Page 48 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
I nodded, fascinated.
“This spell should help protect you against some milder incantations,” she said. “But you have to fight them off, too, Evie. Our magic is all about intention.”
Intention. Safety. Energy.
“We’ll start the lessons in a few days,” she said and my heart soared. Magic, finally. “Until then, please don’t get killed.”
“I won’t.”
Allie gave me an unwavering look. “Watch your back, Evie. Something rotten is going on and until we find out who attacked us and took my throne, we’re all targets. Especially you.”
“You’re more dangerous.”
She hesitated. “I’m not the one marrying the precious Blood Brotherhood prince.”
Chapter
Fourteen
EVIE
Two months.
I had two months until my wedding and I apparently neededetiquetteclasses until then, starting next week.
The sooner, the better. The Blood Brotherhood had rules about walking from one path to the next, I could only imagine what a spectacle the wedding ceremony would be. I wanted to be prepared and know every single detail, down to the right way to place the glasses around the plates.
But my heart sang for the magic lesson.
Allie had promised we’d start tomorrow, around midday for me, when the sun was hottest, and people busied themselves in cooling gardens and around the many ponds in Phoenix Peak, beautiful and crystal. Some were filled with creatures that had too many spindly legs and danced between the rocks, others had floating flowers big enough to nap inside them.
I stayed away from the heat and especially the ponds.
Each time I got within a few feet of their pebbled edges, a sickening feeling of dread took over. Since I’d almost drowned in grandpa Constantine’s pool, back when the world felt big and exciting, I avoided anything larger than a tub. The first time I had to wash myself in the shallow creek had been an hour-long ordeal, me screaming in my mother’s arms, and her pulling my hair to stand still.
I spent my torrid afternoons in my new favorite spot in the house–the library. I opened the large windows which swiveled in the middle and sat down at the table. With the breeze flowing around me, catching the strands of hair that fell from my bun, I tucked my legs underneath me andread.
Anything and everything I wanted. No more waiting with my heart in my throat to see if the magic book would fill up with words today.
Most of them were legends, about rivers of tears that turned to blood, and wicked little creatures hiding in the jungle and only coming out to cause mayhem. Others talked about the history of the Blood Brotherhood, but so many of the old passages were written in a language I didn’t recognize.
“Goose, what do you study?” I asked him when I got to a section where I recognized Eldryan’s name and nothing else, while Goose busied himself with the potted plants outside the library door, his new favorite spot in the entire house.
Goose leaned back, head peeking from behind the door frame. “A branch of chemistry, Your Grace.”
Goose had about as many social skills as me, but he was obviously smart. “No translating old languages, then.”
He tilted his head to the side, hesitant. “Only very specific ones that you wouldn’t find in any book here. They’re only allowed within the Archives. But you have a very fine selection.”
Fine, yes. But not useful. I hadn’t found anything about masked assassins and Serpent tracking spells. I was no closerto finding my parents’ murderers than back on Sanctua Sirena. Maybe even farther.
Goose’s curious, hungry eyes caressed the book spines. He sighed wistfully, but still lingered by the door.
“Goose, you can come in and read whatever you want, whenever you want to,” I said.
His eyes widened. “Really?” He cleared his throat. “I mean–are you sure, Your Grace?”
“Very.”
