Secret Wings

Chapter 26

Hi!

I loved to hear everybody's thoughts on Bree on the last chapter!

At some point while reading your comments I imagined that if Bree was an animal she'd be grumpy cat...

The lovely cover for this chapter is by Mahina Barritt!

Enjoy the chapter!
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Recap:

In the last chapter, Hailey tried out different weapons under Bree's critical gaze. As she showed more facilities with the bow (hitting the target every time, whereas with the dagger she threw them all in the sand), Bree tells Hailey that will now be the weapon she trains with.

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Chapter 26

Autumn and I were standing near the now empty training arena.

"You won't start training until tomorrow, but when you do it'll take up half of your day. I won't have as much time to see you, then, so we should make the most of the time we have right now." Autumn told me.

I agreed with her. "We'll still find some time to hang out, though. What do you want to do right now?"

"I don't know, anything in particular you wanted to see or do?"

I started thinking if there indeed was anything, when Autumn called out to someone behind me, "Jeremy!"

A guy whom I would guess to be about two years older than me turned his head towards us and, at Autumn's beckoning, started walking towards us.

"That's my older brother," Autumn informed me.

I could probably have figured that out even if she hadn't told me. Jeremy had the same diamond-shaped face and black hair as his sister, the latter of which hung in loose curls around his head. Whereas Autumn's wings were purple though, her brother's were a dark blue.

"I'm going to hang out with Hailey tonight, and the twins are somewhere around the castle, in case Mum asks," Autumn told her older brother.

"All right, does 'tonight' mean you're sleeping over or that you'll be back for dinner?"

A smile spread on my face. Sleepovers were a great way to bond with your friends, and I really wanted to get to know Autumn even better.

"Oh yes, Autumn, you should sleep over! My room is more than big enough."

Autumn looked pleased by the idea, but she asked, "Are you sure? I don't want to bother you."

"Of course, I'm sure!"

"Awesome! Thanks, Hailey."

"So, you are sleeping over," Jeremy answered his own question. "Autumn, I'll find the twins if you do the dishes for me tomorrow night." Seeing Autumn's skeptical look, he added, "Mum told you to look after them, not me."

Autumn sighed and rolled her eyes. "All right, deal."

Her brother was called over by some friends and promptly left us with a "Have fun and don't do anything stupid!"

Autumn rolled her eyes again, even though he was too far away to see us now. We decided to go back to the castle and drop by the kitchens for some food. We were walking through a long hallway, chatting about everything and nothing in particular, as only good friends do, when a polite voice interrupted us.

"Excuse me, Princess. The king wants to see you."

By his outfit, I gathered he must be one of these guards who stood watch in front of some hallways for no apparent reason -well, none that I could see, at least.