The Inheritance Games Chapter Rewrites

The Art of War-V4

I opened the text and the picture attached, and all of the blood drained from my face. In this photo, Emily Laughlin wasn't laughing. She was smiling at the camera—a wicked little smile, like she was on the verge of a wink. Her makeup was natural, but her eyes looked unnaturally large, and her hair...

Was exactly like mine.

"What did you do?" I asked Thea again, more accusation this time than question. She'd invited herself along on my shopping trip. She was the one who'd suggested I wear green—just like Emily wore in this photo.

Even my necklace was eerily like hers.

I'd assumed, when the stylist had asked if I wanted to look like the picture, that Alisa was the one who'd supplied it. I'd assumed it was a photo of a model. Not a dead girl.

"Why would you do this?" I asked Thea, amending my question.

"It's what Emily would have wanted." Thea pulled a tube of lipstick out of her purse. "If it's any consolation," she said, once she was finished turning her lips a sparkling ruby red, "I didn't do this to you ."

She'd done it to them .

"The Hawthornes didn't kill Emily," I spat. "Rebecca said that it was her heart."

Technically, she'd said that Grayson had said it was her heart.

"How sure are you that the Hawthorne family isn't trying to kill you?" Thea smiled. She had been there this morning. She'd been shaken. And now she was acting like this was all a joke.

"There is something fundamentally wrong with you," I said.

My fury didn't seem to penetrate. "I told you the day we met that the Hawthorne family was a twisted, broken mess." She stared at the mirror a moment longer. "I never said that I wasn't one, too."

"Oh wow, couldn't have guessed that one myself. You totally don't show it," I replied sarcastically, slow-clapping in exasperation. "But funny, I'm messed up too and don't act like this; I lost my mother two years ago and have I felt the need to enact revenge upon others involved in my life just because I was grieving? No. I can see that you like throwing your weight around just because you can and no one's said anything yet so you continue to do so. You do it until you get a reaction from the boys, me, because you crave it, thrive off it and in some sick, twisted way it brings you joy. Well, I'm warning you now that it's gonna backfire and it'll come back to bite you in the ass in the future, badly."

Thea closed her lipstick and side-eyed me, then actually turned around to face me before crumpling to the counter in a burst of laughter, cackling to her little black soul's content. I willed myself to remain calm and crossed my arms. My face was as neutral as I could make it seem despite the lip twitches. After a while, her laughter died down to quiet giggles and I tried to keep my tone even and voice smooth, devoid of any feelings when I asked as civilly as possible, "What's so funny?" It felt almost impossible to hide the spark of anger.

"It's just that. Don't you see the irony of your statement? You reacted, meaning I won. I got what I wanted by those standards. Face it, Avery, you don't have it in you to manipulate or play our games in the way we know how. You're not one of us, you never will be. If you don't adapt quickly, you won't survive what's to come; this, this is just the start."

At that, I snapped. I was done playing nice, being the 'bigger person'. Thea was pushing at my limits and I could get pretty angry when I wanted to, which seemed like a sensible option. My rage felt unparalleled at that moment and yet, I breathed in deep, still trying to look unaffected as she dissolved into another fit of hysterics. My arched brow started to spasm irritatedly and I pursed my lips before lifting my heel and slamming it down with full force on her foot. Her snickers stopped immediately and a pained yelp escaped her. She looked at me furiously and I simply looked at her with a merciless smirk; I'd finally gotten her to shut up. How's that for 'Emily's incarnate'? What a smug thought but then, that still wasn't a compliment.

"Whoops, sorry. I lost my balance there for a sec," I grabbed my purse from the counter and started to walk away towards the bathroom door and when I was close, I stopped, listening to her heavy pants and hisses when she tried to move. Calling out, I said, "Thank you for this talk, it was very insightful. For the record, Thea, you helped me find my inner Emily. I appreciate you for activating it. How was that for my first performance as her replacement? I do hope I delivered."

She didn't reply, just let out a little strangled gasp. Thea was still in shock to do much. Good. "Just know that's your only warning to not mess with me unless you can take it." I didn't look back as I pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway. I was done being seen as a tool, a mystery, puzzle, whatever; I was not going to be used by anyone else. For the rest of the year that I was here, I would make that clear. Crystally.