❝i want you to touch me there make me feel like i am breathing, feel like i am human ❞
𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇...
on the alter of the devil, up
is down, pleasure is pain,
darkness is light, slavery
is freedom, and madness
is sanity
𝐎𝐑...
𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧�...
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THE NEXT DAY, VERENA FOUND herself standing in a large courtyard, walls of cracked stone were raised high as palace guards questioned Jesper, Inej, and Marko, along with the Conductor. Verena stood meters away, her body covered in a thick coat and uniform that the guards wore. She was stifling hot as the large fur hat laid against her scalp and her feet began the ache with harsh waves of pain caused by the platforms in her boots to make her appear taller.
Exhaustion was laced with the pain. Verena had stayed up all hours of the night before, trying to accumulate a plan that would ease Kaz's pain, but she couldn't. She ran every possibility, went through the entrances of the Little Palace, and even tried to see how expensive lavish clothes would be. But in the end, everyone required an invitation to get into the Little Palace. The only option was Kaz's plan.
"This writ allows you access to the ground, the main ballroom, and nowhere else," the guards explained in a form voice and handed the paper to Marko as Inej and Jesper stood behind him. "You are begin employed by the Queen. You are not her guests. You are to stay together as a group, at all times. No guns, no knives, no weapons of any kind. Punishment for violation of these rules ranges from hearing fired to being fired upon. Now, do we all understand these rules?"
Suddenly, a wave of distressed cries and screams echoed through the courtyard. Verena peered to the side, catching a glimpse of a commoner behind pulled from beneath a blue carriage.
"The Sun Summoner! I just want to see her!" The man explained as he pushed the guard away from him. The guard gestured behind him, making Verena and the other guards rush toward the man. One guard raised his gun and swung the butt of the gun between the man's ribs. He fell to the gravel and rock below him in pain. Verena took a step back as two guards hoisted the man up.
"That's enough," the head guard demanded. "Do we really need the entire corps for one man?" The two men dragged the man off and then the guard turned to the smaller group of guards. "The rest of you, post up now.
Verena and Kaz fell in line with one another. "Are you all right?" She asked in a meek voice, noticing the way Kaz tried to hide his limp.
Kaz responded with a hum, that escaped his barred teeth. Verena remained silent and let her gaze fall on her surroundings. A group of about twenty guards followed carriages into the main Palace entrance, at most four guards were posted at every archway in and out of the grounds, and Grisha, dressed in the keftas were huddled around.
Entering the Little Palace, Kaz and Verena veered from the rest of the guards with ease. The two walked with determination down the large, narrow hallway. The walls were decorated with large paintings, lavish bouquets of flowers, and magnificent chandeliers that hung from the ceilings.
A groan of pain escaped Kaz's lips as he fell onto the nearest pillar that suck out from the walls. "Kaz?" Verena questioned, her eyes scanning Kaz's face. His eyes were clenched as he leaned his weight onto his good leg.
