Page 49 of Forgotten Monsters
“I am.” She bites her bottom lip, a dark frown on her face. “It’s a long story.”
Did she break the curse? Were the unicorns able to help as Beth did with me?
Dad rushes over from the stacks, leaving Deveraux and Allie to their conversation. “Munchkin!”
“Dad.” I skip over to my father, ignoring the tense looks between him and Cole as my dad hugs me like he never expected to see me again.
Cole leans against the closest stack, withdrawn from the group.
“How long has it been for you?” I ask, the question quickly becoming a fucked-up version of, “what did you do this weekend?”
“Too long, Munchkin. Way too long.” One last tight squeeze empties my lungs before he lets me go and straightens his old-fashioned jacket.
Allie waves me over to her. With a sheepish smile, I point discreetly at Cole and join him instead. She glowers at my husband, her lips curled down, but I’ll make it up ot her later. Right now, I need to stand by my husband.
Deveraux clears her throat. “Julia, I’m glad to see you. And Cole…” Her eyes flash, not in warning, exactly, but an understanding passes between them. “It’s not every day the Fae King visits Dark Falls.”
“I’ll be more open to your invitations in the future.” Cole caresses my spine and throws a lazy arm around my neck, holding me to him. The simple, easy gesture melts my insides, and Flynn throws me a discrete thumbs up.
A huge grin threatens to overpower my face, but I force my attention back to Deveraux.
The professor meets the eyes of every single person in the room in turn. “Darkwood made one humongous mistake. He used Julia and Allie’s ‘deaths’ to build a case for his dictatorship. Two young, powerful witches had perished in the earthquake, eaten alive by hollows…it was a powerful image.”
Allie’s jaw drops. “He used us to gain power?”
“He used Robert’s guilt and grief as a stepping stone, highlighting how the elemental party had done too poor a job to protect the school and couldn’t possibly protect the realm. He twisted the story to fit his needs. You, Allie, were painted as a princess that perished too soon, and Julia…” Her gaze collides with mine, a hint of regret thick in her voice.
Trent scoffs. “He used Jules as the poster child against Faerie’s involvement in our affairs, convincing everyone she’d been used and discarded by their new King.”
Dad’s fists clench at his sides, and the bitter curl of Brie’s mouth speaks volumes.
Lydia squeezes Trent’s shoulder. “And he bargained his own son away.”
After Trent visited us in Cole’s war tent, I never got the full story detailing how the vampire had ended up in Faerie, but judging by Lydia’s angry pout, Theodore really fucked things up with his son.
“How does that help us?” I ask, thinking Deveraux must already have a plan.
A small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “Dark Falls’ new building will be inaugurated in a few days. Darkwood will be there, along with the entire High Council, and all the major players in government. Some of them are too corrupt, eating out of the palm of his hand, but others could rally to our side. If we reveal that you girls are alive, and what really happened the day of the earthquake, it should damage his reputation beyond repair.”
“Your very survival might be enough to shatter him, so if he gets a chance to kill you and bury you quietly, he’ll take it,” Trent adds, looking straight at me.
Lydia raises her hand to speak. “Won’t everyone think they’re just good copies, like the ones we buried?”
“Their true identity will be called into question, that’s for sure, but could easily be proven,” Deveraux answers.
Brie snickers, “If Darkwood doesn’t arrest us first.”
A bubble of nerves hovers in my chest. It’ll be hard, but together, we might actually have a shot at taking down Darkwood. “We need enough time to make our case and expose his lies, so he can’t spin this in his favor, too.”
“Yes, we need a captive audience,” Lydia says.
Deveraux dumps a large leather book on the desk with a loudthump. “I have an idea. Amalthea gave us some prized ingredients. I will brew a petrifying spell that can be activated at the desired time. We will spike everyone’s drinks and make sure they are not only able to hear what we have to say, but forced to do so.”
Dad uncrosses his arms with a solemn nod. “As unlawful as it sounds, I’ve exhausted all the legal channels. I say it’s time to fight fire with fire.”
“Any Magus worth its salt will have an array of basic antidotes at his disposal. Petrifying spells need a minute to settle in, and to affect a crowd of this size, we’ll have to spread out in the room and cast the spell at the exact same time. They’re bound to notice,” Lydia says.
Brie smiles wickedly. “Unless we create a distraction big enough to hold their attention.”
