by L. Danvers
“So,” I interjected. “Can you help her?”
“I called in some friends to help with the research. We think we’ve found something that will work.” Holding the library door open for us, she motioned for us to enter. We followed her into a side room—a different one than before—and she reached up toward the ceiling. She gave a string a tug, and a ladder unfolded.
“You want us to go up there?” Victoria asked cautiously.
Melissa nodded. “The Book Slayers meet in the attic.” With a wave of her hand, she directed us to climb. And so, we did.
Victoria went first, and when she reached the top, she whirled around, gasping in amazement. I hurried after her, and it all made sense once I was up there, too.
The attic was dusty and old, and yet charming at the same time. Books were stacked along the perimeter of the room, all the way from the floor to the sloped ceiling. Skylights allowed moonlight to splash across the room, making the floating swirls of dust sparkle in the silver hues.
A circle of chairs made with varying out-of-date fabrics sat in the center of the room—a mishmash of patterns and florals from the 1970s. And on the far end of the wall was a table draped in a plastic blue tablecloth that held a punch bowl—only, by the smell of it, the bowl held blood, not fruit punch.
“Welcome,” said one of the Book Slayers, slinking over to greet us as Melissa climbed the final rung of the ladder. “I’m Betty. Prince Aiden and Victoria, I presume?”
We both nodded.
“It’s an honor. Come, come,” the unusually perky vampire said, ushering us to the chairs. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Victoria and I sat beside one another. Melissa took the seat to my right, and the other Book Slayers filled in the rest. Melissa pulled an ancient-looking book out from under the chair pillow and flipped it open. “I have good news and bad news,” she said, not bothering to look up as she began thumbing through the tattered pages.
“Alright...”
The way the other vampires were eyeing one another filled me with unease. I knew ahead of time, though, that protecting Victoria wasn’t going to be easy. Nothing ever was. And I’d gladly pay whatever price was necessary to keep her with me.
“Ah, here it is,” Melissa said, mostly to herself. “So, as I said, there is a way that you can help her.”
I sat up, eager to hear what she had to say. It didn’t matter how hard it was going to be. I was ready.
“You’re going to need to get a hold of a Silverleaf sapling.”
“Silverleaf?” My eyebrows drew together. “I’m not sure what that is.”
Betty piped up. “It’s a plant that only grows in the Kingdom of the Silver Seas.”
My chest caved. “Of course it is,” I muttered under my breath.
“Is that a problem?” Melissa asked, taken by surprise.
I shrugged. “Crescent Cape and the Silver Seas have a... rough history. But I’m sure we’ll find a way.” I pressed my lips together, trying to look optimistic even though I knew acquiring the sapling would be a challenge.
“I’m afraid that’s not the bad part,” Melissa added. “Here’s the thing: the process of Victoria taking on this phantasmal form can be halted. But it’s going to require the use of magic.”
“Okay...” That wasn’t so bad. Not ideal, obviously, but I figured I could get Evanna to help me.
“There’s more.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “The witch who performs the spell has to be from the same bloodline as the witch who cast it.”
My lips parted. I was at a loss for words.
That was bad news. Because obviously, Reed wasn’t going to do me any favors. Which meant that the one person I could ask was Grace.
And something told me that she wasn’t going to be particularly inclined to help me after what I did to her...
I buried my face in my hands, trying to gather my thoughts. There had to be something I could do to convince her... I could offer her money. As much as she wanted. Or I could make living arrangements for her far away from Crescent Cape and my family. Whatever she’d ask, I’d do.
However, it was possible that her services couldn’t even be bought... She despised me—not that I could blame her.
Maybe I could see if I could get Danielle to help... Although, her being willing to help me was almost as much of a stretch.
“Aiden?” Victoria asked.
I lifted my head, staring blankly at the circle of faces eying me pityingly. The room was spinning.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I said, “We’ll figure this out.” My attention flicked over toward Melissa. “Thank you for your help with this. Now, any word on what we can do to help Xander?”
Melissa frowned. “You’ll have to use the same spell, I’m afraid.”
My chest hitched. Of course I did.
Julian
“Dude, where the heck have you been?” Keo barked through the phone.
I covered the microphone with my hand and mouthed to Danielle that I needed a minute. She nodded and continued merrily strolling down the busy New York City street—we’d ended up dancing so late into the night that we were wiped by the time we realized we hadn’t toured the city as planned. So, this morning, we hurried and got ready for today’s adventure. First stop? The Museum of Modern Art.
“My apologies,” I said, returning my attention to Keo, my friend—and, more importantly, my eyes and ears—from the Kingdom of the Silver Seas. “Things... well, took a turn over here. The past few days have been crazy.”
“I know, man. Why do you think I’ve been blowing up your phone? Look, I’ve heard rumors that Phoebe has been in touch with your little friend Reed Carlisle.”
My lips pressed together in a hard line, making my cheeks dimple. “Oh?" I asked, gritting my teeth.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Reed Carlisle was powerful, but he couldn’t have brought Victoria back on his own. He had to have had help. And rumor had it that Phoebe Mather was the most powerful witch in the Kingdom of the Silver Seas.
Maybe even the world.
“There’s more,” Keo said sternly. “She and Reed cut some sort of deal. I don’t know the exact details, but I spotted her carrying Silverleaf saplings through the woods.”
I paused for a moment, waiting for an explanation. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”
“Julian, I don’t know much about how magic works. But I know that Silverleaf saplings are some of the most valuable ingredients used for spells. They’re extraordinarily powerful.”
“Okay...” I said, trying to focus on the conversation while keeping up the pace with Danielle, who was practically jumping for joy now that we were nearing the museum.
“She’s getting it for Reed,” he insisted. “I can feel it in my gut. Must have been part of their agreement.”
I scratched my cheek. It made sense that Phoebe would have solicited Reed’s help to cast the spell to awaken Victoria. Kind of. Maybe the King and Queen of the Kingdom of the Silver Seas thought torturing my brother with a ghost from his past was suitable payback for slaying their daughter.
It wasn’t the route I would have personally chosen if I’d been in their shoes, but hey—they’d always been a bit... odd.
As for Reed agreeing to help Phoebe, it wouldn’t have taken that much convincing. The Carlisles have long been considered a scourge upon our kingdom. We tolerate them at best. But, undoubtedly, Reed was too smart to assist her without getting anything in return.
But why would he need a Silverleaf sapling?
“You still there?” Keo asked.
“Yeah, I’m here,” I said, catching up with Danielle and holding her hand as we crossed the crowded crosswalk. “Thanks for the info. Any other news?”
“Afraid not. So, what exactly is going on over there?”
“Oh, not much... Aiden went bloodthirsty on us and slaughtered the blood slave village and half of Quarter Square. Then we got him off the real stuff. But
, thanks to Phoebe and Reed, Aiden’s deceased fiancé is back. But she’s currently in the process of morphing into a ghost.”
“Whaaat?”
“And then Xander’s been cursed—and in his deranged state, he’s bent on murdering my girlfriend.”
Danielle came to a sudden stop, her eyes twinkling. At first, my forehead wrinkled in confusion. That was hardly something to be excited about.
But then I realized what I’d said.
I’d called her my girlfriend.
Keo laughed. “Not much going on, huh? Man, sometimes I’m glad to be me. Sure, ruling a kingdom would be nice and all, but I’d take dodging the Royals hunting me and my pack over your family drama any day.”
“Yeah.”
“Listen, I won’t keep you. I’ll give you a buzz if I hear anything else, okay?”
“Thanks.”
I hung up the phone and stuffed it in my pocket. Without saying a word, Danielle and I headed for the ticket counter. “What was that about?” she asked.
“I’ll fill you in in a bit. For now, I want you to enjoy this.”
Danielle let out a breath when we entered the museum. I was surprised by how many people were here at 10:45 in the morning. In the middle of the week, no less. Although, then again, this was New York.
We finally reached the reception desk. Danielle was ready to burst while she waited for the card reader to scan the credit card chip—so much so that her foot was tapping.
After hurriedly browsing the map the guy handed her as we were walking away, she announced we were going to head to the fifth floor.
One short elevator ride later, we were there. Standing in front of The Starry Night. We took a moment to marvel at the painting, taking it in. It was breathtaking. No photograph I’d ever seen had done it justice.
Danielle leaned her head against my shoulder. “Thank you for this.”
I brushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Of course.”
With a wry smile, she nudged me with her elbow. “So, you think I’m your girlfriend now?”
I cleared my throat, trying to play it cool. I knew I’d slipped up the second I said it to Keo. I thought about brushing it off. But who was I kidding? She was a hybrid. She could hear my heart thrashing against my rib cage. “Maybe. What do you think?”
“I think you should probably ask me before you start announcing to people that I’m your girlfriend.” She was still smiling, so I knew she wasn’t upset. Still, I felt a slight tinge of wounded pride.
But she was right. Even though it had been very much implied that we were now together, I’d never outright asked her.
So, in front of the most beautiful oil painting I’d ever seen, I turned to the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes upon. “Danielle Parker,” I said in the cheesiest voice I could muster, “will you be my girlfriend?”
She flung her arms around my neck amid whistles and cheers from some random guy in a Hawaiian shirt walking by, leaned in and kissed me. “It’s about time you asked.”
Julian
We had hardly exited the museum before my phone began ringing again. I fished it out of my pocket.
Noticing the widening of my eyes, Danielle asked, “Who is it?”
“Aiden,” I said flatly.
I answered the call while gesturing for Danielle to join me on an empty bench. A pigeon that had been perched on the left armrest flapped its wings and took off when we approached. Slinking into the metal seat, I opened my mouth to address my brother and almost gagged from the smell of day-old fast food wafting from the trash can. Pushing down the wave of nausea building within me, I cleared my throat. “Hello?”
“Julian. It’s Aiden.” His voice was cold. Somber, even.
“Is everything alright?”
“Yes... and no.” He paused. “Victoria and I are heading back to Crescent Cape.”
“You finished with the Book Slayers, then? What did they say?”
Danielle scooted in closer so that she could hear, too.
“They believe there is a way to undo the spell,” Aiden explained. “Their leader gave me a list of ingredients as well as a copy of the counter-spell we’ll need.”
“That sounds like a good thing to me. Why do you sound so stressed out?”
“There are a couple of problems.” Aiden hesitated for a second, and I could hear the clicking of his turn signal in the background. A couple of seconds later, he continued, “The first is that one of the ingredients we would need is a Silverleaf sapling. They only grow in the Kingdom of the Silver Seas. Which means we’re going to have to find a way to get our hands on one.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, thinking the name of that plant sounded an awful lot like the name of the plant Keo had mentioned earlier. I wanted to double-check before I risked getting my brother’s hopes up, though. “I’m sure we can manage that. What’s the other problem?”
Aiden let out a heavy sigh.
“Come on,” I pressed. “It can’t be worse than infiltrating an enemy kingdom to steal a magical plant.”
He gave a nervous laugh. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
“What is it?”
“In order to perform a counter-spell, we’ll need a witch from the same bloodline as the person who cast it. Which, I think is safe to assume, was Reed Carlisle.”
My gaze slid over to Danielle, whose chin was resting on my shoulder. She sat up, recognition dawning on her.
Grace, she mouthed.
I nodded.
“Reed obviously won’t do the counter-spell himself,” Aiden continued. “And I can’t imagine his followers would be easily bought. Which leaves...”
“Grace,” I said, finishing his thought.
“Exactly.”
“Which might not have been such a stretch had you not tried to kill her.”
“...Yeah.” His voice cracked. I could have sworn I heard a sniffle. “What am I going to do? I may not be worthy of a second chance, but Victoria’s never harmed a soul. I hate that she’s suffering because of me.”
Victoria whispered something to him, too softly for me to make out her words. Probably some type of assurance to keep him from having a mental breakdown.
I searched for something, anything, to say, but I couldn’t find the words. There was no use in trying to make the situation sound any better than it was. Aiden was too smart for that. So, instead, I moved on to the next issue. “What about Xander? Did they say anything about how we can help him?”
A grunt. “Same thing. We need a Silverleaf sapling and a counter-spell.”
“She’ll do it,” Danielle announced, giving away the fact that she’d been listening in the whole time.
“Excuse me?” Aiden asked, sounding startled.
“Grace. She’ll do it. She hates you, but Xander saved her life. She’ll help him. I know she will. And as for Victoria...” Danielle took the phone from my hand, now speaking to Aiden directly. “What you did was seriously messed up. Downright disturbing, actually. But unlike you, Grace isn’t a monster. She’ll help her.”
I blinked, not offended, but surprised with how frankly she was speaking with my brother.
Not that he didn’t deserve it.
“I... I don’t know what to...” Aiden stammered.
Danielle didn’t bother letting him finish his sentence. She handed the phone back to me and stood, hugging her arms around her waist as she refocused her attention on the honking taxi cab in front of us.
“It’s me again,” I said, cutting Aiden off.
“Oh.”
“Look, we’ll figure this out. Head back to the castle and we’ll meet you there.” I sat upright, suddenly remembering. “Oh, speaking of which... I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to give Danielle permission to return.” When Xander first went all dark-eyed robot on us, Danielle had left me and Aiden with no choice but to compel her to leave—for her own safety. Whether that
was the wrong thing to do or not, I still wasn’t entirely sure. After all, Danielle was alive. But now, because Aiden had compelled her, she couldn’t return unless he explicitly told her that she could.
“Are you sure?” Aiden asked. “I’ll do it, of course. But I haven’t heard from Charlotte or Evanna in a while. For all we know, Xander could be...” His voice drifted off.
“Fair point. Either way, though, I still need you to tell her she can go home. So that, when the time is right, she can do so without waiting on you.”
“Alright.”
I rubbed my forehead before getting up and standing by Danielle’s side. “Okay, Aiden,” I said, putting him on speakerphone. “You can tell her now.”
“Danielle,” he said, his voice clouded with guilt. “You can stop running now. You can return to the castle whenever you choose.”
Her chest fell as she let out a soft breath. Her dark eyes flicked toward me. “Thank you,” she said—to me, not to Aiden.
I pulled her in close and kissed her forehead.
“Thanks,” I said to my brother. “Now, I suggest you continue on to the castle. And I’ll come up with a way to get my hands on that sapling.”
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone. Danielle leaned into me, nestling her head on my bicep. After a minute or so, she looked up at me. “What’s wrong?”
Staring blankly at nothing in particular, I replied, “I’m almost positive Keo told me that Phoebe had been found with that very same plant in the Kingdom of the Silver Seas—to give to Reed. If the plant is used as in ingredient for counter-spells, what spell exactly is Reed Carlisle looking to undo?”
Grace
You’re destined to be enemies. Reed’s ominous warning played on repeat like a broken record in my mind. Gripping the steering wheel, I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Frustration spilled through me. I let out a huff and turned on the radio, trying to drown out his words. What did Reed Carlisle know?
