“Senior, Axton is capable.” Piers’ words made Tori smile just a bit. No matter how much he dragged Axton, when the matter was serious, Piers was Axton’s number one supporter.
“Do you believe that his mission will be successful?” Kasen gave Piers a curious look.
“I would not allow him to go to his death.”
Tori was dragged off by her niece, thinking about when she wrote the charm on Axton’s back. Piers obviously encouraged it though not with those exact words...
2023-02-04 06:00:01 +0000 UTC
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“What do you mean you’re going to see your goddaughter? Sebby didn’t say you were going to be the godparent!” Tori snatched her bag off the ground and stormed in. “And why didn’t you tell me you were coming? We need to prepare if an imperial family member is coming. And where are your knights?”
“They’re hiding on the ship.”
Her eyes narrowed and her voice grew colder. “Why are they hiding on the ship?”
“Because you would be mad.”
...
2023-02-02 06:00:04 +0000 UTC
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A thud was heard behind her, and she looked over her shoulder. Montan had dropped a package in his hands and Ewan was standing behind him with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.
Tori inwardly grimaced. She looked back at Axton. “I didn’t mean...why are you covering your chest?”
Axton’s wide gray eyes looked at her with awe as his arms crossed over his broad chest. He shifted his gaze, but didn’t lower his arms. “No reason.”
“Go do it in your room,” Piers said fro...
2023-01-31 06:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Aside from the crystal masters, Kasen, and Piers, Tori didn’t share the results of their mem crystal experiments on the island or the information learned from Master B’alan with anyone else. It was a rare high vibration crystal that could move air to anyone who asked.
Now that she had a far better understanding of the crystal and what it could do, not to mention how it was coveted, Tori was almost too nervous to wear it. What if she lost it? What if it was stolen?
Never mind t...
2023-01-28 06:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The old man took a deep breath and turned the small blue crystal in his hand. His calloused fingers moved over the rough surface. If it was removed from the pale stone still connected to it and polished, it would be a brilliant blue, not inferior to a sapphire. In crystal use, sapphires were blue, but didn’t resonate with water.
Master Ramos said this was because usually the clearer the natural crystal, the more the energy resonated with a person’s body and mind.
“That is li...
2023-01-26 06:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Despite the urging of Piers, Kasen, and Instructor Ignatius, Tori remained awake the rest of the night, taking turns with her instructor to heal Kasen. She had a few prolonged moments of rest, but by dawn, she was still awake, and Kasen’s wound had not yet fully healed over.
Instructor Ignatius estimated it wouldn’t be fully healed until that afternoon, as the wound itself was rather deep and the blood loss also hindered healing. All Tori could do was force her brother to eat variou...
2023-01-24 06:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Perhaps it was the lull after her first real ‘mission’ in collaboration with Piers and his intelligence team, but Tori felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. While she knew that the mission was still in progress, it was no longer her responsibility. Piers had insisted that he would oversee it, and would not tell her any updates unless she asked.
Even when she did, his answers had been short.
Usually, he’d tell her a location where the tracking crystals were leadin...
2023-01-07 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“The consistency is malleable, and it will retain its stickiness until it dries in place.” Mr. Hale, one of the master tanners that did business at Daybreak Garden, told her. Tori sat at the counter where he usually showed customers examples of his work. She touched the sticky resin that she harvested from the trees at the Rotunda Garden.
“It’s not as sticky.”
“Rather than glue, it’s more like a sticky putty,” Mr. Hale told her. “I added some minerals to keep it ...
2023-01-05 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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There was nothing she wanted from Alessa except peace and quiet, but she doubted the childhood love interest of Alessa’s would understand that. Tori stared Tom down as she spat out her words carefully. If he was still in the same headspace that Gideon, Dimitri, and Fabian had been, then no matter what Tori said, she’d be met with suspicion and resistance.
There was no point trying to convince Tom that she only came to help because Alessa asked her. He’d never believe her....
2023-01-03 06:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“Keep your elbows tucked! If they’re out, they’re a target!” Tori walked along the row of first-year students who were new to long swords. There was a half dozen of them, and Tiff had asked Tori to teach them the basics on how to hold the swords and the primary cuts, as Tori was the one who taught her. “Miss Ward, slow down. Concentrate on keeping the cut smooth as you shift from one position to the next. Speed can come later; perfect practice makes perfect.”
“Yes, Senior!...
2022-12-31 06:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“It was one of the last villages to be abandoned in the later end of the great drought,” a thin, weathered middle-aged man said as he stood in front of the table where Tori sat, looking over a map and various papers. “As we were agricultural workers, we went out in search of farm jobs around the empire.”
“And you ended up in the disputed region?” Tori asked without looking up from the reports. The mail carrier in front of her nodded and fidgeted with the wool cap in his hand...
2022-12-29 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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While her brother was playing the gallant hero, Tori turned her attention to Ilyana, interested in seeing her reaction. Sonia seemed to have the same curiosity and the two of them looked at their friend between them.
Ilyana’s eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open as she looked up, staring with a dazed expression at Kasen’s back. For a moment, Tori could almost hear the breathy romcom background music as her eyes crinkled up and she wavered between cringing and disgust. Sonia se...
2022-12-27 06:00:01 +0000 UTC
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“You stay here and be good.” Mom picked him up and cuddled him in her arms before kissing the top of his head and putting him back on the bed. “I left the balcony open and put some cushions out there so you can lay out in the sun.”
Alexander stretched out and let out a lazy meow before dramatically laying on his side. He purposely pumped up the innocence. Mom reached down and rubbed his belly one last time before taking a bag of things and walking out the door ...
2022-12-26 02:30:19 +0000 UTC
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“I said I have no plans to marry,” Tori told Dimitri. “Anyone. Not specifically Piers.”
He blinked and didn’t seem to know what to say. “Then that means you won’t marry him?”
Tori looked back at the guildmasters walking around in front of them. “My plans after I finish school are to travel and work with crystals, in addition to my responsibilities with my county and Lions Gate. Outside of those, I’m not making any plans. However, no matter what h...
2022-12-24 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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A massive thank you to everyone for reading up to the current 200 chapters! The original plan was to do about 50 chapters per school year to total up to 200 chapters, and obviously, it spiraled out of control. Still, we are in their last year, so it should be done within the next few months.
Also another big thanks for everyone's patience in November, after my aunt passed.
It was very taxing for me and my family, but reading everyone's kind words were comforting...
2022-12-22 06:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Tori and Ilyana were up early on their first official class day of school. They picked up their breakfast from Cafe Fortuna and then rushed to their homeroom to ensure that they arrived well before the expected entertainment started. They took their seats at the back of the class, spread out their breakfast on the table along with extra for Gideon and Fabian, and waited.
“You look too happy. Don’t look too happy,” Tori told her in a quiet voice.
“It’s hard,” Ilyana whi...
2022-12-22 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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They were cutting her out.
Tori didn’t say it out loud, but that was essentially what Gideon was doing, putting distance between them and Alessa. He wasn’t just excusing them from one invitation once either, but for an indefinite amount of them. Now, he could use the excuse of training at the Naval Academy to get out of any invitation from Alessa.
Her eyes moved to the young blonde woman whose face dropped. Alessa didn’t seem so disappointed as she was hurt. For a s...
2022-12-20 06:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Tori slowly narrowed her eyes as she watched the smiling face of the Empress pass to get to the last row. Maybe she was overthinking it, but did the Empress request for the judges to start at the end because she was the fourth person they’d judge instead of the seventeenth? She decided to pretend it wasn’t even if it was.
She looked towards her group of friends. Several had returned, as the event was long. Many spectators came in and out, usually only staying at the beginning and en...
2022-12-17 06:00:02 +0000 UTC
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She was irritated with herself for being so curious as to wonder what was happening with Pargath and the Duraga Federation. There was an annoying sense of anticipation, as if she was waiting for an inevitable event. She didn’t know how it would come about or when, but it would happen and part of her knew that she would be involved.
“I bet this didn’t happen in the original game....” Tori muttered under her breath as she pinned her student guide sash.
“Tori, the signups f...
2022-12-15 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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They paid careful attention to the passing days, trying their best to speculate where the Ocean Queen was on a map based on the route planned and location of the merchant vessel harboring the members of the Hong and Varsha delegation. After two days, Eili told them that, as long as there were no delays in route, Deidre and the Ocean Queen should’ve contacted the vessel.
The transfer of individuals would only take a few minutes, then the ship would turn around immedia...
2022-12-13 06:00:05 +0000 UTC
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“The Empire of Varsha submits a formal plea to allow the immediate entry of three of our consuls as their safety has been threatened in neighboring Parsha. We submit this request under Soleil International Act Eight, Section Five, regarding emergency assistance to citizens of friendly nations.”
Ambassador Das’ aide hastily finished a letter and stamped it before handing it to Ambassador Das to sign and then presented it to Piers.
“Similarly, the Empire of Hong submits a fo...
2022-12-10 06:00:05 +0000 UTC
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There was a time and a place for Tori to correct an individual on her relationship with Piers.
And this was one of them.
Across the table, next to Prince Cyrus, Gideon’s head shot up as soon as he heard the foreign prince’s words. His eyes went from his brother to Tori, and carried a mixture of uncertainty and horror. Axton flinched a bit, but didn’t show any outward discomfort; almost as if he expected it.
Piers raised a brow and slowed his eating. Those who were seat...
2022-12-08 06:00:06 +0000 UTC
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“Welcome!” Ewan and Albert chorused as they stood in the foyer in their togas with a gray and brown palla wrapped around them, respectively. Their animal masks went over their faces, leaving their mouths exposed, as smiling eyes looked at Ilyana from the eye holes. “Happy birthday!”
Ilyana’s eyes were wide, and she almost took a step back as her face lit up. “It’s a masquerade! Oh, I didn’t guess that!”
“Happy birthday!” Sonia and JP appeared by the entrance ...
2022-12-06 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“You sent her an imperial carriage?” Tori’s glare bore into Gideon as he shrank back. They stood on the upper floor of the restaurant. Eventually, it would be turned into rooftop seating that overlooked the plaza and the water past the Promenade, but at the moment, it was where employees often went to have lunch.
Tori had no qualms with climbing up to use the rooftop as a perch from which to watch the ships pass, or in this special case, safely observe the transport ship meant to ...
2022-12-03 06:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Montan looked nervous. He glanced from his hands to the shore and back as the small ferry vessel was steered through between the islands to get to the embarkation island.
“You don’t have to see her,” Kasen said from the wooden seat across from Montan. “The negation charm needs to be within a certain distance. It won’t be affected by walls.” He grinned a bit with amusement.
“How will I know behind what wall she’ll be?” Montan asked with furrowed brows. He wasn’t...
2022-12-01 06:00:10 +0000 UTC
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He jerked back his head and from the wide-eyed, speechless look on his face, he didn’t expect such a rebuttal from her.
Tori didn’t know what he expected. She wasn’t a life coach. She was a forty-year-old woman in a teenager’s body just trying not to meet a tragic ending for her and her family. And even if she wasn’t, they were the same physical age.
She helped the love interests not to be altruistic, but because she had an opportunity to divert them from her de...
2022-11-29 06:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Her birthday was approaching and since it wasn’t considered an important milestone birthday, as she was already an adult, Tori didn’t put much effort into planning her celebration. She thought she’d have a nice private dinner on Reina, dance around with her friends, and watch fireworks.
Her mother wanted to stay for her birthday, but knowing that Antonia hadn’t planned to come to Viclya at all and had essentially disappeared from her work in Sur, Tori encouraged her mother to go...
2022-11-26 06:00:03 +0000 UTC
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He was hungry.
That was his first memory, or rather, feeling. He couldn’t see and could only let out small, pitiful mews as he blindly searched for warmth and a teat to drink. Though he cried out, his voice was lost in the cacophony of several other mewing brothers and sisters. Every time he moved to try to get an advantageous position, another small claw would push him to the side.
After some time, the mewing from his siblings faded and he could hear suckling....
2022-11-24 08:00:05 +0000 UTC
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“Does your niece dislike me?” Piers’ voice asked as Tori tried to control her laughter from the swing.
“No, how can you think such a thing? Isn’t it obvious she thinks highly of you? She mentions you all the time.”
“She named her chicken after me and says I am a loyal servant to you.”
“She didn’t say ‘servant’, she said ‘sidekick’,” Tori told him as she muffled a snicker. “There’s a difference.” There was a long pause on the other side.
2022-11-24 06:00:05 +0000 UTC
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“Are you all right?”
Tori brought the wooden brush down against Layla’s mane in gentle, rhythmic motions as she zoned out. The wooden brush with the boar bristles was strapped to her hand with a piece of leather. Her godfather had prepared all sorts of things related to caring for her horse for her.
“This is an unexpected series of events,” she said in a dazed voice. “I never expected Montan Alvere to become my godbrother.”
“He has yet to accept,” Piers sai...
2022-11-22 06:00:06 +0000 UTC
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