Page 18 of Blood Moon
“That phrase there,” I said, pointing to the second page of the folklore book in the case. “‘Amor vincit omnia,’ what does it mean?”
Abba pulled a small cloth from nowhere and cleaned the glass where I’d left a fingerprint behind.
I took a step back, biting down in slight embarrassment. “My apologies,” I mumbled.
She held a smile on her face. “Oh, it’s fine, darling,” she said as she kept cleaning, but I didn’t believe it wasfineat all. Then she tucked the rag into her pocket, straightened her stance, and cleared her throat. “The phrase ‘amor vincit omnia’ is Latin. It’s the equivalent to ‘love conquers all.’”
“But why is it there, underneath the man transforming into a werewolf?”
“It’s another one of thosesillybedtime stories, doll,” she said a bit thinly. Perhaps I had offended her earlier.
“You’ve heard ofBeauty and the Beast, right?” she asked, not waiting for a response. “Sometimes it takes a monster falling in love to break a curse.”
I nodded, but before I could question her, my phone vibrated.
A text from Stevie:
We’re gonna get ice cream and we want you to come!!!
Then a text from Em:
Where are you??? Are you ok???
And one from Abi:
Ditch whoever you’re hanging with and hang with us instead.
I slid my phone away, not wanting to be rude mid-conversation, and when I did, I noticed that Abba had taken interest in my necklace, staring at it like it was something she’d seen before. The opal must have popped out of my shirt from leaning over to view the case. I’d had it in my pocket earlier, but before dinner, I clamped it around my neck in the instance that Rena’s warnings were true.
“I’ve got to head out, but I really appreciate your time, Abba.”
Her eyes fluttered and she looked at me narrowly, taking a step back. “Not a problem at all,” she said, pressing out her skirt with her hands and tugging on the edge of her blazer. “Have a good evening,Miss …?” she said, a question hanging at the end of her statement.
“Mira,” I responded, making my way to the exit. “And you do the same.”
I left the museum through the doors I entered and pulled out my phone as I speed-walked, realizing that the sun had set, and the night sky was a deep purple and blue. The moon was hard to spot, but I could make out its circular shape beneath the gently moving clouds.
My muscles tightened as I realized how dark the path was, and how long it would take for me to get to Hester Hall. Even with the lampposts illuminating parts of the Campus Center, it wasn’t enough. Something about being this far away from everyone and alone in the dark made me feel squeamish. The silence was eerie.
Remaining was an uncertainty, a stillness that sent a shudder down my back, and behind each blink, I could see those large animal eyes again. I could see their glare, watching me, waiting to pounce.
Trust your instincts,Rena had said, and I squeezed at the opal on my neck, hoping the damn thing truly did work as a ward.
The breeze pushed through the trees as I picked up my pace, not at all hesitant to break into a jog this time. I unlocked my phone and began responding to Stevie when I suddenly slammed into someone, the impact sending me back a few feet. My phone fumbled in my hands, almost falling.
“I’m so sor—” I started, looking up, but then I saw it was Julian.
He looked stunned as well, his eyes large, his mouth gaping. I hadn’t expected to see him this far out on campus, and I looked at the emptiness behind my shoulder, the quiet night, then back at him. He lingered for a moment, staring down at me as his hair tangled in the wind. And, just as quickly as we’d ran into each other, he walked past me as if nothing had happened at all.
“Wait,” I called out, my voice shakier than I intended. My heart raced so hard, I wondered if he could hear it, wondered if it was the only thing that gave him pause. Julian didn’t turn around right away. His shoulders caved in, head dropped. When he finally faced me, I watched his chest expand with breath, preparing himself.
I straightened, rebuilding my courage. “Look, I just want to know what you meant earlier. It seems unfair that you presented all this information to me and just walked away. What did you mean by ‘it’s not safe for me here’? Is there something I’m supposed to know?”
Julian wasn’t looking at my face anymore. His eyes were locked right above my breasts, at my pendant. He clicked his tongue. “Seems like you already know,” he said, and just like before, he was gone, and I was left standing in the night with more questions than answers.
CHAPTER10
I did not cheat Death; Death cheated me.
