Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
The spine creaks as I open it, the pages yellowed at the edges. I sneeze. Even here in this dungeon, a library smells like every other library, the books slowly disintegrating just like the humans reading them. My metaphor falls apart when I think about the vampires. They’ll outlive the books, the humans, everything. I should’ve asked Melody that—how long do vampires live. Is it really forever? But only forever if they don’t get hurt. It’s immortality but also not.
I pinch the bridge of my nose in a fruitless effort to stop it from tingling. Two more sneezes shatter the library’s stillness.
This book is written in the same language as the other, or at least it’s in a language I can’t read. I’m back to picture books, doing my best to follow the plot through the images. The text is cramped, the lettering small. I don’t think I could read it even if it were in English. But the deeper I go, I start to realize what it is—a vampire lineage, possibly a history, too.
“Holy shit,” I mumble as I turn the next page and find the dragon emblem in stark red ink, the same dragon that adorns the walls all over the castle. Not a coat of arms, more of a sigil, it signifies Blood Dragonis. Several pages are filled with illustrations of a black castle on a craggy hillside. Then an entire barren field of bodies impaled on spikes, a forest of the dead.
More flipping leads me to the green emblem of Blood Tantun. A snake curls its way around the parchment, its eyes a vicious red. And beyond that, the dark violet crow of Blood Corvidion.
What I wouldn’t give to be able to read this. It’s a wealth of information, something the humans could use to understand the vampires, possibly to stop them.
I keep going, my fingers skating across the pages until I reach what seems to be another section. The entirety of it is written in dark crimson ink, and my throat closes at the notion it could be blood.
“Surely not,” I reassure myself and keep flipping.
Though sparse, the illustrations are full of clues, like puzzles I’m not quite able to complete.
By the time I close the book, I have a sinus headache and an empty stomach. I take it with me back to my room and find dinner sitting outside my door. I assume David is the one preparing my meals now though I can’t be sure. He doesn’t seem like the sort who cooks, but it’s not like I know him.
I open the door a crack, tuck the book under my arm, and grab the tray, then back through the doorway into my room. When I turn, I let out a yelp and drop the tray.
Fatima catches it easily, her unnatural quickness making me gasp.
“You always were so clumsy,” she chides and slides the tray onto my nightstand.
My mouth hangs open from the surprise of it as I take her in. She’s wearing a black jumpsuit that’s fitted tightly at the top and flares out into loose pants. Her hair is down, the waves like flowing ebony over her shoulder.
“Not happy to see me?” she asks and sits on my bed, crossing her legs at the knee. “Come.” She pats the space beside her, her eyes glinting.
“What are you doing here?” I wonder where David is, if he can hear the panicked beat of my heart.
“An old friend can’t stop by for a visit?” She pouts, her red lips a perfect Cupid’s bow. “Sit.” Her command is curt this time.
I ease closer to her and sink down, the book still tucked under my arm. Maybe she won’t notice it.
“I’ve been waiting for you to leave that dreadful library. What do you have there?” She reaches for the book.
I lean away. “Nothing.”
Her eyes narrow, but she drops her hand back into her lap.
“What happened to you?” I ask the question that’s been haunting me since the ball.
“I evolved.” She leans back on her elbows, her cowl neckline revealing the swells of her breasts. It’s jarring, seeing her like this. Fatima was always so modest. And religious. Her hair carefully covered, her prayers always said.
“You’re with Gregor. He’s killing everyone. He wants to destroy every last human in existence. You’re okay with that?”
“I am.” She shrugs lightly.
“What happened to you?” I ask again.
Her eyes meet mine. “I finally made a decision for myself,” she snaps. “I chose what I wanted my life to be. No one else chose for me, not this time.”
“You were part of our family. We—”
She scoffs. “I was tolerated, nothing more.”
“That’s not true. Juno relied on you, trusted you.”
“Juno?” She smirks. “Juno is the one who set all this into motion. I should thank her.”
I stand, unable to sit next to her for another moment. She makes my skin crawl. “Why are you here?”