“Why?” I ask her. “I won’t do it again, I promise.” I had just gotten in trouble for stealing a bagel. Not a very heroic way to be killed for a crime. The famous Sage Martin stands before me, a gun pointed at my head. If the situation weren’t as deadly, I would be laughing. This is just how Charlotte would imagine me dying. Charlotte is my best friend. She would really hate to see me die regardless. “You do know stealing is punishable by death?”

“I do.”

“So why did you do it?”

“Do you want to know what it feels like to be hungry? Probably not, but you wouldn’t even have to, being fed more than you need every day. I should be digging through your trash cans right now.” She grunts, and her grip on the gun tightens. “Why should I let you go?” I sigh. “I didn’t ask you to.” She smiles. “But you want me to.”

“They have seriously understated you brains. You might be the smartest person I know,” I say sarcastically. “Considering that you’re being compared to my cat.” She releases the gun from my head, and I take the first breath I have taken in fifteen minutes. “I really don’t like you-“

“Me neither.”

“- but I’ll let you go. Only because I’m feeling nice today.” I smirk. “Or maybe it’s because I’m your sister.”