Page 10 of Trivium

“Settle down, I’m not going to call the authorities.” The middle-aged man wore a burly black beard peppered with grays. Zeina’s face was inches away from his, and his breath smelled rancid—like smoke and wine spoiled by the sun.

“However, I will cut off your hand if you try to steal from me again.” He released his grasp and she fell backwards, before scrambling to her knees and hurrying out the same way she came.

Defeated, she walked until her arches cramped and her toes swelled. Her shoulders slumped as she sat back against a wall of a deserted corridor. She had walked here in the dark. Hours must have gone by, but time was cunning when she was lost in her mind.

Strategy. She needed a strategy.

Maybe she could go North; it had been a while since she had dealt with the northern shops. Most of the disappearances and animal sightings had been in the south, so maybe they would be more open to helping her.

She rested the back of her skull on stone, letting her eyes close. Her body ached; she needed rest if she was going to travel such a long distance. The ache of hunger gnawed at her in protest. “I’ll go north in the morning,” she said to it. It didn’t stop.

Zeina didn’t open her eyes again until the first flush of daybreak, just as a large hand cart pulled by two grizzly men passed her on the street. The cart ripped through a puddle of Zeina-didn’t-want-to-know-what and splashed her torso.

“Hey!” she groaned, standing up. Not that her clothes were new, but they were clean, given to her only a week ago, and she wanted to keep them that way for as long as possible. Scowling, she noticed the back cover of the trolley had fallen open, revealing a heap of crates.

The smell of papaya, spiced chickpea stew, basil, and sweet lemon couscous filled her nostrils. Mmmmm.

Before she could think, her feet sprung forward. Her need to survive, a deeply rooted instinct, drove her to act.

She caught up to the trolley, and hopped up, viciously latching her fingers onto the rails. Heaving herself over, she quickly squeezed in between two crates. A space unwelcome for a regular sized adult was comfortable for her. Starvation had left her thin and bony.

The grains in the crates were raw, and the warm stew and couscous too difficult to access, but the fruit was fresh, and she sloppily inhaled as much as she could, sweet juice dripping down her neck and chest.

It wasn’t until she looked up, satisfied from her binge, that she noticed where she was. Even through the small gap between crates, she would recognize the heavy golden gates anywhere.

The Academy of Creature Defense.

“Fresh load?” She heard a man’s voice bellow from outside the trolley.

“Just packed,” one of the driver’s called back. Zeina crouched to make herself as small as possible.

“In you go!” the first man responded, and they were moving again. She slipped along the rough floorboards and peered out the back as the entrance faded behind her.

She was inside the Academy and the only way out was through heavily guarded gates.

Heavily guarded and crawling with Defenders.

6

LOVELEENA

Hushed, giggling voices filled the room, and Loveleena breathed a sigh of relief, her heart still pounding.

“You scared the living soul out of me! Is this really necessary?” She tried to lift the sack off her head, but steady hands held it down.

“We have a surprise for you!” her sister Lana said from behind her. “Walk forward; I’ll guide you.”

Lana was only a few years older than Loveleena but had cared for them often as children while their mother was off seeing to the duties of a noble wife. They had help for much of it, but Lana was the one to tutor Loveleena with her schoolwork, teach her about her menstrual cycle, and keep tabs on what her and Park were up to.

Loveleena could hear her younger siblings Lavina and Leander beside her bickering about whether or not Loveleena could see through the fabric covering her eyes. She couldn’t see a thing, but she knew the layout of her house, so she stepped forward, letting her sister lead the way. “Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see,” Lana said.

Clumsily, Lana led her up three flights of stairs out onto their rooftop terrace. Loveleena knew where they were going as soon as her sister helped her climb the last flight of stairs. The warm garden air hit her arms first, and then the fresh bloom of roses and sweet honey lilacs filled her nostrils. People were chatting cheerfully, their voices a melodic buzz until a hushed silence fell over the terrace. Loveleena groaned. “You promised no party this year.”

“Stop complaining.” Her sister scolded her before ripping off the cloth covering her head.

Holy shit. Her mouth gaped as she took in the view. Even for the Alvas, this was extravagant. They kept their terrace decorated with vibrant plants and flowers all year round, but tonight it was absolutely blanketed in flora. Flickering candles were strung up over tables, along walls, and across the tangerine sky, their determined flames dancing in the breeze. In front of her, packed in clusters and dressed in their finest garments, stood hundreds of people.