Reba spotted her apprentice’s signal from the shadows behind a pile of rotting barrels and beckoned him over. He ghosted across the street, a pulsing artery of the city’s merchant area in the day time, quiet as a tomb at night. Misty was draped across Byron’s shoulders, greeting Reba with a sharp-toothed yawn. She was …
“Why should I solve your problems? Again.” Ari sat back, trying to keep her expression cool and challenging instead of furious. Phaedre bit her lip, a singe tear trailing from one eye. “I didn’t mean to…” “You never do. And you never learn. It’s past time you grew up.” “But…” Ari stood. “No. I told …
Livvy cringed and tried to smile at the sight of the too-bulky, too-short sweater. Knitted in Nan’s favourite squeaky polyester yarn in a particularly lurid shade of snot green. “Thanks Nan, I love it.” Why couldn’t she be more like Emily and Amanda’s Nan, who just gave them gift vouchers? Nan smiled, it lit up …
The front door slammed, Joy called out. “Tea and cake in the kitchen.” The magic mention of food brought two scowling teenagers to the huge, battered table in the middle of the back room. Joy left them to demolish most of the generous slices of chocolate fudge cake she’d served. Then, as the eating slowed …
Nathaniel Gracen, Imperial Prime Minister, hoped he looked calm as he walked down the endless corridor to the Dowager Empress’s apartments. Her Imperial Majesty did not have favourites among her grandchildren, except when she did, and everyone knew she saw a great deal of herself in Princess Isabella. Who was about to be married and …
Isabella let her four sisters push in front of her to greet their grandmother. Each week, the Dowager Empress invited five of her granddaughters to tea. No one knew how she decided on which to choose, but Isabella was uncomfortably aware of how frequently her company was requested, then ignored. She trailed the others to …
It had been years since Tommaso had spent time in the Imperial Archive. Sure, he’d walked through the main doors any number of times, but he hadn’t been further than the main reading room, where he’d lurked awkwardly behind whichever Imperial prince or princess he was guarding that day as they ordered a copy of …
Pauline stared at the red jelly on the plate in front of her, in the shape of a slowly melting star, what were the strange cubes inside? She wasn’t curious enough to pick up her spoon and find out. Around her, people were talking, laughing, and pretending to eat their desserts. The man sitting next …
“He’s the Global Head of Finance for Midas Private Bank, and went to Rugby and Oxford and turned down a place on the Olympic team to build houses in Africa…” Gretel tuned out. Sondra’s new boyfriend sounded too good to be true, literally. He was either a fabulously skilled and plausible liar, or Sondra was …
Matt stared at the periodic table of elements pinned to the wall. He'd put it there at the start of term, a symbol of his new life, his new focus. It wasn't working. He was supposed to be exploring the mysteries of atoms and reactions. Instead, he was collapsed on the creaky, lumpy single bed …
The DNA of Stories 