Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-76.196.233.46-20191016000314/@comment-76.196.233.46-20191020053502

Chapter 1 

'“Why would anyone like you?” Fitz taunted her. “You’re nothing.” '

'“But… you said you wanted it to be me.” Sophie said in a small voice. '

'“That was before. You’re not worth my time, Sophie. Especially if you’re going to get me humiliated and in a bad match.” '

'Sophie knew she shouldn’t tremble. After all, he’d told her before that he couldn’t handle a bat match. But… She’d been clinging to that desperate shred of hope that maybe… he would still love her. Still want her. Still accept her for who she was. Even though that would mean he’d be disgraced and shunned by society.'

'But a tiny part of her had also been ashamed of that hope. Ashamed that she wanted him to stay with her when it would break him. '

'She’d known there would be a chance this would happen. But hearing Fitz say the words still hurt… more than she wanted to admit.'

'“You’re nothing.” he repeated. And this time, other voices joined in. Biana. Keefe. Dex. Linh. Tam. Grady. Edaline. Della. Alden. Elwin. Marella. Wylie. Jensi. Stina.There were people she barely knew. Maurca. Valin. Dedra. Huxley. Audric. The Black Swan joined in. Mr. Forkle. Tiergan. Juline. Blur. Wraith. Livvy. Timkin. Even Tinker with her gravelly voice was there. Her human family was there too. So was the Neverseen. Every single voice she’d ever heard echoed the same thing, over and over again. '

'The voices amplified and suddenly she was spinning. A million different colors burst inside her head, and the world went black.'

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'''Sophie woke up gasping. Sweat was dripping down her face, and she took deep breaths to calm herself. It’s just a dream, she told herself.'''

It was funny, she thought wryly, how even though her echo was gone, she still had to calm herself because of what had happened.

'''She was not going to think about what had happened. '''

'''Sophie quickly got dressed and left her room. As she walked out, she saw Sandor and the rest of her bizarre entourage giving her worried glances. No doubt they’d heard her gasps. She’d probably been screaming while sleeping, too. '''

'''At least they didn’t ask her why she’d been gasping. In the three weeks since her fateful visit to the matchmaking office, she’d had variations of the same dream every night. The first week or so, they’d kept bursting into her room to ask her what had happened. But Sophie hadn’t wanted to tell them. Nobody but Grady, Edaline, and Mr. Forkle knew what she’d been through. Eventually Sandor had realized that she wanted to be left alone, and stopped coming in.'''

That didn’t stop them from worrying about her, though.

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“Wow…” Sophie breathed as she stared at the majestic creature in front of her.

'''A large, scaly, dragonlike animal, it had vibrant red scales with flecks of gold on it. Huge, shiny black spikes and horns jutted out of its hide, making it seem dangerous and predatorial. Transparent claws completed the look. But the part of it that really captured her attention were the wings. Gigantic and strong, they were a swirl of crimson and gold. They were also unlike anything she’d ever seen before.'''

'''“I take it you’ve never heard of the Aragosan before?” Grady asked her. When she nodded, he said, “Well, think of it like a dragon, almost.” He went on, telling her all the details about it. '''

'''She’d asked Grady and Edaline to tell her all about the animals in the preserve. It was one of the only ways she’d been able to stay sane. She had to stay busy, keeping her mind off matchmaking and Tam.'''

'''Ever since her visit to the matchmaking office, when the matchmakers had said that one, horrible word, unmatchable, she’d had to find ways to stay busy. And brainstorm how to convince the Black Swan to tell her who her parents were.'''

'''After she’d left the matchmaker’s office, she had collapsed and painstakingly explained to Grady and Edaline what had happened: Juji and Brisa had told her that without her real parents names, she couldn’t be matched. After she was done explaining, she’d hailed Mr. Forkle and begged him to tell her the truth. '''

Of course he’d said no.

She’d protested for hours, but he wouldn’t budge.

'''So she gave up. Or she made it look like she had. That way, she could come up with ways to convince him to tell her. And he wouldn’t keep telling her no.'''

'''But she remembered the look in his eyes when she’d asked him her last question. “Will you ever tell me?” She’d asked.'''

'''She hadn’t honestly expected him to give her an answer. But his eyes radiated apologies as he said “One day. When you’re strong enough to handle the truth.”'''

- bookhugger