Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
You are strong, Druella.
A total badass.
No vampire can scare you.
Trust your magic.
Trust Theseus.
Trust your magic.
Trust Theseus.
You are strong, Druella.
I repeated the words repeatedly in my head while ignoring everything, breathing in and out slowly, and allowing the magic inside of me to circulate from within. Magical mediation was calming, so I no longer felt nervous or fearful by the time I reached wherever I was going. In fact, I held my head up high, high enough to see we were in what looked to be the center of a Greek-style foyer, the walls covered in mosaic tiles, with larger-than-life statues underneath that lined each side. From above, the light of the full moon poured in, but that wasn’t right—it should have been morning here.
Was the glass magic?
I couldn’t focus on it because at the opposite side, in front of iron doors, sat the most beautiful woman with long, dark hair and familiar gray eyes, like a queen. No, a real Greek goddess, dressed in fine silk. She was covered in gold from the golden laurel wreath crown on her head to bangles on her wrist. She didn’t blink. She didn’t breathe. If I could not sense her presence, I’d think she was the most realistic statute on the face of the earth.
“You’ve spared not even the crown, Mother?” Theseus asked, and it was so quiet that his low voice was amplified through the whole temple.
She still did not speak, only stared openly, directly, sternly at me.
“Mother—”
“Why is she still a witch?” she demanded, her voice as cold as ice wished to be.
“Because I want to be,” I spoke up for myself before Theseus had to.
Her eyebrow rose slightly. “You dare to speak?”
“Double dog dare, in fact,” I shot back with my head up, and I was sure I heard a snicker, but it didn’t come from the three of us.
We weren’t alone.
“How bold you are, little witch,” she taunted, a frown on her lips. “It displeases me.”
“My name is Druella Zirie Omeron. My friends and family call me Dru. You may call me Ms. Omeron like every other vampire but Theseus. I don’t really care if it displeases you.” I smiled wide only to hear a few other snickers and chuckles.
I turned to ask Theseus, but he was gone. He was here, I could still feel him, but he was gone.
Shit.
Stay calm, Druella.
“How quick your tongue is, witch. Like so many of the witches I’ve killed in my past.” Her eyes narrowed on me.
My hands clenched into fists.
Stay calm, Druella!
“You won’t kill me, though,” I managed to say.
“Do not be that certain—”
“Theseus told me you are the one who saw me. The reason he began to search for me. You’re his mother. You do not want to hurt him, so you won’t hurt me.”
“Are you using my son as a shield!” she snapped.
“I’m just telling the truth.”
For the first time, she smiled, and I really, really wished she hadn’t. She was intimidating enough with a scowl or an emotionless expression, but the smile on her face made her look sinister. Like I’d fallen into a trap.
“Truth?” she repeated, rising from her chair and walking over to me—no, circling me. “I’m also capable of giving truth. Would you like to hear it, witch?”
“Do I have a choice?” I asked, observing her as she walked around me.
“First truth, no, you do not have a choice.” Her cold voice spoke from behind, making my body tense, only slightly relaxing when I could see her in the corner of my eye again. “Second truth, you are madly in love with Theseus. Even far greater than you seem to realize. I see him imprinted all over your little mortal heart.”
“Thanks for stating the obvious to me. I was clued into that a little while ago, and the fact that I followed him here kind of hammered it home for me. Though I’m glad I said the words to him right before we came, or you would have spoiled it.” I bit the inside of my check, really not liking this at all.
“Third, truth.” She spoke again, now directly in front of me, staring deep into my eyes. “You, like so many Wiccan, are selfish and avaricious for magic.”
My eyes narrowed as I glared up at her. “I am learning not to judge all vampires by the horrible ones I have met. Maybe you should learn to do the same with witches.”
“I do not care about all witches. I care about my son and, therefore, you, which means you cannot remain a witch!”
“I will not be told what to be! Not by you or anyone else!” I hollered back at her, feeling my fingers spark.
“And that selfishness is the reason why you will hurt him. Do you know what it is to live a thousand years of loneliness? It is like a darkness that consumes from the inside out. And here you are now, finally shining a light on his life, and then what? You will die, and he will be alone again? Eternity remembering you fondly—that is what you want?”