(FREE STORY with exclusive paid chapters | Soon editing for publication!)
⊹ Book 1 of the Aldergrove Duology ⊹
After being told he has only six months left to live, Clementine decides to track down his sister's murderers, leading him to Aldergrove A...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⤠ ≻ ◈ ≺ ⤟
As the morning grew later, the group headed to a café for breakfast. They all had their outfits; in the black, silver-pattered bag under the café table, Clementine's new suit was wrapped in black silk. Atop it, a horned wolf masquerade mask sat. Mavis had her butterfly mask placed on the table as she squealed about how beautiful it was, and Mathew's black half-face mask rested in his lap. The feathers of Elliot's mask protruded from the top of his bag, swaying in the light, cold breeze. As for Sebastien, Clementine hadn't seen what he'd brought. The kid was sitting next to him and his bag was under his seat, but Clementine couldn't see what was buried under the black silk.
He didn't partake in his allies' chatter, though. Instead, he stared out at the busy streets in the distance. He kept his hands wrapped around his cocoa mug, which was providing him some warmth—they'd have sat inside if it wasn't for the group of five academy students sitting by the snack stand. But the longer he stared, the more his heart started to ache. Knowing that his sister used to run through these streets with Marco saddened him. If only he had gone with her that night, if only he had insisted more.
No. There was no use in wallowing. He'd done enough of that. He took his eyes off the town and looked down at his cocoa. But it was harder to ignore his grief when he was sitting in the very town he'd found his sister's body. All that blood, all those tears. He scowled, picking up his spoon, which he then used to stir his drink.
His scowl evidently hadn't gone unnoticed, though. Sebastien leaned closer. "What are you frowning at?" he mumbled.
He tutted and leaned back in his seat. He wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now.
"We still need to get some crystals," Elliot said. "Clementine, do you know if there's a crystal store around here?"
Looking over at him, Clementine shrugged. "Somewhere. I didn't really leave the orphanage."
"That's okay, we can ask someone." Then, he went back to chatting with Mathew and Mavis.
"Hey," Sebastien mumbled.
With an irritated sigh, Clementine looked over at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, this time without a smirk.
But his tone change didn't make Clementine feel any less hesitant to answer. "Nothing."
