Page 54 of The Skinny

I thrust out my hand, palm open. “What is that?”

My brother peered at me through shaggy brown hair. “Something Dead Eye will give us good money for.” He placed it in my hand.

It was a knife as long as his forearm and made from a large animal’s rib, sharpened and shaped to a natural curve. The figures of a mother bear and her cubs decorated its blade, their eyes bejeweled and bodies hammered gold.

I swallowed, not wanting to ask the next question. “Where did you get this?”

“Found it.”

I stared at the knife. “This is ceremonial, Mischa. You didn’t find it.”

“Yes, I did!”

“Where?” He avoided my hard gaze and I grabbed his arm, pinching flesh to bone. I was still stronger than him, even if I was just barely taller. “Where did you get it?” I shook him hard enough to make his teeth rattle.

“The temple, okay? Are you happy to have the truth, Auri? I stole it from Mother Moraine’s altar.” He yanked his arm from my grip. “I don’t see why you’re so mad. They had three more just like it. They had offerings piled higher than my head! Food and wine and silks! They’re not starving like us. They’re wearing jewels and new clothes and have roofs that don’t leak. They don’t have biter flies chewing them up alive in their own bedrooms. Heck! They have bedrooms and beds!” He stomped across our one-room hut and kicked over the bench where we ate and slept. It and the three-legged table were our only furniture. “They can spare one stupid ceremonial knife, Aurelia!”

I stuck my calloused hands in his face. “I don’t know which blisters are from hauling coal buckets and which ones are from swinging my glaive in the practice arena.”

He rolled his eyes. “Spare me the lecture. I’ve heard it so many times, I can recite it in my sleep. All you do is work and fight to take care of me. Well, if I’m such a burden, why don’t you sell me to the slavers?”

“Stop,” Drew said. “Good,” he murmured. “I think the foundation’s working.”

“What’s it about?” Aithan asked. “I definitely want to hear more.”

Drew grinned. “Yeah? Excellent. Mischa gets sent into the garden and Aurelia follows to save him. She meets three men who can shift into bear form. Turns out the so-called gods are the people sacrificed to the Garden and Mother Moraine’s hiding some secrets. Also, there’s a lot of hot sex.”

“Between Aurelia and the three bears, I presume?” Aithan asked.

“Correctamundo, sir.”

“I would buy that, especially if Zel’s narrating.”

“I need to figure out Mischa’s voice,” I said. “That read was really rough.”

“Don’t care,” Drew said and Aithan added, “I could listen to you all day.”

“So Moraine’s the snake in the grass?” I asked.

Drew waggled his head. “Yes and no.”

“Moraine’s a red herring,” Aithan guessed.

Again, Drew replied, “Yes and no. Danger lurks right under Aurelia’s nose, but she doesn’t realize who the threat really is.”

“Someone known to be a danger, but not to what extent?” I guessed.

“Something like that. If I say more, I’ll spoil it.”

Aithan said, “No spoilers, please. I like being surprised by Drew’s books.”

15

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS

“Nice digs,”Drew said as the SUV followed the curve of my parents’ driveway and the house came into view.

Aithan whistled. “Not a shabby way to grow up.”

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