Riel’s lungs were burning. He was dying — probably — but it was a damn real thing. Endurance, fine, he could endure. He could— he thought he could. Next to him, his two companions were heaving exhaustedly, but neither of them seemed to be faring as badly as he was. “Simran, was it? I love your name!” Therasia was saying next to him, and why was she less winded than he was? Riel was content to keep lying down in the grass, but he lifted his head an...

As was often the case with Therasia, Riel stared at her without a word and wondered where this human got her guts from, because— What? Sure, he could understand his confidence, as well as that of those around him, sometimes. But he’d had the time to meet Therasia after their fateful meeting in the Arma Caeli vault. Back then, he thought she was a human enhanced by— something. Anything. In the time since their meeting, he’d come to discover she ran on spite and strong will. Th...

Anetta’s picnic wasn’t going well. She’d been having a nice time — a great time, even — before she completely, utterly embarrassed herself. But well, she should’ve known that things would go sideways once everyone had cancelled. That hadn’t ever really happened before. They’d always planned their spring picnic around everyone’s obligations. The date had never been set in stone. They always found one that would work for everyone, which they also did t...

Many different people roamed around the lake. Some — bold or desperate, Dorian couldn’t tell — even waded into the shallow ends, picking up the floating blooms. Some spoke to them, though that was rare. Most people looked solemn. “This is nonsense,” Sable sighed next to him. For once, her voice didn’t sound rehearsed. Dorian personally thought it made little difference when she sounded so displeased instead. In their time together, he’d gotten used to her, and he could sa...