❛power isn't everything. it's the only thing.❜
[complete]
wattys 2018 winner ❧
Lin is a hunter, one of the magically enhanced witch slayers that roam a flooded world. Under the laws of four Kings and Greymark, who rules them all, Lin is unto...
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Lin barely avoided meeting the boy's eyes. Mouth falling open in an open smile, she looked around. Unbidden, a little bubble of laughter lifted through her chest. "Humans?"
"Every one of them," Wilson enunciated. Tap-tap went his finger against the rim of his glass, discordant with his impassive appearance. Lin worked her jaw, tension like a cord down her spine. They weren't kidding.
"You didn't have a problem last time." Greymark cocked his head at her, a kindly smile gracing his lips. That damned smile was always the same. Earnest until it wasn't. Lin, go kill this one. That one. Now your boyfriend. What a good girl, Lin.
This was his nature. The harmless young man with old spectacles and an old-world demeanor. A sucking plague underneath.
She shrugged, pettiness winning out. "I'm game."
Greymark smiled again, a thinner edge to it: he knew she would agree. What else could she do, rebel? Lin tossed her glass—wine and all—to the ground. It shattered in a splash of red, splinters of glittering glass flying across the floor.
The Kings jerked in surprise. A tired glare from Greymark. Well, she'd have to try harder next time. Maybe she'd get a scream if she questioned his judgement with a bit more bite. She smiled. "But I'm not moving an inch until Janus is onboard."
Greymark rolled his eyes and sagged into his desk chair. "Of course, you never make anything easy, do you?"
"Exactly," Lin said. She bared her teeth at them. "Is that all?"
Yelena parted her lips, but Wilson spoke first. "That's all you need to know."
"King Wilson will be staying here at the Manor for the next few days. And Lin?" Greymark lifted his brows empathetically. "Do try not to kill him."
She shrugged and pushed off the wall, marching straight across the room towards the boy thief. Her fingers snagged his sleeve as she passed, dragging him through the door behind her. He didn't make a sound. Didn't flinch or even act surprised. Just ghosted along behind her as if he were a wisp of wind.
Lin jerked him in front of her, kicking the door shut behind her.
"Greymark doesn't like thieves."
The boy shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the closed door before pulling a book from beneath his shirt. He held it out to her, his shoulders tense. Even so, a smile lifted at the edges of his mouth. "You gonna tell?"
It was a childish challenge. But Lin gritted her teeth together and snatched the book from him. She turned the book over, pretending to contemplate it. "It's not even that good."
