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⊹ Book 1 of the Aldergrove Duology ⊹
After being told he has only six months left to live, Clementine decides to track down his sister's murderers, leading him to Aldergrove Academy, a place...
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Clementine stared down at his hands. Gazing at the greyed, cracked skin reminded him of the first time he'd seen it on his sister. It always started in the hands, then the waist, and it all gradually spread to ensnare one's whole body. He'd seen people in Itamore entirely succumb to the sickness, and as hard as he had worked to convince himself he wasn't afraid of his inevitable end, thinking about it creeping up on him much faster than he had anticipated unnerved him.
Part of him wanted to find the exact time he had left. Perhaps he could find the mage that had given him six months—maybe he could tell him how much time the poison and lack of medication had cost him. But if he did that, he felt the answer might make him desperate. He might feel the restless need to rush, and nothing good ever came of rushing.
He slipped his hands under the blanket so he couldn't stare at them for a moment longer, and as the sound of incoming footsteps stole the silence, he stared over at the door. For a moment, angst wrapped his heart—anyone could be coming, but when his bedroom door opened, revealing not only Sebastien, but his allies too, Clementine exhaled quietly in relief.
"Clementine!" Elliot cried, hurrying over to him.
"Clemytine!" Mavis called, also rushing over as Mathew followed, a crooked smile on his face.
"We saw Sebastien in the hall and he said you were awake," Elliot said, kneeling at his bedside.
"How are you feeling?" Mathew asked him.
"Give him some space," Sebastien uttered, barging past them all to get to Clementine. Then, he sat on the edge of his bed and held out a small plate with some cold toast and a few pieces of melon. "This is all I could find. The place was pretty much ransacked."
"Thanks," Clementine mumbled, but he hesitated to pull his hands from beneath the blanket. He was sure if his allies saw the state of his skin, they'd freak out, and the last thing he wanted right now was to listen to Elliot's panicked voice and Mavis' scared squeaks.
"It's okay," Elliot said. "We've...we've seen it."
With a conflicted frown, he pulled his hands from beneath the blanket and took the plate from Sebastien. They didn't seem horrified—they looked more worried than anything. Had Sebastien told them he was sick?
"This is all my fault," Elliot blurted. "I should have checked the cocoa or—"
"My God, we've already been over this," Sebastien uttered. "There's literally nothing you could have done."
Clementine frowned. Had his allies been in here too? How else would Sebastien have had what sounded like a very frustrating conversation with Elliot?
