Belatedly she grabbed at the fading shadow only to have it slip out of her grasp. This wasn’t her forte. Her grandmother had only taught her how to banish spirits, not keep them around. She hadn’t previously wanted to keep any around.
Dray rose with every intention to shove past Etri and go out in the rain, regardless of their hatred of getting wet… until they caught the crinkles in the corner of Etri's eyes.
This would be a much better game than one involving a hippo.
It could simply be a bottle of cold coffee or tea, although the label wasn't a brand the three of them drank. It could, but it probably wasn’t. Ametrine had lived with Gilly long enough to assume something more sinister than a breakfast drink filled that bottle.
The door to the adjoining room pushed open a crack. A head of shaggy purple hair appeared and hesitated in the doorway. When the boy shuffled into the room, it became clear that under the mop was a face streaked with tears.
As she breathed in the chilly air of late winter and the aroma of her spiced drink, she found herself frowning. This tranquility felt unnatural.
Blythe let out a little snort of a laugh. "Okay, unexpected I can believe. You can't possibly be saying that Adair is dangerous, though. He's about as dangerous as a kitten in a basket of yarn."
"Sol, you know you're my best friend and that means I love you and want to help with whatever this thing is-- Creators help me, why does it have arms?-- but there's no way in the name of any of the nine Muses that I'm doing this ever again."
The Unexpected Inspiration series is a lighthearted collection of lgbt+ fantasy novels and short stories. It's high fantasy set in an art-centric, contemporary world and is filled with magic, mischief, found family, and carnival performers. More information can be found here.
