skinny love : (n.) when two people love each other, but are too shy to admit it, even though they still show it. Paristella's Contest ~ Round 2 [ Short Story #54 / Romance #240 ]

The world as we know it ended 209 years ago. From a desert wasteland springs a single kingdom, ruled by a tyrannical King and trapped in an endless war against the shadowy desert warriors. As a desperate bid to save what remains of humanity, society has been split into two distinct classes, nicknamed the Court and the Commons. For an oppressed population on the brink of revolution, a common thief could be the last hope. Up until now, Kay has survived by her wits alone. Reckless and impulsive, wanted by the King's guard, Kay has become known as the Runner. Using the city's rooftops as her personal domain, she manages to keep one step ahead of the King with one hand buried in the purses of the courtiers. Driven by the plight of the commoners and the unjust death of her family, Kay seizes the chance to graduate from small-time thievery to full-scale rebellion. Her opportunity comes in the form of Will, a wealthy ex-soldier with a dark past. Plucked from the streets and thrown into the shimmering palace court, Kay must use her every strength to blend into a world where she doesn't belong, closer to the enemy than she ever thought she would be.

Part 2 of The Runner series. ================================== The Runner's Rebellion was only the beginning. Tensions run high as the City struggles to repair itself after a civil war. Intacts and Fragments fight to find themselves a place in the new order amid whispers of a Queen being unfit to rule. The delicate balance will be upset when a new evil threatens the City, this time from outside it's walls. The war with the Wastelanders has finally begun. Kay and her friends are rebels transitioning into leaders. Tasked with keeping the City safe from war means forming an alliance with the enemy and going back into dangerous territory. Back into the Wastelands, into the desert where it all began.