Within my walls, the Artist, his Apprentice, and their Model are consumed with the idea of becoming gods. It's both spiritual and selfish of them, this undertaking. The time they sink, the work they obsess over, so they may become modern-day versions of the figures that were worshiped in Greece so long ago—all so they may be worshiped too. It's sad for me to watch, but I have no choice. They chose to start their climb to Mount Olympus here on my terracotta floors and among my white-washed walls. A smal studio, with cracked etchings and faded paint. Bugs make netted homes in my ceiling corners. The humans sweat, hunger, and labor for hours on end, their only reprieve the subtle breeze that passes through my balcony doors.

The wind blows fierce on the Isle of Rankor. It pushes in the waves, fast and rhythmic, until they wash upon the sands. Together, the forces carry ships into the harbor, which spans the coastline as intricate as a maze. At any given time, a hundred ships unload their imports and load exports with ease. This is the Isle’s tradition: wind and waves and trade, the tradition Caroline and Marina have grown up with all their lives.
On Bashall Cliff, the girls have the best view of the early morning ma...

Imagine a honeycomb. The perfect, six-sided cavern. Its structure: solid. Craft: cultivated. Design: untouched. For thousands of years, it has been untouched . . . and will remain that way. Home and hive. Hive and home. 

          So you crawl into one. Make your burrow. 

          It drips with honey. Lush and thick and sweet, you could get attached, sucking on it. It fills your stomach until it swells and slips into your young lungs. 

          Now you are attached. Addicted even. So you do...

Camden’s armor sinks into the soaked ground, but he doesn’t dare break his stance. The Lady of the Lake stands before him on the water’s surface, shrouded in moonlight, hair flowing in expansive waves. She alone holds the authority to name the next heir who will rule Killeg; should he not be named, House Visroy will fall, and the province will descend into war.