Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Graves slowly closed the box again. “There are legends in our world,” Graves began, slow and sure, his voice as thick as molasses and just as sweet. “Tales of beasts and beauties. Creatures and stories that would keep you up at night. Of monsters born.”
She swallowed at the sensuous way the words fell off of his lips. “I know all about what goes bump in the night.”
“There’s much worse than the monsters you know of in this world,” he said as if reading her thoughts. “All those stories you’ve heard. All the tales and legends come from a kernel of truth.”
“Like what?”
“Like me,” he said evenly. Then he tilted his head sideways. “And you.”
“Me?” she blurted out. “I’m human.”
“Are you?”
She snorted in disbelief. “Yes. Obviously. How could I be worse than a monster? Let alone a vampire? They feed on human blood.” She made a disgusted face at him.
“Vampires are pathetic bottom feeders. We allowed them to live on the surface while we remained in the shadows so that they stayed out of our way with their pesky wars. You . . . are something altogether different.” She swallowed and waited for him to say more. “If you’re to be believed, you can take down my wards with no outside interference.”
“You keep talking about wards, but I don’t even know what they are. Or at least they can’t be what I think they are.”
He sighed heavily as if her ignorance affected him personally. “Wards are magical barriers.”
“Okay,” she said, disbelieving. “That is what I think they are. But . . . magic?” The word came out derisive.
“Yes, magic. Wards are the reason there’s no standard mechanical security system necessary on my house. They keep out intruders and alert me to any interference.” He slid his hands into his pockets. “You shouldn’t have been able to get within five feet of my home without me knowing. Not without help or wardbreakers or some serious powers yourself.”
Kierse stared at him blankly. Then a giggle burst out of her. Until she was laughing so hard, she couldn’t keep it together. It had been a while since someone had brought her nearly to the point of tears. Ethan always tried, but it was usually Gen’s dry wit that worked.
“What precisely is so funny?” he asked, cutting through her laughter.
“Magic isn’t real.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Monsters not magic,” she said like a mantra. “That’s what the monsters touted when they appeared. It’s practically their motto—monsters not magic. They have supernatural abilities—strength, speed, agility—but they can’t, like . . . move things with their minds. Or whatever wardbreaking is.”
“And you believe them?”
She shot him a skeptical look. “Wouldn’t I have seen magic being used before? Wouldn’t someone have talked about it?”
“It’s in every fairy tale in every culture in the entire world,” he said. “There are reasons for our tales. It is a rare talent and usually snuffed out of children long before it can develop into something more useful. So no, I doubt you would have met someone who could do much of anything before.”
“I just . . . don’t believe you. Why would I believe you?”
He looked her over as if she were the most insufferable thing on the planet. “I’m not in the business of performing.”
“Well, if you’re not going to do magic,” she said, putting air quotes around the word, “how else can I believe you?”
He inhaled sharply and then released it. Then he tipped the lid of the box back open and offered it to her. She looked inside and saw a thick gold coin the size of a silver dollar. He flipped it to her, and she caught it out of midair.
“So, you’re a magician.” She said the word sardonically as she dropped the coin back on the table. “I’ve seen a few of them on the streets. Good sleight of hand, though.”
He scowled as he snapped the empty box closed again. “I’m not here to convince you, but why would I lie?”
“I can think of about a hundred reasons.”
“Open the box,” he snarled.
She took it from his hands. This time she popped it open with flair, tossing the lid back and smirking at him. And as she did so, hundreds of coins spilled out of the box. Her eyes widened in alarm. She lifted the box into her hands as more and more of the coins rained down to the floor. Once they slowed, she checked the box for a false bottom.
“What’s the trick?” she asked. From every angle, the box appeared perfectly intact. And she had seen it empty. “It was . . .”
“Empty?” he finished for her. “What would be the point of warding an empty box?”
She gasped softly and tossed the box away from her like it could burn her. “What the fuck? Magic?”
He shot her an imperious look. “I told you.”