Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Why would you need to counteract the spell when you could just break the curse itself?” He shrugged. “Have you ever thought—”
“No offense.” I held up my hand. “But it’s been hundreds of years, and I’m still clearly cursed.”
He made a face. “True…” His frown turned into a smile. “You’ve never had my help before, though, and now that the mist barrier in the forest is lifted—you could always go to Mother and ask. Or even Father. Maybe one of them knows how.”
Pain hit me square in the chest. “You know I’m not allowed back until the curse is broken. They may as well have turned their backs on me too.”
“They had no choice… we had no choice, and you know it, Ben, so stop feeling sorry for yourself. Use your head and figure out a way to look like a tall, handsome Spring Fae again.”
I snorted. “You’re hair’s green. Literally.”
“It’s also extremely shiny, and weirdly enough, no humans seem to even blink at the color.”
“You returned during the right century, that’s for sure.”
“Right?” He grinned, shoved his hands in his pockets, and started to whistle as he kicked a few books near the pile I’d left for Luna. “Any of these helpful?”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m sure they could be. Luna was going to organize them as a trade of sorts. I tell her all the haunting stories about the house, and she organizes the books while she listens—for free.”
He lifted his head with a smirk. “You do realize that was just her excuse to get close to you?”
“I wasn’t born yesterday.” My lips twitched. “At the time, I thought she was just going to do some research, realize she’ll probably never find her mom, freak herself out, and leave. Within seconds of meeting her, however, I knew… leaving wouldn’t be possible, so why not keep her at my side? Why not keep her as safe as possible and then send her away when I can no longer stand to be in the same room as her?”
Aengus bent over and picked up a large tome, dusting it off with his hand. “Romance is dead with you, brother. You don’t just explain to a woman that she’s your soul mate, oh and by the way she dies in your arms, and then let her go. You fight for her even if it means fighting yourself.”
I frowned. “I’m almost insulted at how wise that sounded.”
“I have many such moments. I just refuse to share them with you.” He winked. “Care to read a book about mermaids?”
I shuddered. “That book is more of a warning not to go into the ocean when the Sea Witch is hungry.”
He made a face. “That old broad’s still alive?”
“Unfortunately.” I reached for another book. “Though I don’t understand how. She’s technically immortal or has been, but the orcas rule the seas and long ago decided to limit a sea immortal’s life span. It’s strange, isn’t it?” I fought with the desire to tell him more about what I’d seen in my own basement, about Jasper. Either way, the truth would come out. There was something we were missing, something that was connected, and something that all went back to the curse, to us, to this damned town.
A chair screeched across the floor as Aengus pulled it out and sat, plopping his feet up on the table and crossing his boots as he turned the page. “Well, it’s a simple math problem, brother. She either enspelled herself, or she’s feeding on immortals.” He flashed me a grin. “My vote’s the latter. Otherwise, she’d need an almost constant food supply of happy humans willing to trot to their death. Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something in my teeth?”
I could barely get my breathing under control as my vision tunneled. The immortal downstairs, the one Jasper had killed— My heart raced and stuttered behind my ribs as though ready to explode. The Sea Witch only ever visited the orphanage… she’d said it was a penance.
But what if they—she and Jasper—really were working together? What if he wasn’t just trying to appease her for power but was aligned with her for more than that? What if she wasn’t using him—but he was using her?
I sat, my eyes narrowing slowly. “I saw something in the basement.”
He grinned and dropped his feet to the ground. “You have monsters under the stairs?”
“We’re the monsters,” I pointed out. “And it wasn’t that. It’s part of Jasper’s office. I give him a wide berth for obvious reasons, but he’s been acting stranger than usual. Anyway, I heard a noise and went downstairs. A werewolf was strapped to the table. It looked like they’d been draining his blood. I heard Jasper talking to an assistant about the boy’s blood not being strong enough, no better than a vampire’s. I didn’t recognize him, but I wondered if he was from the orphanage because they said there was no family to contact.”