Page 101 of Tricky Magic
Ros had never bought a birthday present for someone he cared about. He used to make things for his mother, but that wasn’t the same thing. In the early days of living in his father’s court, gifts were used to impress and bribe a person. That was a lot easier to do than painstakingly searching, worrying, and choosing the right gift. There was no impressing Ellea. She could conjure anything she wanted, especially now with her powers growing. If he chose the wrong thing, she would probably make fun of him for being an old man with no taste. Or what if she read too much into it? Did he want her to read too much into it? Life was so much easier when he was killing things and living on his own. But he smiled to himself as he climbed into his truck and put the gifts in the passenger seat. He wouldn’t change a thing.
54
Ellea
The ground was cool under her feet as she took a late-autumn walk. Ellea had hoped the fresh air could wash away the nightmare that had woken her. She had fallen asleep after Ros left her, saying he had to run an errand. She knew he was picking up a gift for her even though she’d told him a billion times to not bother with it, but she still fell back into bed with a giddy smile on her face. And then she’d woken up screaming.
She could still feel the skin of the different beasts and creatures she had been trudging through. Scales, feathers, and pebbled skin rubbed against her as she clawed through the endless bodies. It was a nightmare she’d had once before. The beasts were vicious, wild with need to kill. And she recognized the cavernous room made of black stone and the throne at its center.
The beasts fought over a man sitting on the throne. She refused to believe it was someone she knew. The monsters’ grotesque bodies created a mound over him as he struggled to break free. She did her best to save him, to get to him before he drowned in the endless attack. But she’d woken up before she could reach him.
She needed to stop worrying about it. There was already enough to think about, like her birthday.
Her birthdays in the past were always quiet affairs spent with Billy, her uncle, and nana. This would be one of the first ones without them since her parents were put in prison.
Her parents.
The forest hushed around her as a small snap of twigs sounded in the distance. Ellea froze and waited. Was this it? Would they catch her alone in the woods? If she were a smarter witch, she would have stayed at home and waited for company; instead, she was alone with only her magic to defend her. Or was this what she wanted? All of this waiting and looking over her shoulder was exhausting. Every day was spent holding her breath and then celebrating another day of survival that night with Ros. It was only a matter of time before they came to collect her—their prized possession, their greatest creation.
A black fox slowly stepped out of a nearby bush, and a small twig snapped again. It was only a tiny and cute animal, not her evil parents. The fox took her in, its small, sparkling eyes assessing her from head to toe. She dared not move since; she had never seen a creature in these parts (unless Ros counted).
The fox took one sniff in the air before it walked off and disappeared. Ellea let loose a breath and continued on her walk. The steep climb up the hill brought her to the abandoned third cabin, the one she and Belias had visited. She had been meaning to visit this place again after a dream she’d had. In it, she had walked the halls, the land, and the greenhouse with a companion she didn’t recognize. She only remembered the feeling of being shown something important, and she’d woken up before finding out what it was.
Ellea didn’t dare go into the house, but the property was fine to walk. It was still overgrown, still run-down, and she wondered if Belias was actually going to move here. Was it all a game? He had said his aunt would have loved it, and she had a feeling he meant Ros’ mother. He never talked about her. She wouldn’t press him about it. He never brought up his father, either; if she asked, he would grumble and change the subject. There was still so much for them to learn about each other, but they had time. Well, she hoped they had time.
Ellea sighed, and her breath clouded before her in the crisp air. It was about to get crowded again with her party. She hadn’t asked for one or anything, but Sam and Devon had gone a bit overboard. Now she was along for the ride, and poor Ros was being dragged along with her.
55
Ellea
Ellea was slowly dragged from sleep as Ros pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her hair.
“Good morning, princess,” he said with his beyond-sexy sleepy voice. “Happy twenty-ninth birthday.”
His shadows abruptly opened the curtains, and a bright autumn sun peeked through the windows.
“No.” She angrily stretched, trying to burrow deeper into the bed. “I’m twenty-five and will be that age for a while.”
He ignored her comment and dragged her up, swiftly kissing her on the lips.
“I have you all to myself for a few hours before you get swept away,” he said, pushing her messy hair away from her face. “Will you go somewhere with me?”
“Only if you tell me when your birthday is.” She had been trying to get it out of him for weeks now.
“Fine.” He pulled her on top of him and sighed. “I was born on the twenty-first of December.”
“You would be born in winter,” she said, sitting up and poking at his ribs. “Now, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He pulled at her pouty lip with callused fingers. “First things first.”
He held her with one arm while he leaned over and dragged a package from under the bed.
“I told you no gifts.” She rolled her eyes and took the outstretched package. It was heavy and dense.
“Open it.” He looked so nervous, and her heart melted. “If you hate it, I can get you something else.”
She slowly tore at the corner of the black and gold paper. The first thing she saw was leather, and she cocked a brow at him. He only nudged her to keep going. She peeled away the wrapping paper completely and was greeted by six leather-bound books. They looked ancient and thick. They were smaller than books printed now, and they had gold foil on each cover. She carefully pulled out the first book and squealed when she saw the cover.
