I place the book back with the others. There are thousands of books. It means that Lauren carried her myth over to Mom, which brought it over to—
“There you are.”
I smell the mint I’m so familiar with. I feel like I should be happy that he’s here. I take another book from the shelf. Skin tickles against my back, and an arm reaches for the book, closing it. I bump into Christian’s chest.
“I don’t know what you did to me, but I’m going to find out.”
“Why are you reading a stupid book?” he asks, avoiding my question.
“That’s none of your business.”
He leans down closer to me. “Everything about you is my business,” he says, trailing his lips across my cheek, like I was his possession. “I like the new hair color.” His fingers explore my loose strands. “It fits you.”
The leafy markings on his neck are glowing, and so are mine.
“I like the new you.”
Everything he’s saying to me makes me forget about hating him. I want him to kiss me; it’s killing me inside. I exhale, breathing freezing air.
“Don’t go looking for your witch boyfriend,” he demands.
“You don’t want him to fool around with me anymore.” Something about Christian is forcing me to say things I normally wouldn’t.
“If I find you with him, I’m putting you in your place.” He thrusts against me, causing a few books to fall from above me. Holding my wrists, he bites on my bottom lip.
“What do you want me to do?” I say, realizing that he’s playing with my emotions and is in my head. I move my head to the side, preventing him from kissing me anymore. The more his lips touch mine, the weaker I grow.
Kiss him, kiss him, just once, Eliza.
“Get out of my head,” I struggle to say.”
“You asked me to put you in your place, remember?” He plays with my hair in between his fingers. “Well I’m doing it.” That’s a lie. I told Donovan to put me in my place. “Hitting me solves nothing. I like it when you hit me, though; it’s feisty and cute,” he growls.
I try to stay focused, because none of this is real, and I truly don’t want him all over me again. Well, I’m pretty sure I don’t. Avoiding eye contact, I cross my arms over my chest.
“Rose, I mean it. If you don’t want me to kill the dude, don’t hang with him.” Donovan cocks his head to the side, forcing me to look at him. It’s Donovan talking to me, and I become lost in his beautiful blue eyes.
“Donovan?” I blink, seeing him morph back into Christian. This is slowly driving me insane. Elves are worse than fairies.
I need to keep Donovan safe.
“You’re jealous because he already has me and you don’t,” I say, looking directly at Christian.
“I get what I want.”
“Leave me alone, and stay out of my head.” I brush past him to walk away, but he grabs my arm.
“Let go of me!”
“Or what?” he says.
“You really don’t want to see what I’m capable of.” I twist his wrist, and he grunts in pain. “Don’t think that you’ve tricked my mind into thinking I like you. I’m aware of who you are—what’s real and what isn’t.” I push him against the bookshelf, and books drop down on his head. “Don’t forget that you’re playing with a witch and not one of these elves around here.”
He flips over, belly up, chuckling. “Feisty…”
“And murderous.”
“Terese wants to see us,” he says, rubbing his face.
I huff, leaving the library and him behind in the sea of books.
***
“Ahh, Eliza, so happy you’ve decided to join me. I suppose you received the message from Christian?”
I don’t want to be here right now. Everything inside of me wants to kill them both. “Yeah, I got it.” I walk over to him, looking up at the pink and green leaves. “Where’s Donovan?”
The two elves ignore my question and continued to murmur in conversation.
The queen and prince of Ellevil walk toward me.
Miss Canary’s office is beautiful. Its glass rises above us, creating an elegant glass dome that extends into the woods. It’s truly amazing how large this castle really is. From the outside you’d think otherwise.
“I’ve summoned you two here because I want to talk about Eliza’s errand,” Miss Canary says. “You’re not going to run into Emily. Don’t worry.”
“She had enough, huh?” I can’t hold back my chuckle, thinking back to the fight we had.
“She’s with Donovan.” Her eyes dart up at me, expecting a wild reaction.
I decide not to give it to her and hope I can refrain from asking what they were doing.
“Guess you’re stuck with me.” Christian grins.
“As far as you know, Eliza, you’re aware that you’re in a kingdom, correct?” Miss Canary says, taking a book from her bookshelf. She opens it and licks the tip of her index finger, riffling through the pages.
“A kingdom is like a place ruled by a queen or king, or both, right?”
“That’s what humans believe a kingdom is,” she says, “but I’m afraid you’re wrong, Eliza.”
“Well what’s a kingdom then?”
Miss Canary spreads her fingers wide, her palms facing the ceiling. Gold and green orbs float around us, the same ones she presented to me at her house earlier. About thirty tiny orbs race around the room. She flashes her sharp teeth, clenching her fingers together into two fists. A blast of wind blows against my face as all the orbs come together, forming floating images of fairies around the room.
“These are fairies.” She waves at the images in the air. “They’re obviously not here in person, so they can’t do anything to you.” She stands behind the images. “Each mystic we know of has a mystical kingdom where their kind lives. Corrupt mystics, ‘the rogue’ of our kind, are not allowed to live in their kingdoms, so they’re set off on their own to survive,” she explains. “You can call their home Ravamere.”
“Cool. So you send off your trash for us to take care of,” I say. “We’re your own garbage disposal.”
Christian steps aside, staring at me, and Miss Canary glances up from her book. “Who are you talking about?” she asks.
“Witches.”
“Yes…and no.” She grins. “They choose to leave and become corrupt themselves, so we’re not technically pushing them out for witches to kill.”
“But they’re not allowed to go back to the place they once called home.”
“Correct.” She walks in between the fairy images.
“So why are you showing us them?”
“Fairies and mermaids are the only mystics we allow to live here in Ellevil, but they’re distant from us. Fairies are rather extrovert, and mermaids, well, they’re annoying with their singing, so we don’t get along that well.”
I remember the time my mom killed the corrupt fairy that attacked Dawn and me on the strip after school, saving both of us.
“You’ll find that pure fairies are different, Eliza.” She chuckles. “Which brings me to your next task.”
She glides toward a dark green vase and pulls out a glowing gold rose, different than the one she’s given to Christian and me. My markings on the side of my stomach are starting to hurt. Miss Canary glances at Christian as he moves toward me. The feeling fades away, and I lose my train of thought.
“This needs to be delivered to Warren Vasaloff, the King of Fairies,” she says.
“Now I’m a messenger?”
She hands me the rose. “You both are.”
“Why is it glowing?” I ask curiously. “Didn’t you say mystic kingdoms are different than what humans thought they were? Why is there a king of fairies?”
“It’s a protective charm for their kingdom. Every kingdom has a particular charm to keep their home invisible from humans, corrupt mystics, and the Verel,” she explains.
I remember about reading that witch gang too. Male witches, using femal
es to carry their young and then eventually corrupting or killing them off. I hope I never run into one. I don’t know how exactly I’ll be able to handle myself. Will I kill them? Become submissive? I don’t want to be that witch, that stupid rookie Donovan calls me.
“Part of your answer to my kingdom question was true. There are kings and queens who run their kind. Without order we’d have corrupt mystics ruining the world.”
I want to ask her about the myths and more about witches being corrupt, like my mother, or even about the Verel. There are many things I want to ask, but she claps her hands together as a sweet flower scent rushes throughout the room, and the orbs create an image in front of the three of us. The ocean I noticed from the big window outside of my room and the wide grassy field with the forest appears.
“Step onto the waves of the ocean, and the fairy kingdom will dissolve in front of you,” she says.
I shoot Christian a glare. I’m not too keen on him coming on this adventure with me. He’s tried to kill me numerous times and is messing with my mind continuously. I’m uncomfortable as he walks behind me, holding my waist. I get out of his grip, watching Miss Canary carefully. She walks by us, gliding out of the clear domed room.
Christian walks out of the bubble. He runs into the forest against the snow, disappearing.
***
It’s a new day and things at Ellevil are becoming stranger by the second. I’ve received fresh new green tattoos, my hair is now an ashy blonde, and my freezing condition is getting out of control. The snow is falling from the purple and blue sky above me. My boots smoosh into the snow as I walk back toward the entrance of the castle, my elvish Hell.
The transformation finalized its stages when I kissed Donovan, which was rather odd. I had to become sexual in order to complete it. Donovan, of course, kept certain things from me. The strange events started to happen when Christian’s body was forced on top of me in my room.
I press my cold hands against the doors. No one’s here with me. Finally I can relax and get myself together. I step forward. My room’s upstairs and there’re a bunch of elves living inside this castle. I haven’t noticed that this large staircase in front of me leads further down, I’m guessing into a basement. Or it would be wrong of me to call it that; let’s say dungeon for shits and giggles.
The elf is coming up the stairs; it’s Emily Woods.
I act like I’m doing something. She doesn’t recognize me and fades into the shadows. Miss Canary says that Emily’s been with Donovan. Can this mean he is down those stairs? I hear a door shut somewhere in the direction Emily has gone.
I rush over to the staircase, looking back to see if she’ll return or not. Figuring that she isn’t, I walk down the steps, my wet boots squeaking. Everything becomes darker by the second, and the staircase fades away as I get deeper. There’s a large black door ahead of me, and I step down from the last step. My breath clouds in front of me; it’s colder down here.
I make way toward the door, hearing chains rattle and a cough from inside. I open the door, following a tunnel-like path. There are several jail cells along this path. I walk by an elf standing still, watching me.
Someone collides against bars behind me. An elf’s hand sticks through the tiny horizontal space between the bars. He’s reaching out for me with his markings around his fingers and wrist glowing. He grips my hair from behind, pulling me back against another jail cell. I release a loud grunt.
“We haven’t seen another witch down here in a while,” he says, yanking on my hair. I reach my arm back, forcing myself free from his grip.
“Rose?” says a raspy voice not too far from where I am standing.
“Donovan?” I walk further down the path, breaking into a run. “Donovan? Donovan!”
The elves laugh, mimicking me.
I hear chains scratching on the floor.
“Shut the hell up, idiot,” someone snaps.
Donovan’s lips are cut, swollen, and there are bruises on his face and chest. He’s shirtless in this freezing basement.
“Oh my God, Donovan!” I grasp the icy bars of his cell and look down at the lock, trying to figure out how to open it, the commotion echoing.
“Stop it. You can’t get the cell open.” Donovan coughs, his chains scraping against the floor.
“What have they done to you?”
“Your hair. Rose, something about you is different…”
“I can’t remember the reason why they took you away yesterday.” I focus back on the lock, trying to break him out.
“What did you say?” He walks over to the bars.
“Yesterday they forced you out of my room, and I don’t know why.”
“Look at me.”
I don’t.
“Rose, look at me.”
I look up, seeing the wounds on his body and his unmanaged beard. His icy blue eyes freeze the space between us. “They really did get to you. Your posture is different, your hair…you’re not yourself.” He looks deeply confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Christian’s been manipulating you to think it’s only been a day.” He stares at me. “He’s been messing with your mind. It’s been a month since I’ve been down here.”
“That’s impossible.” He sticks his hand through the bars, and I grab it. A burning feeling travels through me, a burn that doesn’t burn, but soothes my mind. Everything gradually comes back to me. Donovan was taken away because of the fight in my room. He’s somehow breaking into whatever dream I’ve been in.
“Are you okay? Look at me.” He glances away. “Look at me, Donovan. Are you okay? What have they done to you down here?”
“Did you feel that?”
“Yes, it was a warm feeling.”
He looks up at me. “That’s how I’ve been feeling without you.”
My heart thuds at the realization that Christian’s behind all of this.
“Listen to me, Rose. I don’t know what’s going on here. I don’t think they’re ever planning on letting us leave. You need to keep acting like you don’t know anything.”
“Christian…he’s so…”
“He’s not like the rest of the elves here. That’s why Miss Canary favors him the most.”
“It’s like everything he does pulls me in, and I’m trapped and weak around him.” I look at Donovan’s crusty fingernails. “Sometimes I feel like…like I have feelings for him.”
“He’s an elf. That’s what they do.” He rubs his thumb on the surface of my hand.
“I can’t believe it’s been a month.”
“Get yourself together, rookie.”
“I’m trying.”
The prisoners in the holding cells snicker.
“You can’t always depend on me.”
“What if I was starting to like it?” I ask.
“Focus on fitting in. Find answers. And kill whatever gets in your way. I’ll be all right.” He coughs. “You can’t trust him, no matter how nice he is. There’s a reason why Miss Canary clings to him the most. Your mission is to find out why.”
Donovan’s eyes slide to the right, and I step to the side, a second too late I know when I feel the tip of an arrow brush past my shoulder. Another flies through the air; this time I catch it, seeing Emily strut toward me.
“Well, golly gee, look who’s awake now.”
I was waiting for this rematch. It’s finally time to show him what I’m capable of.
Chapter 9
I’m pleased to know that I’m not going psychotic. The mint smell travels back into my nostrils; it’s coming from Emily. Every mystic here isn’t pure; some are corrupt, and I’m going to unveil the mystery of who they are. Emily doesn’t look corrupt, and from what I’ve seen, their whole appearance changes. They’re evil, dark, and bloodthirsty, feeding on purity and your innocence, turning you into a mindless killer like them.
She walks over toward me, rubbing her index finger on the bars of the jail cell. The two elves I’ve walked by snarl, moving away fro
m her. She snaps her bow in half, dropping it to the floor, then kicking it. She cracks her knuckles and rolls her neck, grinning down at me.
The wounds on Donovan’s skin are deep and jagged, and I know that she’s behind them.
“Did I hurt your little boyfriend?” Emily glares at him. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
She continues walking, breaking into a fierce run. I release my grip from the bars and duck, dodging her first blow.
I’m predicting her next strike; she’s going to go for my head. She reaches for me, and I throw my arm up, blocking her attack. Emily stumbles back, realizing how well I’ve adapted. Twirling around with a roundhouse kick, I throw her against a crumbling wall.
She can’t really use any powers, and it was all a lie about her training me. She’s a lower class elf. The two other prisoners are salivating, whistling in anticipation of a deadly fight.
Emily grips my neck and jabs her knee into my gut. I wrap my fingers around her wrist.
I have to maintain control and stay focused. I head-butt the elf, knocking her to the floor. I bend down, holding onto a fistful of her hair, dragging her. Spinning her legs around, she trips me. I roll to my side, missing her kick. I block another attack with my right arm and see her other arm darting in the air. I raise my hands, blocking that blow as well, and shove her away from me.
She’s confused and angry and surprised. I punch her face, knocking her down again.
She lifts up her leg, kicking me across the tunnel, and snatches up a rusty black cell bar. She aims for my face with her weapon and runs toward me. The metal rings on the ground when she misses my face.
I know she’s going for my neck next, so I hold up my hands to block the impact of the blow. Her sharp teeth become visible from her mouth as her lips quiver in frustration.
“Show me what you’ve got.” I snatch the weapon from her and jab her face with its end. Blood pools in the gash I’ve created. She laughs, pressing her back against the wall behind her.
“You’re never going to be free. Christian’s always going to know where you are, always going to be able to feel your thoughts and emotions.” Her eyes flash emerald green. “There’s no escape. You’re already his.”
Mythical (The Mystical Series Book 2) Page 9
