Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
I stiffened, my lips flattening. “How do you know that?”
He shot me a pointed look. “We know about the letter and the flowers Vasilios sent you. Your parents informed us of them a while ago.”
A small shiver trickled down my spine as I remembered that haunting letter and the strange, bespelled flowers. The letter had creeped me out so much that every word was imprinted in my memory. And I’d received them on Valentine’s Day, no less.
Dearest Darya,
Is it too soon to ask if you miss me? I have been wallowing in this cell for only a week, and already, the walls are closing in. But never fear. I have a plan to reunite us sooner than you think. In the meantime, I hope you like the roses. I’ve bespelled them with a little surprise. Simply pluck a petal from one of the stems to reveal it.
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Yours always,
V.
xxx.
I hadn’t been brave enough to pluck off one of the petals, but my mother, with all her vast magic, didn’t share my fear. She plucked off a petal, and the roses began to hum with a haunting tune, an old song Vasilios seemed to have a penchant for called “Sealed with a Kiss.”
I brought my attention back to Sergeant Davis as I swallowed down the lump lodged in my throat. “What about the letter?”
“In it, he said he had a plan to reunite you,” Sergeant Davis explained. “I believe pinning this murder on you is his way of doing that. He wants you to be sent to the prison so that you can be together. That’s why I don’t think he’ll reveal your identity. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He wants you there with him.”
Well, if the letter and flowers hadn’t creeped me the hell out, that statement did. “So, what is this, some kind of twisted revenge mixed with a romantic gesture? Honestly, I don’t buy it. Vasilios hates me. The letter was just a way of messing with my head. Sure, he might’ve framed me, but only because he wants to ruin my life for what I did to him.”
“I disagree. I believe Vasilios still harbours feelings for you, which means he’ll be much more likely to reveal his secrets, mainly how he’s still accessing his magic. However, if it turns out you’re right and he’s done all of this out of hatred, then your challenge will be to redeem yourself in his eyes. Convince him to trust you again.”
Oddly, my stomach twisted with a strange sense of guilt at the thought of using whatever feelings Vasilios may or may not have for me against him. I quickly quashed the sentiment. If Sergeant Davis’s theory was to be believed, he’d had Belinda killed just to achieve his goal of having me convicted. He deserved whatever punishment was coming to him.
“I’ve run the idea by your parents,” Sergeant Davis said, interrupting my thoughts. “They’ve both outright rejected it, of course, but the decision lies with you, Darya. We’ll provide you with training and knowledge of the prison before you enter. You’ll be equipped with every possible tool to ensure your safety. Should you decide to do this, that is. You can say no, and it won’t affect your chances of being recruited after you graduate from St. Bastian’s. You have my word on that.”
I fell into thoughtful silence, my mind racing as I weighed the pros and cons. On the one hand, I’d be getting experience no other Guard member had before. But on the other, I’d be entering a place where I’d be dealing with dangerous criminals daily. It would be a fight for survival, no doubt about it, and though I was strong, I was still very young compared to those who dwelled inside the prison. Some of them were hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years old.
Also, the thought of spending time with Vasilios made me uneasy. He had, after all, plotted to murder my parents and actually thought I’d still fall in love with him one day. He was deranged. The entire framing me for murder thing proved it.
But if I took my personal feelings out of the equation and looked at it solely from a career perspective, the idea of being instrumental in solving a crime was exhilarating. Going undercover and completing an assignment would feel like being a fully-fledged member of the Guard, which was what I’d aspired to for years.
“If you do this,” Sergeant Davis said, almost like he read my mind, “you’ll be guaranteed a place in our recruitment drive. Only fifty new applicants are approved each year.”
I chewed my lip. That was true. They did only accept fifty new recruits, and if I wasn’t one of those fifty, I had absolutely no idea what I would do with my life once I graduated.