CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide, depictions of survivor’s guilt
She said nothing. The wind rushed through the pine needles, howling like a wolf without its pack. The snow beneath him should’ve felt cold, but instead it just felt crunchy, like the stuff that would compact into ice if you pressed it down hard enough.
Cecelia fell to her knees in the pine needles next to them, gesturing frantically with her hands. “What the heck is going on in this town? I was trying to find you and Avery yesterday but instead I saw a weird guy with a triangle head and he looked at me and it gave me a headache and-”
Tazmin stopped dead in his tracks, glancing down the length of a side trail to see someone in a red flannel shirt, looking at him with warm curiosity.
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of genocide, emetophobia trigger, mention of gruesome medical details
“She’s deeply genetically unstable. If I had to guess, something in the way the tribes combined when she was made has weakened her stomach lining, making her more susceptible to bleeding.”
“What’s an Archfae?”
CONTENT WARNING: brief descriptions of blood, religious trauma, mild psychological horror, familial death, survivor’s guilt
Maybe if she’d told Harpy to be more careful, or kept them on the river shore instead of hopping across the rocks in the water, or suggested an idea other than going to the water. Maybe if they’d brought an adult or moved slower or had a picnic on the shore instead of trying to move around and show off. Maybe then, she could’ve changed the outcome.
“Help me gain control. Power. Traction. I can make myself seem like I’m more than just a cat. I can look like a savior, a messiah. I just need you to do whatever you can to make it look like I’m more powerful than I really am, and I’ll handle the rest.”
“Don’t talk to strangers,” Sleepsong advised softly, looking utterly relieved that she was taking him seriously. The starry scar where one of his eyes should’ve been twinkled softly in the dark. “Don’t communicate with anyone outside the clan unless it’s absolutely necessary. Listen to your intuition, no matter what.”
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of genocide, self-destructive ideation
“You know that goodness and rightness is so much bigger than just your little bubble.”
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of child neglect, implied/referenced terminal illness
“What was it like when you were growing up?” Astrid asked Finner while he watched her weave some dandelions into a chain. “I know you were raised pretty much alone. Did you ever wish you had friends?”