Page 106 of Ghost
First of all, I did not have a pop quiz. Anything Bryce said was a lie. And secondly, Miles was starting to look ridiculous. He was being so gentle and considerate, and his arms bulged as he tucked the blanket around me gingerly. As if he was afraid I’d break. The complete opposite of how he had handled me earlier in the day.
It was kind of frightening, actually. Perhaps I was dying.
As a witch, Miles might not know that. But Julian might. Julian could have told Miles his fears while I was with Damen. Julian was a necromancer, and I had no idea what that meant. But I assumed it had something to do with raising armies of zombies and owning the eyes of a grim reaper.
Did Julian have some kind of built in radar about these things?
I wanted to ask, but now I was afraid…
But we were best friends. They were obligated to warn me. Even something simple like, ‘Hey, you have a week left to live. Just thought you’d want to know’.
However, they were sensitive men. They couldn’t break the news to me, it might traumatize them. There was no need for further communication. I totally got it, we were all on the same wavelength. I only hoped I had some time—a week or two—and that it wouldn’t hurt to die.
Would I be eaten? Or maybe I’d be squashed. The school did have some high locations, I’d have to steer clear of them. Best not tempt fate.
Come to think of it, I was surprisingly calm in the face of my impending doom. But it was easy to stay relaxed. Miles was so sweetly fixing my blanket, and Julian brushed my hair back from my face.
I was safe, for the moment at least.
“Good night, darling.” Julian leaned over me, touching his lips to my forehead. “Sweet dreams. You need to get some sleep.”
“Good night, Julian,” I muttered, watching him over the edge of the blanket. My eyes felt so heavy.
I couldn’t deny my future home was an imposing, fantastic place. The building was brand new, and after next week it’d become my permanent residence. My future husband wasn’t lacking in wealth.
Our wedding wasn’t given with much notice, not even for me. Father only informed me days ago that he arranged my engagement to Mr. Cole. And the man had, apparently, been eager to marry as soon as possible.
I thought Father’s acceptance was rather odd. The bachelor had arrived in town only months before. He was rich, as seen here, yet had no relatives in the immediate area to vouch for him. Within weeks, he became popular with the town elders. His expertise in solving high-level disputes between clans had won them over. And the townspeople loved him because of his assistance on a high profile case. A young witch had been sentenced to death, but the onmyoji and covens involved seemed happy with the decision.
And a war was prevented because of it.
Outside of that, I personally had never been introduced to the man. But Papa—as a town elder—has spent quite a bit of time with him. So when Mr. Cole approached Father about the union, my father accepted.
A union between Earth and Water was rare. After all, witches generally did not seek arrangements with necromancers. And those who worked with the dead tended to avoid those who had the potential to become sorcerers. Our brand of magics were opposites.
It was because of that, I was offended by the match. In terms of abilities, I was stronger than Mr. Cole. Even though his influence couldn’t be denied, no one could say he was a magically powerful man.
Despite knowing he wasn’t strong enough to overpower me, in skills at least, I was still frightened. It was the natural order of things.
Besides that, I didn’t trust him. I had only glimpsed him once before, and I knew…
There was something off about his too-charming smile and velvety voice. Everyone else might have fallen for him, but I hadn’t. And it hurt that Father thought nothing of signing me away to a practical stranger.
But I refused to go into things blindly.
It was for that reason I put on a brave face, and sent him an invitation. I offered to meet my future husband for tea at his home. It was an opportunity to see where I’d live, and to try to get to know him.
If our meeting didn’t go well, I’d refuse the union. If necessary, I would make my own destiny.
But I had arrived, as agreed. And no one was here.
And I was already uneasy. Despite the appearance of the home, there was a darkness around the property that caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand.
“Hello?” I knocked on the door a second time, but there was no answer.
Had he forgotten about our appointment? The thought caused my fury to stir. Acting on impulse, I turned the doorknob. Only to discover the door wasn’t locked.
I should have gone home instead. But I had been waiting ten minutes already. But still, I’d have hated to come all this way for nothing.
