Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Alexander disappeared around the stacks, his awful promise lingering behind to keep me company.
I never got those books or finished that paper. I didn’t leave the lonely archives at all until the torchlight paled under the sun.
I TRUDGED INTO THE dorm late the next morning. My friends were all inside—exactly where I didn’t expect them to be.
“Hey. Shouldn’t you be in class?”
Ionna poked her head out of her alcove. I guessed it was the familiarity of being around friends that made her comfortable walking around in nothing but her breast band and undergarments. “None of us should. There’s a memorial for Galen Teresi today. We’re all required to attend.”
“I know what you’re thinking but no,” Theron spoke up. He was also bare-chested while he chose between formal tunics. “Morning lessons aren’t canceled. They’re pushed back. Did you get to finish your scrolls?”
I shook my head. “Hopefully Hondros punishes me and just me this time.” A flicker of movement drew my attention to the space beside mine. “Where’s the memorial?”
“Near the southwest tower. By the lake. There’ll be signs telling you where to go.”
“Okay, thanks.” I took a step and stopped. “Theron, have you ever heard of a guy named Calix?”
He dropped his shirts, brows snapping together. “Yes, but I hope you haven’t. He’s a son of Aphrodite with a nasty power.”
“To make people fall in love with him.”
“To make them fall in love with the first person they see,” he corrected. “Doesn’t matter who. An eighty-year-old man with rotted teeth. A murderer. Your own brother. One look and you’re so helplessly devoted, you’d jump off the top of the imperial palace tower if they asked you to.
“Wait. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” I said, moving toward the alcove. “I just overheard some girls talking about him.”
“I hope everyone’s talking about him and warning others to steer clear. He’s close with Sirena and the rest of the imperial heirs. All those guys think they’re untouchable because they’re next in line for the council seats.”
“Thanks, Theron.” I took everything he said and filed it away. Alexander said I wouldn’t need revenge against Calix because he’d do a fine job punishing himself. I didn’t think he was lying. No, I was certain Alexander Damien meant everything he told me the night before.
But that didn’t mean I’d do nothing against the man who... stole my first kiss.
“Daciana?” I tapped on her desk, drawing her head up. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
She looked okay. Daciana was bright and beautiful as she was every morning. Her wavy two-colored crown was brushed till it shone and that always present smile hung on her lips. Dare I say something that would take it away?
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” I began slowly. “You disappeared after history class yesterday. I was worried about you.”
“Disappeared,” she repeated, rolling it on her tongue. “What a nice thought. Back home, I’d have to run for miles through mud and lakes for my pack to lose my scent. Kinda nice to be somewhere I don’t have to run far for peace.
“It’s not as nice that I worried you. Sorry about that. I just wasn’t expecting to hear about vampires here of all places.”
I joined her on the bed. “You didn’t know about the wars either?”
“No, I knew. Knowledge can’t be hidden from the pack. The history of our ancestors is a gift from the goddess that’s meant to grant us wisdom. Seeing the lessons they learned and the mistakes they made, makes each generation stronger.”
“What does that mean? Seeing the lessons?”
Daciana gazed off into the distance. “It means I’ve lived a thousand lives, Aella, and nearly all of them were ended brutally and painfully by a vampire... including my mother.”
It was the second time within hours that I was struck speechless. She can’t be saying... Please, Hera, mother of all, don’t let her be saying what I think she is.
“Do you mean you saw it all in a vision? Like Ionna?”
“I wish they were visions. Those would be easier to bear.” She tossed her head. “We see it all as if we’re walking in their shoes. Looking through their eyes. On the longest night of the year, we pray for the goddess to unite us—binding us together, and to her, forever. In return we are blessed”—she let out a small laugh—“or maybe we’re humbled to see, hear, smell, and feel those who came before.
“I felt his teeth sink into her throat as she screamed for my father to run with me. I heard my own fading cries as she died alone on the cold floor.” Daciana flashed me another smile, but there was no mirth. And it wasn’t that pleasant. “So, you could say I’m not particular to vampires. There wasn’t mention of them in the chapter we were assigned. Madame Remis blindsided me with the true, unedited version.”