Page 41 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

I cupped her face, my thumbs resting at her temples. Her skin was so soft, and I wondered if her skin was this soft everywhere.

“I want to access your memory of this place,” I said. “Is that okay?”

She nodded, then cursed under her breath. “Sorry. Yes, that’s fine.”

She muttered something about being stupid and that I couldn’t see which had a chuckle breaking free from my lips. “Raevyn, my hands are on your face. I felt you nod.”

“Gods, I’m such an idiot.”

“Nope, you’re adorable.”

There was a sound of a palm hitting skin and her head tilted down between my hands.

“Did you just face plant?” I asked, amused.

She went silent.

“Raevyn?”

“Urgh, yes, I face planted. Sorry.”

I laughed. “You don’t need to be sorry. Trust me, when you do something worth punishing, you’ll know about it.”

She gave a sharp inhale, and my entire body went warm. I needed to get this back on track. Now was not the time to be thinking about how warm her ass would be after I’d spanked it.

I spluttered a cough. “Um, just relax and think about the last time you were here.”

“Okay.”

“Close your eyes, Raevyn. And count backwards from ten.”

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six…

Mother’s dress has a small hole in it. Where the seams met in the back. There was a faint red mark peeking above the neckline where Grandma had hit her with the cane. She will be disappointed that Mother had let the marks show. She never likes anyone else seeing her handiwork.

Today should be my fourteenth birthday, but instead, I’m watching Nissa preen under the attention of Grandma. Her laugh loud and obnoxious. If I weren’t worried about losing my eyes, I’d roll them. But I knew my place. I carried the bags, the coats, the food. I was little more than a servant.

“Raevyn, come.” Grandma beckons me over in her sharp tone. I slowly walk down the long corridor, past a lounge and into the wide open kitchen. A perfect spot for potion making. There was a large island, with a rack suspended above it. Nissa will be able to hang all her herbs, and utensils from it.

“Have you finished gawking, child?” Grandma asks and I know I will pay for my curiosity later.

I nod and hand over the basket. She snatches it from my hand and shoos me away. I’m no longer required.

I walk back the way I came, but my mother grabs my arm as I stroll past.

“Don’t touch anything and stay out of sight.”

“Yes, mother,” I reply dutifully.

Her grip tightens around my arm, her nails digging into my skin hard enough I know there’ll be little red crescents left behind, but I don’t flinch. I don’t show her the pain.

“I’ll call when it’s time to leave,” she hisses, then pushes me away.

I take off, heading up the stairs and out of the way. There’s an upper hallway with several doors and I pick one at random, hoping to find a small space to curl up in. I open the door and step into a study, the walls lined with books and a small armchair beneath a large window. A perfect spot for reading. I pick a tome of spells off the shelf and settle into the chair, disappearing into learning about magic for a few precious hours.

The door slams open and Nissa walks in, her face twisting cruelly. She would be pretty, if her face wasn’t always curled in a sneer.

“What do you think you’re doing, Null? Don’t you know it’s rude to snoop?”

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