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Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 92
“Because I didn’t expect you to consume all of it before breakfast!”She snatched the bag from him and put it on the table. “Well, that just shows poor judgment on your part, doesn’t it?”Leonard opened his mouth to reply, but the bag of candy tipped over and spilled across the table. Matilda turned just in time to see the slender golden snout protruding from the basket, inching toward the candy. “What is that?” she asked flatly.Leonard grinned. “A Yulemas present for you.”The assassin flipped back the lid of the basket. The nose instantly shot inward, and Matilda found the strange golden-haired pup quivering in a corner with a red bow around her neck.“Oh, puppy,” she crooned, and petted her. The dog trembled, and she glared atLeonard over her shoulder. “What did you do, you buffoon?” she hissed.Leonard threw his hands in the air. “It’s a gift! I almost lost my arm—and more important parts—trying to put that bow on, and then she howled all the way up here!”Matilda looked piteous
Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 93
Oh, she shouldn’t even be thinking this. But she’d seen friends do terrible things before, and it had become safer for her to believe the worst. She’d witnessed firsthand how far a need for revenge could drive someone. Perhaps Azar wouldn’t do anything—perhaps she was just being paranoid and ridiculous. But if something happened tonight . . .Matilda opened the doors to her dressing room, surveying the glittering gowns hanging along the walls. Spencer would be beyond furious if she infiltrated the ball, but she could handle it. She could handle it if he decided to throw her in the dungeons for a little while, too.Because somehow, the thought of him getting hurt—or worse—made her willing to risk just about anything.“Will you not even smile on Yulemas?” she asked Spencer as they walked out of the castle and toward the glass temple at the center of the eastern garden.“If my teeth were crimson, I wouldn’t be smiling at all,” he said. “Be content with an occasional grimace.” She flash
Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 94
Yards of silk, clouds of powder, brushes, combs, pearls, and diamonds glistened before Matilda’s eyes. As Philippa arranged the last strand of Matilda’s hair neatly around her face, secured a mask over her eyes and nose, and placed a small crystal tiara on her head, Matilda couldn’t help but feel, despite herself, like a princess.Philippa knelt to polish the lump of crystal on Matilda’s silver slippers. “If I didn’t know better, I’d call myself a Faerie Queen. It’s like m—” Philippa caught herself before she spoke the word the King of Skull Gang had so effectively outlawed, then quickly said, “I barely recognize you!”“Good,” Matilda said. This would be her first ball where she wasn’t there to kill someone. True, she was mostly going to make sure Nehemia didn’t hurt herself or the court. But . . . a ball was a ball. Maybe if she was lucky, she could dance a little.“Are you certain this is a good idea?” Philippa asked quietly, standing. “Captain Westfall won’t be pleased.”Matilda ga
Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 95
What was she doing here?Leonard almost dropped his drink as he saw Matilda Sardothien atop the stairs. Even with the mask, he recognized her. She might have her faults, but Matilda never did anything half-heartedly. She’d outdone herself with that dress. But what was she doing here?He couldn’t tell if it were a dream or reality until several heads, then many, turned to look. Though the waltz was playing, those not dancing quieted themselves as the mysterious masked girl lifted her skirts and took a step, then another. Her dress was made of stars plucked from the sky, and the whorls of crystals in her gray mask glittered.“Who is that?” breathed a young courtier beside him.She looked at no one as she descended the staircase, and even the Queen of Skull Gang stood to see the late arrival, Nehemia also rising from her seat beside her. Had Matilda lost her mind?Walk to her. Take her hand. But his feet were leaden, and Leonard could do nothing except watch her. His skin flushed benea
Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 96
The clock chimed ten, and Matilda, seated at the small desk in her bedroom, looked up from her book. She should be sleeping, or at least trying to. dog, dozing in her lap, yawned widely. Matilda scratched her behind the ears and ran a hand along the page of the book. Morse code stared up at her, their intricate curves and angles speaking a language she couldn’t yet begin to decipher. How long had it taken Leonard to learn them? And, she wondered darkly, how could their power possibly still work when magic itself was gone?She hadn’t seen Leonard since the ball last night, hadn’t dared to approach her, or tell Chaol what she’d learned. Leonard had been deceitful about her language skills, and how much she knew about the Morse code, but she could have any number of reasons for that. Matilda had been wrong to go to the ball last night, wrong to believe Leonard was capable of such bad things. Leonard was one of the good ones. She wouldn’t target Matilda, not when they’d been friends. They
Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 97
The person who’d gotten stronger and better as the competition went on. She’d thought it was his training, but . . . it was because he’d been using the Morse code and the beast they summoned to steal the dead Champions’ strength.He dragged a hand across the floor before the darkness, and greenish lights sprung up from where his fingers passed before being sucked into the void like wraiths on the wind. One of his hands was bleeding.She didn’t dare to breathe as something stirred in the darkness. There was a click of claw on stone, and a hiss like an extinguished flame. And then, stepping toward Cain on knees that bent the wrong way—like an animal’s hind legs—the ridderak emerged.It was something out of an ancient god’s nightmares. Its hairless gray skin was stretched tightly across its misshapen head, displaying a gaping mouth filled with black fangs.Fangs that had ripped out and eaten Verin and Xavier’s internal organs; fangs that had feasted on their brains. Its vaguely human bod
Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 98
The following morning, Matilda walked beside Jeremy, her eyes on the marble floor of the hallway. The sun radiated off of the snow in the garden, making the light in the hall nearly blinding. She’d told Paig almost everything. There were certain things she’d never tell anyone, and she hadn’t mentioned Maximus or the figure, either. Paig hadn’t asked her again what had bitten her hand, but had stayed with her, curled up in bed as they talked long into the night. Matilda, unsure how she’d ever sleep again now that she knew what Maximus could do, had been grateful for the company. She pulled her cloak tighter around her. The morning was unnaturally frigid.“You’re quiet today.” Jeremy kept his gaze ahead of them. “Did you and Leonard have a fight?”Leonard. He’d stopped by last night, but Paig had shooed him off before he could enter the bedroom. “No. I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning.” After the events of last night, yesterday morning seemed like a week ago.“Did you enjoy danc
Unexpected Rise of Leonard Storm Chapter 99
Jeremy paced through his room, his time with Matilda over until she’d train with the other Champions that afternoon. After lunch, he’d returned to his room to read the report detailing the king’s journey. And in the past ten minutes, he’d read the thing three times. He crumpled the paper in his fist. Why had the king arrived alone? And, more importantly, how had everyone in his traveling party died? It wasn’t clear where he’d gone. He’d mentioned the White FangMountains, but . . . Why were they all dead?The king had vaguely hinted at some sort of issue with rebels poisoning their food stores, but the details were murky enough to suggest that the truth was buried somewhere else. Perhaps he hadn’t explained it fully because it would upset his subjects. But Jeremy was his Captain of the Guard. If the king didn’t trust him . . .The clock struck and Jeremy’s shoulders sagged. Poor Matilda. Did she know that she looked like a frightened animal when the king appeared? He’d almost wanted t
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