There were two kinds of liars, those who fibbed for things of good and those who harmed with the rot of their words. But Kandrites were incapable of either. That’s why they’ve been advisors to the kings of Hahnry since the beginning of time. At least, until one accused another of plotting King Jarrod’s murder.
Seriously, what had happened to Heshnee’s blabbering mouth?
The words had jellied in her throat, making her lungs ache for air. The attempt to swallow each discrediting syllable had made them jiggle up her esophagus faster. Yet, the action released a euphoric sense as if belching. And even though her chest inflated gleefully with oxygen, her gut twisted in knots at the wrongness. She watched hopelessly as the soldiers dragged her father to the dungeon screaming his innocence.
“You little maggot, fix this!” Her older sister Kojlia shook her shoulders in their bedroom. They had been escorted to their living quarters until summoned for cross-examination. Kojlia loomed over her with nostrils flared and fingers digging into her muscles. Her long hair caught under Kojlia’s fingers, pulling at her scalp. Ouch! She believed Kojlia would rip her apart if she didn’t comply.
But, every effort to tell the truth expelled another lie to cover the lie. “I overheard him in his study plotting with another man.” She stumbled backward across the marble floor, out of Kojlia’s grip. Her muscles weakened under the weight of her words. Grabbing her head, she shook with disbelief. What the noggin-scum?
The opening strikes me as beyond mid grade level. It starts off with the philosophizing about lies (which is inaccurate btw, there are people who fib just for the heck of it or because they can't be bothered to explain and so on and so forth)
Secondly, the line about Heshnee confused me. What did happen to her mouth? Either you should tell us in the next sentence or you should leave it out.
The physical reaction to lying/suppressing the truth is too much even for an adult novel.
Then we skip to the bedroom without transition. There are 2 'her's referred to in that para and it takes a second read to figure out ho is who.
The last para is intriguing. I think you should start with that. If I understand it correctly, your MC is finding no matter how much she attempts to be truthful, she's only able to spit out that accusation. Now, that would be an awesome beginning. Esp when she is accusing her own father. Elaborate on the accusation scene.