Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
We cross the packed library, heading to the same table that we’ve occupied for the last two days. Kipp has his shell on the table surface and sits atop it. Arrod and Hemmen are pulling out chairs next to him, and Master Jay is already there, waiting on us. I hurry over to take my seat next to Kipp, smiling at my small friend. Raptor takes the seat at the other end of the table, scowling at all of us as if he doesn’t like his chair. I don’t understand his mood.
The moment we’re seated, Kipp gets up. He heads to the stack of books and hands out learning volumes created by the archivists to help fledglings master the basics of the intricate Old Prellian glyph language. I should be happy to be inside and warm, but truthfully, I’d rather be on the obstacle course. I can’t read worth a lick, and even the simplest of sentences takes me far too long. It’s embarrassing, and I stay quiet so the others don’t discover just how poor at reading and writing I truly am.
“Turn to page thirty-seven,” Master Jay says, circling the table. “We’ll start with where we were yesterday and see how many of the eight hundred and twenty-two common symbols of Old Prellian you’ve retained.”
I flip my book open, trying to find the right page…and then stop. A bright splash of red lettering on a previous page catches my attention and I turn back to it. Jagged lettering in vivid scarlet has been scrawled across the artifact-printed book on page twenty. It takes me a moment to realize what it says.
GWENNA IS A THIEF.
I slam the book shut, panicking.
“Is there a problem, fledgling?” Master Jay asks.
I panic again, because if I tell him what it says, he’ll wonder what’s going on. Do I hide it? Is mine the only book with this message, or has it been written across every student text in the library? “Sorry, thought I saw a bug.” I force myself to open the book again, my expression neutral, and turn farther ahead in the book, deliberately avoiding horrible page twenty.
“Good.” Master Jay hooks his thumbs in the pockets of his jacket. “Now, let’s review what we learned yesterday. The Prellian language is considered a feminine language. That means that all non-sentient objects will have female pronouns attached….”
I’m itching to turn back to page twenty, but I don’t dare. The writing on the page was so bright, so lurid, that it’s sure to grab Master Jay’s attention…or anyone else’s. I peek over my book at Raptor. He’s watching me, his gaze intense. I don’t know if that means that his book has been vandalized or if mine is the only one. I turn to Hemmen, but he’s reading his book intently.
When I turn to look at Arrod, however, he’s staring at me, his eyes wide.
Shit.
I stare down at my pages again, the words and symbols blurring before my eyes. I can’t concentrate. I’m scared of being kicked out, but more than that…I’m starting to get angry. Why the fuck am I being targeted? Is it all because I’m a woman?
If so, that’s an absolutely shitty thing to do, framing me as a thief just because they don’t like my gender. I haven’t even been in a mucking tunnel yet. Well, in any sort of official capacity. I haven’t tried anything. They just don’t like that I’m here learning.
They want me back in the kitchens. Because that’s the only place good enough for a woman.
The more I think about it, the more I fume. I grit my teeth, but that page in the book is taunting me. I can’t take it any longer. While Master Jay is talking about how to recognize an ottin sun glyph from an ehld circle, I turn back to page twenty and rip the damned thing out of the book. I wad it into a ball, and immediately Kipp snatches the ball from my hand and shoves it deep into his shell.
I’m both grateful that he’s assisting me and horrified that he knows just what I’m doing. It’s clearly in his book, too.
Master Jay stares at me, open-mouthed. “That book is intended for all students, not just your use, fledgling!”
“I’m sorry. There was another nasty bug on the paper. Big one. I panicked.” I flutter my lashes at him and give the teacher my most “helpless female” expression. “We weren’t on that page, were we?”
“There are a lot of bugs in the library,” Raptor drawls. He leans back, eyeing Master Jay. “Should something be done about that?”
The teacher frowns. “An infestation can be a problem. Let me speak with the archivist working today.”
He walks away, steps crisp, and the moment he’s gone, Raptor snatches Hemmen’s book from him.
“Hey,” Hemmen protests. “I was reading that.”