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)
“What is not wrong with your outfit, Rue?” I sighed, walking over to the largest boulder. “You think we like wearing these outfits every night? We wear them to leave no opening for a vampire to scratch us.”
And, currently, her white skin was exposed everywhere.
“They have to come close to do that. And I have yet to meet one that can,” she scoffed, going back to typing. “The vampire I came across tonight didn’t even make it within twenty feet of me.”
“Overconfidence leads to mistakes, Rue!” I called out to her, but she waved her hand to me as if I was her mom, and she was over this conversation—because that was exactly how it was even though I wasn’t her mother.
Except for Tate and Tala, each of us was a year apart, with Jericho the oldest at twenty-nine. You’d think we’d be mature, that we’d take our jobs seriously and act like adults. But sadly, we were nothing but teenagers at heart. And it wasn’t really our fault. Since birth, we’d all been raised strictly under the harsh protection of our coven. Forced to train and retrain every day as we were born with extraordinary magic. Or, as my uncle said, magic beyond our years.
We never experience things like proms, or regular high schools, or normal relationships. Our destiny was first. We had a duty to protect this world from the monsters who killed our families, who wanted to drink our blood and that of humans dry. We were the nine of nine.
And, sometimes, the burden was too heavy.
“Looking hot, Rue,” Tala Blackwood said as she came through the clearing with her brother, luckily both of them dressed as they should. The Blackwood family was one of the oldest in Bymoor and belonged to the Iroquois Native American tribe. Both Tala and Tate were tall, each over six feet, with warm-brown skin and honey-brown eyes. They both kept their hair long, but, for some reason, Tate’s always looked better to Tala’s annoyance.
“Who do you have a date with this late at night? That sounds sketchy,” Tate questioned as he moved to sit by Simone…like always.
And she pretended not to care—like always.
“None of your business,” Rue shot back. “And thank you, Tala. Apparently, Druella has a problem with it. Jealous?”
I gasped at her. “Yeah! That’s exactly it!”
“Isn’t it because it shows too much skin?” Jericho Dupree said with his favorite white snake around his neck, hissing at Faye Whitmore as she teased it with her finger. Her red hair was out and exposed everywhere.
“I dress how I want, and I won’t let anyone shame me.” Rue huffed, but the moment we all felt the magic and saw the ball of earth, dirt, and clay fly toward her head, we knew Fiona was here.
“You little beast child!” Rue screamed as she got up, trying to get the dirt out of her hair.
“Do not call me little!” Fiona screamed back even though she was little. I didn’t even think she’d grown since she was twelve. Still standing at four feet, eleven and a half inches. “Why did you ditch me, Emo Barbie!”
“Are you insulting me or complimenting me?” Rue laughed at her.
“Insulting! But you’re so stupid you think being compared to a brainless, disproportionate, plastic doll is a compliment!” Fiona yelled back at her.
“Listen here, dwarf! I will kick you to the moon!” Rue said.
“I am not a dwarf!” The fact that she had to stand on the stone to yell in Rue’s face about that did not help her case.
“Where is Adelaide?” Tala asked, looking around.
“Where else?” I nodded to the bent tree, where I could feel Adelaide taking a nap inside. Lifting two of my fingers, I pulled her out and onto the ground.
“Hey!” she snapped at me as she hit the grass. “That hurt!”
“Nothing hurts more than my ears right now,” Jericho said as he sat beside Fiona and Rue fighting.
I was annoyed, too.
“Enough!” I hollered, and the winds howled with me, my voice shaking through the leaves of the trees.
Rue and Fiona glared at each other before taking their seats with a huff. I glanced at Adelaide, and she was seated, allowing me to get on with this finally.
“How many?” I asked as I looked around the circle.
“Faye and I took one. A Noble,” Jericho said.
“Tala and I got two Lessers,” said Tate.
“One Lesser,” Fiona said.
“Which I took care of,” Rue muttered, but when I looked at her, she just fixed her nose ring.
“Druella and I had a Noble and one Lesser,” Simone added.
I glanced at Adelaide, who shrugged. “There were none left for me.”
“Did you fall asleep in the tree again?” I snapped at her.
“No,” she said.
“Shadow,” I called, and the cat appeared beside her. “Did we fall asleep in the tree again?”
“Yes, Adelaide,” she exclaimed.
“Bigmouth!” Adelaide yelled as she grabbed hold of Shadow and then glared at me. “Please stop tricking my familiar! That is no fair!”