He steps out of the room as the door slams closed.
***
The day goes by without Donovan again. Should I give up trying to like him? Or could it be that it’s not a thing to try because I’ve already fallen for him? I have a plan to kill him. Could my feelings eventually creep up on me when the time comes? My back is against the wall as I sit on my bed with my knees up. I chuckle to myself, shaking my head. I remember back to the days of high school. The kids at school probably wouldn’t even have noticed I’de disappeared. I was no one to them in that big school. I bite the inside of my lip. I think about the times I had with Dawn, my best friend, stuck in Ravamere. How could I do this to her?
My broomstick is beside my feet, the memory of it not working flashes in my head. Sometimes I wish it never activated in the first place, sometimes I wish Mom never told me I was a mystical assassin. I grab my jacket and broomstick and head for the door.
I step out to a huge commotion of witches gathering around something. I glance to the sides as more of them rush to the large huddle. Lifting one eyebrow, I walk slowly toward the crowd.
“Shhhh! It’s her,” says a witch.
“She’s really going to lose it now,” one adds with a chuckle.
The witches soon spread apart and my mouth drops. It’s like slow motion for a second, and I don’t want to witness anything more. The tears I held back in my room soon float back up. I’m extremely weak, and my chest begins to hurt. Donovan’s in front of me, only this time he isn’t alone. Wavy long blonde hair flows fashionably in front of me, her hands are around his neck and his arms grip around her waist.
My lips tremble, everything is slow to me. Like I really didn’t exist in this world, the sound of the murmurs around me grow louder as I see Donovan kiss another girl.
The girl turns around slowly, her hair whipping with her movement. Her green markings swirl up on her calf, and two horizontal ones lay on her collarbone. Her middle fingernail traces the bone ending in a fist as she walks toward me.
She’s changed. She stops in front of me.
“Remember me?”
Donovan yells out to her from behind, I glance in shock at him. I lower my face as she lifts up my chin for me to look at her.
“She’s a corrupt elf,” a witch whispers.
The girl snaps her neck at the witch who spoke, then chuckles, avoiding conflict. She turns back around, glaring at me.
“Say my name, Eliza,” she says.
“Emily.”
“Woods,” she finishes. “So glad—to see you again, love.”
She turns back around, strutting back to Donovan. They leave the building, hand in hand. My face turns from shock to anger as the door closes. How could this be possible, her living? Her green dust floated up against my cheeks. That’s it, the bar didn’t pierce her heart, that’s the only reason why she’s alive.
Chapter 17
The clock is ticking, the mice are scurrying across the wooden floor My bed sheets are rustling, I massage my feet on the surface. Out of all my senses, this is the only one I focus on as I think of a plan to re-kill Emily. The strange girl who was supposed to be Miss Canary’s aid. The Emily who was supposed to train with us ended up close to killing me in the holding area where they kept Donovan. This was the girl Donovan must have been seeing whenever he would leave me. This is the worst betrayal.
An evil grin lights my face, but that’s okay, because the next time I see them together, they’re going to regret ever making such a scene here. I have enough trouble already fitting in with my own kind, now I’m the myth whose boyfriend is cheating.
Walking over to the rugged closet in my room, it looks like any second it will fall apart. I open it carefully to pull out some green skinny jeans and a scrunched up white tee. I activate my broomstick into a dagger to cut up the clothing for a more edgy look. Tossing my hair behind me, I take off the black jeans I had on and slip into the new green ones in front of me.
The door to my room opens as Audrey runs in gasping, followed by Bianca and Charlotte. I take off my shirt, showing my bra with my back facing them.
Holding my broomstick out to my side, they become quiet. I place on my white tee, then turn around. They look worried.
“Are you okay? I can’t believe him,” Audrey says.
“It’s okay, this place needed a little entertainment,” I grunt, fixing my clothes.
I wrap my hair up into a messy bun and glance at all of them as Luvie’s bat swoops in from my door, soon followed by its owner. She fixes her back against the cracks of the entrance, crossing her arms.
I take a deep breath to look at Charlotte. “I think I can control her.”
“Your myth?” she says.
“Yes, when she’s triggered it’s like I’m stuck in my own body and I can see and feel what she’s doing. I’ve never controlled her attempts, or at least tried to.” I glance at my mood ring around my finger. “For some reason, I’m triggered if I’m wearing my ring or if I’m really upset.”
“Are you saying she’s somehow getting through the ring’s protection?” Luvie says.
I nod at her. “Exactly what I’m saying.” I roll up my lips. “Only thing is, she’s coming out to do what she needs and then fading away. She’s like a confidence booster, my liquid courage.”
The three members of Vaelle consider my theory. “If you don’t believe me—watch this.”
I remove my ring and place it on my bed. My elf markings glow and freeze, the same sensation makes my eyes tingle. The girls step back slowly, on the verge of running away, but I close my eyes. The ends of my hair freeze into blonde, eventually fading my head completely blonde. I open my eyes. They’re in shock and full of fear, their emotions irritating me. I haven’t lost control.
“I’m still me.”
“How is that possible?” Audrey says.
“It’s because she’s learned something while she’s been here.” Charlotte steps forward.
I shake my head, staring at her.
“I think it’s because she’s allowing me to be me. We kind of talk to each other sometimes. But I also think it’s something else, something far worse than I feared.” I step forward slowly. “I think it’s Christian.”
“Wait, that name sounds familiar.” Audrey picks at her lip.
“It’s because he lived in Ellevil with us, Audrey.”
“Oh, that’s right! Wasn’t he that strange turned elf? He was elf-kissed right?”
Charlotte nods at her.
“What do you mean he was elf-kissed?” I say.
“Eliza, mystics can turn humans into mystics by kissing them. Well, I know shifters bite to turn humans.” Luvie clears her throat.
“Are you saying Christian was turned?”
“Possibly. He was a strange one at that. He was always in the forest, and well, I don’t know, he was weird.”
“Yeah, people would pick on him because he was a fake,” Charlotte says and then looks at me. “But why are you bringing him up?”
Bianca looks at me. “Are you betrothed to him?”
I lower my gaze, thinking of my reasoning, but I don’t know how to really explain how we were set to marry.
“Eliza?” Charlotte says.
“Yes, I am betrothed, and well, my father is the head of Ravamere right now.”
Audrey and Charlotte’s hands fly up to their hearts, and Luvie steps inside the room, closing the door. They were all so puzzled. I would be too if I found out I was talking to the daughter of corruption.
“What? How?”
“I don’t know. I kind of found out the same way myself.”
Their eyes search around the room for a few seconds. “We need to find out who betrothed you to Christian,” Charlotte says.
“I have two people in mind.” I walk over to my bed to sit down.
“One being Miss Canary’s husband. She said her husband was the one to do it. Then my father said he was the one to betroth us, since Christian is soon to be king. T
hen I found out she was the one to do it. Canary was forced by Christian to betroth me, and well, she’s already dead.”
“Shit, this is too much,” Luvie says.
“It really is,” Audrey’s voice lowers.
I’ve kept everything in for so long, my secrets and fears. I’m tired of taking all the hits from people, and my boiling point was from what I witnessed earlier. Donovan and Emily kissing—the image still stings within me. My friends feel worried and afraid for me. I dropped a huge evil bomb on them. The thing they’re getting ready to fight against—Ravamere—the future queen is standing right in front of them.
Kill me, and it would make things so much easier for them in the long run.
It was hard, but I had to trust them with this information. Now that they know everything, I feel at ease and a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. “Christian is out there, and I feel like he haunts me when I’m asleep. He’s waiting for me and wants to take me back to Ravamere.”
“Was he the one who turned Evelyn?” Bianca asked. “You know what I told you about being betrothed to a corrupt mystic, right?”
I nod my head. “For some reason, I’m not as corrupt as you might think. I’m like half.”
Bianca keeps her thoughts to herself but says, “Don’t worry, we won’t let him get to you.”
“You guys are the only ones I trust right now, so please, everything in this room is kept a secret.”
“What about Alice?”
“Something’s off about her,” I say. “I don’t trust her.”
Chapter 18
I watch my reflection in the mirror, the ugly image hurts my feelings. I glance down at my ring on the sink’s edge. Activating my broomstick, I swipe the ends of my hair, cutting them. Tilting my neck to the right, I slash the other side, leaving me with a freshly short, posh hair-do.
One year has passed without him here with me, but my feelings for Donovan still linger around in my thick heart. My new markings slither around my knuckles as I splash cold water on my face.
“We’re leaving in five, Liz!”
“Got it.”
The myth within and I have come to an agreement of working together. She’s like my guardian who wants to protect me from being hurt; she’s the corrupt guardian angel I never knew existed. Ever since Donovan left us, she’s aware of the damage he’s caused. Sometimes she behaves and sits back inside of me, sometimes I forget that I’m even a myth.
My muscles tense, tonight we’re hunting mystics. I’m meeting Luvie at the portal while Charlotte stays back to help Alice with the rest of the witches here. She tells me Alice is proud of me and what I’ve become. I don’t think so though, I’m calling her bluff.
“About time you’ve arrived. This is around the time mermaids and elves hunt. Are you okay with that?” Luvie asks.
“Of course.”
We’re on the east side of Vaelle now, closer to the bay area.
“Memory powder?”
“Check.”
“Salt? Ear plugs?”
Ear plugs are to resist the temptation of mermaids singing you to your death, also for manipulation methods of elves. Since I’m half elf, I’m not likely to fall for their tricks. Memory mist is performed by mermaid mystics, and of course, were for innocents. We aren’t allowed to let them remember anything.
“I’m ready, Luvie,” I say. I’m determined to enter the portal; all I want to do is kill mystics. I’m a witch and this is what I’m destined to do. She sways her hips side to side and fixes her bra as she flicks her dreads away from her face. We both click on our broomsticks. I turn around, Jeremy and Bianca are holding each other.
“Good luck!” She cheers for me, and Jeremy gives me a thumbs up.
I smirk as we both vanish into the portal.
***
The street lights are flickering and the wind rattles the tiny gravel on the road. We have our masks on, and our hoodies covering our heads. Luvie’s hazel eyes light up the darkness as my markings glow. We walk around for a bit talking about how Jeremy is such a slob for Bianca. We laugh as Luvie’s bat flies down from the sky and lands on her shoulder.
“This way, we have a mermaid,” she hums, and the bat soon flies away once more.
I follow her to the edge of the street. We see two guys following a girl with blue hair. It is obvious she’s a mermaid.
Luvie motions me to follow, but I sense another mystic here. I look to my right to be slapped by an elf.
She stands still as her dark green eyes glare at me.
“Help the boys, I can handle her.”
Luvie skips across the street, following the boys from behind.
I activate my broomstick as the elf places her foot on my hand. The feeling freezes my skin. I haven’t felt this in such a long time. Grabbing her ankle with my other hand, I toss her onto the ground. She kicks my jaw as soon as I get up.
Killing a corrupt elf is pretty tricky. First, you need to grip around their neck, and then knee their stomach. This weakens them, then grab the elf’s hair and drag her across the ground. They may fight back by scratching your skin, and using their flexibility to free themselves. The only thing is, if you happen to be an elf like them, they can’t escape and run to a nearby forest.
I glare at her from my mask. She wraps her legs around me and then kicks me against a nearby car, setting off its alarm. She runs toward the houses. Grabbing my broomstick from the ground, I bite my bottom lip to twirl around, piercing her back with a dagger.
The mystic drops to the ground and twitches. I walk slowly toward her, jerking my broomstick out of her spine. Kicking the mystic over, belly up, her blonde hair sways in front of her face.
“You all don’t learn, do you?” I say.
“The infamous Eliza Rose, the missing queen of Ravamere…heard so much about you.” She chokes on the limited air she receives. I furrow my eyebrows down at her, and glance at my broomstick, checking if her blood is on the tip. If you’re lucky to get an elf out of the forest, make sure you stab right into the heart and to the back of their spine. They will soon fade away into green mist. After I instruct what to do out loud, I finish the elf myself and wipe the mist away from my face, placing my broomstick in the back of my pocket. I walk over to where the mermaid was.
There’s a melody from someone singing, my ears are in pain. I quickly place my ear plugs in.
Coming around the corner, I see Luvie wrapped up in ice, her ear plugs on the ground. She fell into temptation. The mermaid’s hair flows against the wind she makes. She looks at me, her face beaming with the moon’s light. I remember where I’ve seen her before.
This was the mermaid who sent the witches for me when I first met Luvie.
“So glad to see you again, Eliza. Don’t worry, I won’t kill your little friend…right now at least.”
The tree branches rustle and break as someone steps out from the shadows.
A guy in a suit with chocolate brown hair stands still from a distance. “Thanks for luring them here,” the guy says to her. She turns to her side to blow him a kiss.
“Anything for you, Christian.” She glances at me as she says his name.
“You look different, Eliza. You know how long I’ve been trying to find you?”
“Liz, d-don’t listen to him. L-leave me here!” Luvie stutters from the cold. If what I witnessed was real, Christian had a full on trimmed beard and new markings as well. He was still slim looking and freshly maintained. I take a few steps back from the scene, but how could I leave my friend here alone to die?
“Liz? Is that what you’re going by now?” He places his thumb and index finger around his chin as he looks to the ground, walking toward me slowly.
Luvie looks like she is sweating or being drenched from the ice, the mermaid twirls her fingers in the air as this is happening. The guys that followed the mermaid get up and start to sneak away. “Tsk tsk tsk,” she says.
She suddenly conjures up an ice dagger and immediately pierces one of
the guys’ legs. She giggles with joy as her eyes glow. I’m not going to let a corrupt mystic murder an innocent for their own desire. I click on my broomstick and feel for my salt capsules in my pocket. Glancing at me she’s aware of what is about to happen. I slide on the ground, coiling my broomstick’s whip around her legs. The mystic falls on the ground laughing, she then grips on the whip as ice forms.
The ice travels toward my hand rapidly. The feeling stings my skin. As I release my broomstick, she gets back up gracefully. Her hand catches the air in the direction of Luvie as she evaporates, bursting the ice she was trapped in into several pieces.
“Oops,” she says covering her mouth, and then skips away into the woods.
Christian stands in the same place as he watches the fight. I run after the mermaid, ignoring his presence. He blocks my attempt and grabs my arm. I swing my hand to back slap him and he blocks that attempt as well.
I wrap my hands around his neck to force him to the ground and kick his face.
“Don’t touch me.”
“My, you have changed. Don’t worry, your friend is not dead.”
“Don’t talk to me,” I spit at him.
He stands up as I walk away, he grabs my wrist. The feeling I feared before stings me. I close my eyes and breathe slowly. I know my myth can’t handle Christian. She is controlled by me and I don’t want to risk losing her to him again.
“Let go of me.” I jerk my hand away, but he steps in to grab my arm once more.
“Don’t fight it; we’re meant to be. I’ve missed you,” he says.
“I don’t care if you have.”
He turns me around, forcing me to look at him.
“Grab me one more time, I swear.”
“Swear what? Let her out, I’d rather talk to your myth.”
He removes my mask slowly, as his hands go down to my sides. I slap his face and jab his chest with my elbow. I run to get my broomstick from the ground, but before I reach it I am pulled back by the roots in the ground. They tighten around my body and force me against a tree. I glance at the branches, leaning down to pull my shoulders back. Christian is walking with his hands in his pockets.
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