Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“And I never spoke of that day to anyone,” I replied before lifting my purse and bringing it into my lap. “I was scared my uncle would be mad, and I was scared he’d be angry at you since you were a vampire. I heard you fighting, and I felt so grateful. I held on to this while I was hiding.”
I opened the ring box. His eyes widened as he took the smooth golden head cufflink out of it.
“You’ve kept this…all these years?” His voice was low as he looked over it.
“Of course. I’ve seen it as my lucky charm, but I got worried I’d lose it, so I kept it hidden at home. Whether you killed the vampire or not, you really did save me. I was so happy. I went home and wrote this also that day.” I bit my lip, hoping he didn’t think I was crazy or weird, as I handed him my childhood composition notebook.
My name is Druella Zirie Omeron,
I am eight years old,
I am from Bymoor, Virginia.
My dad is Dovev Omeron.
My mom is Zirie Omeron.
They are gone, so Uncle Axel takes care of me.
He teaches my best friend, Simone, and me magic.
We learn magic because we are witches.
I am a witch.
Witches protect witches from the monsters.
I will protect us from the monsters.
But all monsters aren’t monsters.
Cuz I met a monster.
I think he is nice. He saved me, but when I tried to see him, he was gone.
He doesn’t know, but I tagged him, so I can find and thank him.
He paused his reading to look at me in confusion. “Tagged me? You said this, too, when you were drunk.”
“Magic drunk!” I corrected quickly. “Different type of drunk, and why do you always catch me at my worst?”
“I’ve yet to see your worst, actually,” he replied, a kind smile on his lips.
Man, I was so freaking glad I couldn’t blush. I felt like a silly, airheaded teenage girl in a YA novel. If I said the words “dazzle someone,” please, I beg you, knock me out and save me from myself.
“The tag?” he asked again when I did not speak.
“Yeah, ugh…” My eyebrows bunched together as I tried to collect myself. “I think when you picked me up, I put an alert on you. I don’t know how to explain it well. My magic isn’t traditional. Basically, I think I wanted to make sure that I would be able to find you again no matter what. But ever since then, whenever you came close enough, I’d feel it. You don’t feel anything?”
“From that moment onward, I was not sure if I was more aware of you or if I was just…being, as you said, a stalker in my own delusions.” He frowned at the word, glancing down at the page. “Sometimes, it felt as if you were calling for me. Other times, I felt as if you were sad and I would come to check. By the time I came here, whatever had made you sad was gone, or you were never sad at all. So, I assumed it was just in my head.”
“Sorry,” I said quickly. “It’s been…a ride trying to figure out how to control my magic. Not that I am not in control. It’s just that sometimes my magic…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain.
“Sometimes your magic does what you want to do and not what you ask it to do,” he said perfectly.
“Exactly. How did you know?”
“Stalking,” he said with a straight face.
I bit my lip, but it didn’t help because the laughter broke through anyway. “Well, that helps me explain it, I guess. I never have the right words. Not that I would be okay with stalking in other contexts.”
“When it’s a vampire?” he teased.
“A handsome vampire.” The words came out before I could even think straight. “Ugh, as I was saying, I’m a boundless witch. So my magic is a little tricky as—”
“Your magic allows for your desire to become a reality. It’s fine when you live merely by desire. However, mortals and even immortals do not. We have reasons, and that sometimes conflicts.” He apparently had the right words and ignored my earlier words. “I did realize it was not all in my mind, our connection, as I was able to walk upon your lands with no interference from your coven. It is as if I am invisible to them. Is this the work of your tag?”
I tried not to cringe and reached for the book, but he held it away from me. “That’s why I can’t use spells. They end up mixing or conflicting with my desires when I try to use them. No one understood that at the time, not even me. I’m not exactly sure what the spell did, but I think the magic I used in creating it does cloak you a bit from other witches. I noticed it whenever I could feel you around, but none of my circle could.” Except for maybe Simone now. The spell might be weakening, seeing as how I wanted to sense him now.