going to work to take his mind off it, and if he doesn’t want his mind on it, he’ll just keep working every waking moment of the rest of his life. And it’s all my fault.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAxP9qCEhmxj
“Hey, no,” Klef says, putting his food down and hugging me. “If he does do that, it’s not because of you. You can’t help getting injured or worse. You can work to prevent it, but it’s going to happen whether you want it or not. His reaction is not your fault.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAQ6SWas1BYy
I bite my lip. “I just… I want him here, Klef. I want to be able to talk to him, I want to hear you two bickering. I want some normalcy in the middle of this crazy show.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAAdtynsslNm
“I know, Ride,” Klef murmurs. “You’re normal to want that. It’s not unreasonable to ask for that. It does mean that you’re going to have some issues for a little while during the time it takes for you to adjust. But I’m still here, and I’ll crack jokes at the most inopportune times to lighten the mood if that’s what you need while your dad’s gone. And when we have everyone who’s trying to kill you behind bars, then we can go to him and tell him everything’s okay. And you know what he’ll do?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAnyTH6HPEBm
“What?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANAYa4N900fwW
“He’ll hug you so tight you’ll nearly suffocate, because he’s so glad you’re okay. That, I don’t doubt for a second.640Please respect copyright.PENANAF9nFJdsWbJ
“You sure?”640Please respect copyright.PENANALt6YCfmIp2
“I’m positive, Ride. Positive.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAr2D2GDojmX
I smile. Klef breaks out of the hug and points to my smile. “There she is. My favorite part of Rides. That ‘my boyfriend is the best’ look.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAMShpnsnXmu
“Shut up!” I say, giggling slightly.640Please respect copyright.PENANAyTo4XRKBgU
Klef grins. “You wish I would.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAgRDrrP9A6m
“Not really,” I say, kissing him on the cheek.640Please respect copyright.PENANADkzTQZLNKg
Klef grins. “I love you. Wanna know why?”640Please respect copyright.PENANA89jZ6jBRRs
“I love you too,” I say. “Why?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAXsILNnHEbR
“Because you have a big heart,” Klef says. “And you always want to make sure everyone is happy. Even if it’s at your expense.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA9D0op6xu3e
I smile. “Not always. I can be pretty angry when I want to be.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAe63oc0ZOzd
“So? Anyone born human can get angry sometimes. Not everyone makes sure the people surrounding them are okay in the aftermath of an angry outburst.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA16OErQ1KSa
I shrug. “My anger can be pretty bad. Like the time I tried to murder a guy for murdering me?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAeUApdogOIT
Klef laughs. “I’m familiar with that one, yeah. Doesn’t change the facts. You made sure I was okay. That your dad was okay. That everyone you came into contact with was okay. And I’ve seen you bend over backwards since then to make sure the people who you care about are okay.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA9iNNX0xunF
“It’s how I make up for my temper,” I say, sighing. “The least I can do after I blow up around everyone.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA4O2egah1i6
“Maybe you don’t need to make it up every time,” Klef proposes. “When you really hurt someone, yeah, you have to do something to make up for it, but most of the time you don’t hurt anyone when you get mad. You go out of your way, take a few breaths, and vent your emotions when you need to. That’s healthy. You don’t get to tell me you don’t work towards others’ happiness because you have a few negative emotions sometimes. That’s like saying someone’s genuinely a good person because they donate to a few charities despite lying and cheating and killing their way through life. You know who did that? My dad. And he was not a genuinely good person.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA0nywyl56jg
“I hate it when you talk sense,” I say with a little smile. “But I’m glad you can see my good qualities, even if I can’t.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAgQYnXWMVJd
Klef grins. “Hey, it’s what I’m here for, sweetheart. That and being the plucky comedic relief.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA6F5LfoDANg
I laugh. “Shut up! This was a very serious moment!”640Please respect copyright.PENANA7aXIEJ4MPj
“Like I said, Ride, I’m the plucky comic relief,” Klef laughs. “I brought you breakfast. Toast.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAnlPKjFWuYz
I hold out a hand. Klef passes me a slice of toast. I take a bite and stand. “Should we find Ama, Hibiscus, and Flo, and let them know we have someone as a suspect for the grenade and trying to kill me in general?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAtWX54u7549
“Yeah, we probably should,” Klef says with a shrug. “If Bobbi hasn’t found them already.”640Please respect copyright.PENANA1YZFZwjXFB
“So shall we go?” I ask.640Please respect copyright.PENANABKZCOlMZtt
“Can I eat first?” Klef asks.640Please respect copyright.PENANAwQPofHMh0Q
I sigh. “Babe, seriously?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAmCtigJFRPQ
Klef takes a bite out of the sandwich he picked up off the bed. He nods. “Seriously.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAJ84yob39S8
I roll my eyes. “Right. Right… Let’s go. Or, rather, I’m leaving, and you can join me or not.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAsVY5IscXGZ
Klef jumps off the bed as I walk out the door. “I’m coming, I’m coming! Cut me some slack!”640Please respect copyright.PENANAlHQ0sj4LwC
I grin. “Okay, let’s find them, and we can talk strategy. Sound good?”640Please respect copyright.PENANAAT7fiH7MJk
Klef raises his hand.640Please respect copyright.PENANAnMQLP6Gqpq
I sigh. “Yes, you can eat on the way.”640Please respect copyright.PENANAkbEr6fcMVP
Klef cheers.640Please respect copyright.PENANAYhbAEOltwm
arrow_back
The Poison Tree's Fruit
more_vert
-
info_outline Info
-
toc Table of Contents
-
share Share
-
format_color_text Display Settings
-
exposure_plus_1 Recommend
-
Sponsor
-
report_problem Report
-
account_circle Login
Search stories, writers or societies
Continue ReadingClear All
What Others Are ReadingRefresh
X
Never miss what's happening on Penana!
The Poison Tree's Fruit
Author:
shnuffeluv
ISSUE #7
LIKES 0
READS 636
BOOKMARKS 0
campaign
Request update 0
Sponsor
Suggest Edits
Login with Facebook
or Sign up/Login to comment or bookmark!
Click to load the next chapter
X
After each update request, the author will receive a notification!
smartphone100 → Request update
X
Sponsor again
Click to login
Login first to show your name as a sponsor.
Thank you for supporting the story! :)
Please Login first.
×
The Poison Tree's Fruit
Fantasy
Suspense
Last updated: Nov 27, 2016
Total word count: 44,832
Total reading time: 208 Minutes
Writer:
No tags yet.
×
Write down what you like about the story
×
Reading Theme:
Font Size:
Line Spacing:
Paragraph Spacing:
Load the next issue automatically
Reset to default
×
People Who Like This