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)
“How can you be so—relaxed!” I cried. “Obviously, something is wrong here. But your biggest concern should be Theseus! Whatever it is in that book is irrelevant! You should be locking me up, questioning me. At least, for God’s sake, glaring at me like your mate. I am—”
“Did Theseus tell you I killed my first mate and my second?” he questioned me at random, his head cocked to the side, his pure-green eyes watching me coldly. “The first thought to betray me, for she did not know the extent of my gift. The mere thought enraged me to such a point that I ripped her limb from limb and set her ablaze. The second, well, the second wife had a child who sought to kill Hinrik, and thus, I killed them both. I felt no guilt for either of them, for I had not loved them. In my long eternity, I have taken many lives, some for the good of my lands, others for the good of myself, and some for no good reason at all. Thus, had I believed you were my enemy or a true threat, Druella, you would have died at my hands before ever registering a thought.”
He stepped forward, giving me the book. “Whatever actions you took against Theseus, against all of us, I am certain it was not for harm. But should I, for the first time, be mistaken, you shall be dealt with swiftly. Does such action satisfy your desire for punishment?”
In a bizarre way, it did.
So, I took the book from his hands, staring at my name, my real name on the front in crayon—Druella Zirie Omeron. I flipped open the first page again, and the words were still there.
My name is Druella Zirie Omeron,
I am eight years old,
I am from Bymoor, Virginia.
My dad is Dovev Omeron.
My mom is Zirie Omeron.
They are gone, so Uncle Axel takes care of me.
He teaches Simone and me magic.
Simone is my best friend.
We learn magic because we are witches.
I am a witch.
Witches protect witches from the monsters.
I will protect us from the monsters.
But all monsters aren’t monsters.
Cuz I met a monster.
I think he is nice. He saved me, but when I tried to see him, he was gone.
He doesn’t know, but I tagged him, so I can find and thank him.
“Monster, monster, stay longer, stay longer, shine bright all night, like the moonlight at midnight for a witch’s sight,” I whispered that part again and looked at Theseus.
But he was no longer in Ulrik’s arms. He was now lying on the couch in the corner of the library. Rhea sat on the end of the couch next to him, and I knew it was wrong, but I was little—
Jealous. Sigbjørn appeared in my mind, and I looked back over to him. His eyebrow rose, and the corner of his mouth turned up slightly. She taught me such emotion. None alive can eclipse Theseus, not even her own wishes. But that is a conversation for another time. Come now, read, Druella, we must go on even as he sleeps.
I nodded, also noticing everyone had come back around, except for Rhea. They were all still tense, clearly unsure of what to make of me now, but I assumed they trusted Sigbjørn and were now around me. I focused back on the pages, flipping them, and noticed there were pages ripped out, but that was less important than the words that were clearly on the page but somehow jumbled and dancing off each page. When Sigbjørn had held the book, there was nothing there. Now, in my hands, it was as if every letter had been dumped onto the page at random—every word jumbled and confused.
How was I supposed to read this?
Undo the magic. The silvery voice of a woman I did not know came to mind again. She popped up whenever she wanted to, her voice like a whisper in the wind.
How do I undo the magic?
She did not answer because she obviously had other pressing things to do and preferred just to come and go as she pleased! Okay. What did I do last time? A spell. A spell to undo whatever magic spell was on it. What was I supposed to say?
“Hidden pages…Show me the phrases?” I cringed at how bad that was. Nothing happened, either, nothing except for Ulrik snorting. I looked up to him, and he bit his lips together. Melora elbowed him so hard it caused strands of her slicked, short, black hair to fall forward. She nodded for me to go on as Ulrik glared at the side of her face, and when he glared, he glared from within an inch of her face, entirely in her space, and she ignored him.
Their playfulness helped but not by much.
Sighing, I looked back down.
“Words unseen, written before I was teen…” I paused, not sure what to say next, the words leaving me. And feeling all of their eyes on me didn’t help. I didn’t want to do this right now. It was all so freaky. Why was this happening? Why was this always happening to me now? I couldn’t even be a normal vampire!