Page 4 of Court of Rivals
His pout softens as he looks back at me. “Is it achocolatecake?”
My grin widens. “Maybe.”
He pumps his fist. “Yes!”
“Race you inside?” I ask.
He starts to climb over the fence, and I grab his foot, yank off his shoe, and throw it into the woods. Then, I open the gate and race toward my house, ignoring the angry shouts of my best friend.
Life is good.
But it’s strange, the second the thought enters my mind a chilly wind sweeps over me. I freeze in the middle of my yard and look around in confusion, every hair on my arms prickling. Is it magic? Is it an approaching storm?
I don’t know.
“But something’s in the air,” I whisper to myself, unease crawling down my spine.
2
Harper
It’s earlythe next morning, and I’m just finishing breakfast with my mother, father, and four brothers. My older brothers, Cedric, Rowan, Oswin, and Eamon are like a ravenous herd of pigs. If I don’t watch my hands at the table, I just might lose them. By the time we’re done, the table looks like it’s been licked clean.
The four of them are mini-copies of my father. They all have identical dark brown hair, and they’re built tall and sturdy. Even though I’m built like my father and brothers, I look like a giant version of my petite mother. I have her golden blonde hair and bright hazel eyes. But while she looks delicate and ladylike, I look like I step on delicate ladies like her.
Still, I don’t mind being pieces of both my parents.
What Idomind is the fact that my brothers act like children. The Dravari live very long lives, so they tend to wait for marriage and kids until they’re in their thirties or forties, so that part about my brothers is perfectly normal. But while the Dravari people tend to act like they’re in their twenties when they’re wellinto their thirties and forties, my brothers are in their thirties, still acting likefourteen-year-olds. It gets to be pretty irritating pretty fast.
“So what’s on the agenda today?” I ask.
Rowan starts to knock his shoulder into Oswin over and over again, until Oswin shoves him. He goes flying into Cedric who, as the oldest, tolerates very little. He starts in on his lectures as the two tumble around fighting on the wooden floor. Eamon tries to escape the mess. As the youngest and smallest, he knows how it goes when he fights with the twins. Rowan and Oswin manage to knock him clean off his feet before he can escape, and then the three of them are a tangled pile of limbs, just like when they were toddlers, even though now they’re grown men.
My dad, a man of few words, kneels over them and grabs Rowan and Oswin by the ears, hauling them out of the tangled mess as they say, “ow, ow, ow,” over and over again. Eamon bolts away from them, and Cedric continues to straighten and inspect his clothes, probably not wanting to look bad if Rosaline stops by today. He’s sweet on her.
“Enough,” my dad says, then releases their ears.
The twins rub their ears, noses wrinkled, but they don’t dare say a word.
“The boys,” my father draws out the words, “and I will be busy in the fields all day.”
My mom stands from the table and begins gathering the dishes, and I push back my chair and start stacking plates. “And Harper will be busy all day collecting herbs in the woods.”
I grin. I love collecting herbs. It’s a great excuse to spend the day alone in the woods, exploring and stretching my legs a little.
“No problem.”
My mom gives me a look. “I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important, but I need more mandrake.”
I freeze. Mandrake root is a rare and useful plant used in healing for pain relief, fertility, and sleep disorders. We need to keep it on hand, but the location of the plant is pretty far from our home, in a hard-to-reach place. If I’m going to get there and back before it gets dark, I need to leave right away.
As if reading my mind, my mom says, “I already packed you a lunch.”
I’m not sure I want to get the mandrake root, but I’m the only one who can safely reach itandknows where it’s located, thanks to my mom, so it’s got to be me. So, I say, “Thanks.”
I start to head for my room to get properly dressed and ready when my mom stops me. “We need to talk before you go.” Then she gives my father a look.
He nods his head. “Boys, outside.”
