She stops clicking and says, “Because we’ve been selected, we’re meant to be.” She presses her lips together. “I found out because every time we’d touch I’d feel a burn.” She flicks her hair behind her shoulders as she watches her boyfriend play with his weapon.
That’s sort of how I am with Donovan too, it would always feel like we were burning. There just wasn’t smoke present or anything. Could that seriously be the reason why though? I turn around, she’s wearing the same black outfit and boots like the rest of witches here.
“Bianca, get me something to eat!” Jeremy calls out to her. She shakes her head, annoyed.
“Wow, are all guys such jerks?”
“Most likely.” She clicks her broom one more time and hops up. “Well, it was nice talking to you, Eliza! You’re kind of the celebrity here and all.” She waves out her hands, and says, “I’m free to talk whenever, sometimes witches can come off as unapproachable.”
“Thanks.” I grin up at her, watching her leave. Jeremy’s still behind me and he’s looking all flirtatious. I shoot him a mean glare, he turns away immediately and talks with his friend. Then it comes to me the reason why I’m feeling sensations from Donovan, was I really listening to Bianca?
Donovan’s been selected for me. What is that exactly?
Getting up, I run after her, coming to a stop with countless breaths. She whirls around in shock from all the noise.
“Eliza, what’s wrong?” Her eyes wide, she looks around, embarrassed. I take her arm, walking with her outside of our building.
I need to talk with her about the betrothal or the selection process, whatever it was. I ask, “You’re betrothed? Do you know who betrothed you?”
“Um, wait, do you mean selected? Those two are very different in our culture. I’m not sure when it happened, we were only just kids. Why—are you betrothed?”
I slide my eyes to the right as thoughts race through my head. How could I not know that something was wrong between Donovan and me? You don’t get burned randomly in real life, it really changes the meaning of “it gets hot in here,” cause it really did with him.
I think Bianca can tell I’m out of words. She inhales slowly. “You were burnt in the completion of your transformation, weren’t you?” The way she speaks comforts me somehow, it’s so nice to finally relate to someone who has experience with the things I’m going through. Donovan was never interested about the burning. It was always me.
“It hurts, my markings, they always sizzle when he’s close by. And when we touch, it burns. I kind of got used to the feeling, but it still freaks me out, you know?”
“I totally understand, it’s because the selection isn’t complete yet. We get the worst out of it because we’re the girls. As long as you guys aren’t, you know, doing the deed.”
“Oh, no! We’re not that far into the relationship yet.” I release an awkward chuckle. I’m working up to asking her what the difference between selection and betrothals are.
“Good, let’s just hope you aren’t betrothed to a mystic, or a corrupt mystic of any kind. I hear it forces you into corruption. Witches are selected for one another by nature, it’s in our blood, it’s in our culture. Something about us.” Her voice trails off as she looks up, thinking how to explain the selection process to me. “Think of it this way, everything falls into place for a reason, okay? Destiny meets karma.” She stares at me. “If you’re being burned by another witch, it means you both are meant to be; it means that you both just happened to bump into one another at the right time, for the right reasons.” Bianca holds her bowl of food and grins.
My heart skips a beat as I think about Christian.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I clear my throat. “Mhmm.”
“Yeah, I hope that helps.” She places her hand on the top of my shoulder. “You got me scared for you there a little earlier, mystic betrothals leave you completely corrupt.” She removes her hand. “Forever.”
She smiles.
“Don’t worry, when your selection is complete you won’t feel it anymore. With selection it all depends on time, soon the two of you will be as one.” She glances behind us at the door. “Sounds spooky, right?” She splays out her fingers, mocking a scary movie of some sort. “But take care, Eliza, I need to get Jeremy’s food before he slits my throat.”
“Tell me about it.” I daze off.
She turns to face me before leaving with a puzzled look on her face.
I shrug, forcing a smile on my face. “Oh, I was thinking about something, but okay, I’ll see you around, Bianca.” The door closes as I cross my arms and let the breeze relax me. From what I recall, Miss Canary said that her husband placed Christian and me together.
***
The little boy standing outside of Miss Canary’s house is staring at me.
“Eliza, be polite and greet Miss Canary. She’s our new neighbor.”
“Hello,” I say.
“You are the cutest little girl ever, I’m sure we’re going to get along soon.”
“Okay, Eliza, go to your room, and scare Jared away from the treats in the kitchen, will you? I nod my head, pursing my lips at Jared’s head stuck in a jar of crackers. Stupid cat, I didn’t even know why we had animals. I throw a crayon at his back, he shoots away, frightened. A book drops in the living room and I hear footsteps ghostly creaking around our home.
I glare up, squinting my eyes, my vision isn’t that great. I didn’t know what was going on lately. I couldn’t see much of anything, it would blur in and out randomly. I walk over to the bookcase to grab the book and place it back on its shelf. The cold wind brushes against the tip of my nose and travels down my skin as the bookshelf shakes. Were we in an earthquake?
“Mommy, help!” I exclaim.
“Eliza, what’s wrong?”
***
I catch my breath, placing my hand over my heart, feeling its beating.
It was real, and it was the day I was betrothed.
Chapter 16
I lower my gaze to the gravel on the ground as I move the tiny rocks around with my boots. Glancing over to the Vaelle portal not too far from the main building, I’m afraid that Bianca is right. For some reason, I feel she isn’t. If she was, the elf me wouldn’t place my mood ring in my pocket.
Could I be controlling the myth within?
Or does she come out when triggered? There are so many things I need to learn about who I truly am. Was mom a myth as well? I bite on my bottom lip, remembering her disappearance, she must’ve been running off with my dad.
Or was he making her come see him?
My arms cross over my chest and I shake my head. He’s been controlling her this whole time. She didn’t corrupt herself, he did, so what could be the desire of claiming me as Queen of Ravamere? I remember noticing Jared’s necklace on the floor in front of the portal, and all the way up to him in Witcher’s Place helping with the port key. It’s strange; I feel like this place is familiar to me. I press my boots into the dirt and gravel of the small Vaelle lands. I was here in the past. I walk toward the burnt cottage; a wave of déjà vu rushes over me. The door is cracked open so I let myself in as black wood breaks in tiny pieces down from the top of the doorway. I remember walking on the path with Charlotte to the meeting hall and I knew this was the place my projection pulled me into, but now it’s real, seeing this.
Mellissa’s home, where Mom and Jared lived.
The angry villagers shout from outside with their torches, and the orange and red flames fire up the home. The memories rush through my mind and I fidget with my fingers. My nerves are out of control. I can’t believe I’ve forgotten about this projection.
Jared. Jared was taken away from the Verel here in this land. I was forced back to reality as soon as the doors in the meeting hall closed with my brother.
I search around the dead house for anything, anything at all that was left behind. I push around the broken chairs and furniture, the crumbled wood and dirt. There’s nothin
g left in Mellissa’s house. I cough from the dead smell in here, holding back my tears and rushing out of the home.
I make my way toward the meeting hall, in hopes of finding anything that belonged to Jared. Any hint of why he was turned into a cat by the Verel. The witches who live here now had a meeting in the hall earlier—that’s where the Verel took Jared. I was standing in the place he was changed. I hold on to the ringed doorknob and push against the doors.
No one’s here, I should look around for anything that was left behind.
Who am I kidding? Jared’s change happened years ago, what was my luck in finding anything valuable? Large cabinets rise to the vaulted ceilings in the meeting hall. My footsteps echo toward the center where Charlotte held the corrupt shifter with her vines. I step on the dry blood. I bend down and trace the surface of the ground with my eyes, my gaze following the sand to the circular platform in the room. I kick on top of the rocky platform and move the sand around with my boot. There’s a Clink! that rings through my ears. I crouch down and wipe the sand away with my hands. A small entrance pops up and I move a thin piece of wood away from the platform.
I climb down into the whispers of the shadows, the sound of the rats scurrying around in the place they’ve taken over for years. There’s a candle lit ahead of me. I follow the light in front of me into a room with skulls on the ground. There’re markings on the dirt walls. Stepping forward, a crack sounds from under my boot. On the floor is Jared’s silver necklace. I pick it up and allow it to dangle in front of me.
Suddenly, a pulse of energy takes away my breath.
***
“Where’s the boy? Hurry before time slips away.” A blast and wave of energy enter through the tunnels of the meeting hall. “What was that?” the voice whispers.
I wake up, blinking at two hooded figures in the middle of the meeting hall. One of them quickly walks over to the doors and locks them shut with a key. The cries of a boy sound from in front of where I hide in the shadows. I’m squinting to make out who it is, only to find that it’s Jared. As I scramble to get up and save him, more hooded figures appear from the darkness, moving into the secret entrance in the ground.
When the coast is clear, I crouch and close in near to the entrance. Glancing around one more time, I too climb down into the entrance. This is the night Jared must have been turned. My breath rises in front of me. Following the flames of the torches, I creep behind.
“Let me go, let me go!”
“Quiet, little brat,” one of the Verels hisses.
“Strap him down, and get Donovan ready,” one of the hooded figures says. I notice another person, the size of Jared, walking into the circle from another path. The Verels remove the hood from his face, only to reveal a pair of piercing blue eyes glaring around; it’s Donovan. I release a slight gasp and quickly cover my mouth. The Verels move around as if they heard something. I step back into the darkness, witnessing my brother sprawled on the dirt. I need to save him, I want to save him.
“You know what to do, Donovan. This is the only way you’ll become one of us.”
“By killing an innocent kid?” Donovan says.
Alec turns to his son, I’m bumped from behind. Whirling around, purple glowing eyes glare at me in the darkness. I can’t feel my heart; the large shadow moves me aside. Walking out into the light, a man with black hair and green tattoos steps out of the dark.
“You’re going to kill Jared, and hum the hymn as soon as you’ve done what you’ve been told.” The man behind me talks. It calms the room, it calms me down too. I drop to my knees in relaxation, my vision blurring in and out. Donovan becomes hypnotized, holding out his hand for the dagger. He grips the weapon and stands above Jared.
“Please don’t kill me, don’t do it, Donovan!” Jared’s screams are useless. I glance up at Donovan’s shadow as the dagger darts down, with one last scream ending abruptly. My heart beat booms within me, and the hymns of the Verel begin. Jared’s body glows white, his chest bleeding, but something strange happens. Floating above him is an orb of energy, sparkling pink. The man who spoke to Donovan steps forward.
“There it is, my pure heart I’ve been looking for,” he says. The candles and torches around the room whish off and a pulse of magical energy burns on my skin. Jared’s body shifts into a cat, he runs by me in my tunnel. The pink orb of energy in the center of the room follows Jared through the tunnel. The man screams in agony and despair.
“Find the cat,” he says through clenched teeth. Footsteps move in the darkness, and I find my breath rushing back to me as I pulse back into reality.
***
I breathe in, blinking in complete silence. It’s true. Donovan murdered him just to be a part of his gang. I wanted so bad to believe he was telling the truth to me, that he couldn’t have done such a horrible thing. My markings freeze and burn simultaneously. I flare my nose, breathing through my nostrils. My hair sizzles into blonde as I check around to see if I’ve missed anything else in the room. I blow on the candle in the middle of the room, placing Jared’s necklace into my pocket. The candle doesn’t go out. I narrow my eyes, my ears twitching from the sound above me. My hair fades back into its auburn color. I will get revenge for my brother. This time, the sounds become louder.
There’s someone in the meeting hall.
I head back to where I climbed down from and make my way back up. I carefully move the block piece that hides the entrance back into place and whirl around to eye the door. “You seem to be in deep thought,” a raspy voice says, echoing the halls.
Jeremy is munching on a sandwich, crumbs and lettuce crusted in the corners of his lips. He finishes with a burp. Walking over to the side, he rests his back against the door. I roll my eyes at him. I cannot imagine myself being selected to such a slob. I fix my hair and tell him to move out of my way so I can enter.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Why are you disgusting?”
“The girls love it.” He chuckles.
“What kind of girl likes a bum? Really, Jeremy, get out of my way.”
I have someone to kill.
He pops a toothpick in his mouth as he chews on it. Leaning on the door, he doesn’t budge. I place my hand on his arm to push him to the side and he pulls me in close to him. We hug at the same time the door opens. I glance up to see that Donovan has entered.
“Let me go, Jeremy,” I say, flicking my gaze away from Donovan.
“Why are you acting hard to get?”
“The lady said to let her go.” Donovan unwraps the two of us and pushes the guy into the dirt. Jeremy wipes his chin, clicking on his broomstick. I glare up to see Donovan already holding his broomstick, although he drops it on the ground and cracks his knuckles. “Be a man and fight me without a weapon.”
Oh, this is such a good time to slit his throat. Things wouldn’t look too pretty for me if I chose to kill Donovan here in Vaelle. I need to wait it out, wait for the right time to kill him. After what I saw from my projection, I have something planned for him. I remember what Bianca told me, it all takes the right time. If we’re both burning because of selection, then maybe I was selected to be his murderer. Bianca said destiny meets karma, well, karma’s a bitch.
I clear my throat, stepping out of my thoughts. “How about we not?” I say, placing my hand on Donovan’s chest and turning to look at Jeremy. “Don’t fight, please? Let’s go inside. You’re still hurt, Donovan.” He’s breathing hard and his glare is still focused on the witch in front of us. I lean against him as we slowly walk inside the building.
“That’s right, get inside,” Jeremy mutters in the background.
Donovan doesn’t budge, his eyes are locked onto Jeremy. “Don’t—do this, right now. Especially here in this place. You know you’re not supposed to be here anyway.” He leans down, grabbing his broomstick slowly. He’s tenser than before.
Donovan holds my hand as we walk through the crowd of witches. He’s walking pretty quickly. There’re whispers arou
nd us, I don’t give eye contact. Charlotte is in the middle of the doorway to my room—she seems worried. Alice comes out of the crowd and stands in the middle of the hallway. Charlotte nods her head at Alice as she moves out of the way for us to enter. The door closes as I sit on my bed.
“Audrey left as soon as she healed Donovan.”
“Tell her I said thanks again, will ya?”
Charlotte nods at Donovan.
“Do you want to cut to the chase and tell me why you came back bleeding?” He turns to look at me and doesn’t answer my question. Instead, he rubs his head and twirls his broomstick. “What’s the matter with you? Did you kill someone and can’t man up and tell me?” I snap. He looks over at me; I glance away. “What were you going to tell me, Donovan?”
“Would you shut up? You ask so many questions. Why couldn’t I come to check on you? Is that such a hard thing for me to do?”
“You never come and just check on me.” I get up to cross my arms. “That’s how I feel and that’s that.” I turn to look at Charlotte standing awkwardly. “Would you mind, Char?”
She smiles. “No, not at all. I’ll be right outside if you need me.” She leaves the room, closing the door softly.
I purse my lips and stare at Donovan for a minute.
“What?” He’s pacing back and forth, obviously worried about something.
“If something was up, you would tell me, right?” I say. Donovan stops pacing as his back faces me. I walk slowly toward him.
“That’s the thing, I can’t tell you.”
He walks to the door as if he were to leave once more.
“I swear if you leave once more, at this particular time…”
He stops, waits for a minute or two, and then reaches for the door.
“Donovan!”
Magical (Mystical Series Book 3) Page 10