Page 14

ALL OF YOU, MONSTERS

GRACE

T wo days later, I decide Cora is right. I am hopeless. I’ve been staring at two bowls—one filled with clear liquid, the other with black stones—for half the day now. Cora won’t tell me what I’m supposed to do, only that somehow, I need to combine the stone and water with my mind.

I glare at the bowls. Wait for something, anything to happen.

Nothing does.

“This is pointless,” I tell her. I slump back against the couch. The movement reminds me I’m wearing a stranger’s clothes. All black, hideous, and one size too small. The shirt pinches at my armpits, and the skirt is barely covering my butt.

I add wardrobe options to my list of complaints for Sebastian. His right-hand man, a gray-haired vampire named Oskar, has been delivering me to and from my Cora sessions. I haven’t seen Sebastian since the night he gave me Legally Blonde and tomato soup .

Apparently, he’s tired of me, and I can’t exactly blame him.

No. Screw that. I can one hundred percent blame him. It’s his fault I’m here, and it’s his stupid witch’s fault I’m not making progress. She’s asking me to defy gravity and logic, and she won’t even tell me the secret to do it.

“I agree,” Cora says. She sits on her coffee table, taking a deep chug of tea.

She’s almost always drinking it, and though the flavor occasionally changes, it almost always stinks.

She hums to herself as she lowers the mug, then sighs.

“I suppose we should get your menstrual cycle taken care of. You’re nearing it, aren’t you? ”

“God,” I say, dropping my head against the back of the couch. “If you could just smite me from the heavens, that would be great.”

“What, you’re embarrassed of your period?” Cora asks. She arches an eyebrow. “You’ve spent over a week with a horde of vampires, and the thing making you beg for death is your period ?”

“No,” I say. “It’s the fact you and Sebastian and every single person I’ve encountered here treats me like a problem to be solved. If it’s not my inability to cast, it’s the fact I bleed. If it’s not the fact I bleed, it’s the fact I’m not eating well. If it’s not?—”

“Yeah, yeah, forget I asked,” Cora says. She flaps her wrist at me as she rises, taking both her mug and my two bowls with her. “I get it. You’re feeling sorry for yourself.”

“Of course I am,” I shriek. “I was abducted! I’m being held against my will. Crazy people are threatening to drain my blood.”

“I think we’ll call it a day,” Cora says. She rings an old-fashioned bell beside her door. It’s not very loud, but my babysitter always shows up within a matter of minutes .

Fine by me. I’m ready to go back to my room, eat whatever version of tomato soup the servants make, and sleep for twelve hours straight.

I shove off the couch, straightening my skirt as well as I can, and stand at the door.

While I wait, Cora flits in the background.

She washes the dishes by hand, even though she obviously could do it with her fancy mind magic.

If I could move things without touching them, dishes would be the first chore to go.

A slow knock comes at the door, and I straighten my posture without consciously deciding to.

It’s Sebastian. Oskar knocks like an FBI agent about to kick down the door.

Beatrice knocks like an impatient twelve-year-old.

Sebastian’s knock is heavy and slow, like he has nowhere to be but you best answer quickly anyway.

Cora opens the door and I stand between her and Sebastian like a child of divorce. His eyes flick briefly to mine before settling on my teacher.

“Well?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Cora says, and she says it as if it should be obvious. As if he shouldn’t expect anything else, no matter how many more days they let me try.

She’s not wrong.

“That’s unacceptable,” Sebastian says. His eyes are on me again, but his expression is impossible to read.

“I’m trying,” I say. I hate how scared and pathetic I sound. It’s inescapable at this point. I’m not naive enough to believe they’ll keep me around forever. At some point, they’re going to tire of this, and once they do, I’m done.

They’ll kill me to try to break their curse, or maybe just out of pure spite.

“You’ve done it before,” Sebastian says. His voice is low, addicting. For a moment, I am transported back to the bar, when I thought he was just a random guy hitting on me.

I don’t argue with Sebastian. I know I used magic that night he attacked me. I saw it on his chest, felt his blood on my hands.

“That was different,” I say. I’m glaring at him now, hands tight at my sides. “I panicked. I didn’t even mean to do it. I swear, I’m trying everything. Cora isn’t exactly the best teacher.”

I expect Cora to argue, but when she doesn’t, I only feel more stupid. We all know she isn’t the one having issues. I tighten my fists again, and Sebastian tracks the movement. His gaze wanders to my skirt, lingering there for a noticeable moment.

“If you’re done ogling my legs,” I snap, satisfied when his attention snaps back to my face. “I’d like to go to my room.”

“I’m sure you would,” is his growled response. “Unfortunately for you, my patience is waning. You’re not exactly a house pet I’d like to keep.”

“May I recommend you release me then?” I ask sweetly. I can only hope he doesn’t notice the way my knees tremble, the way my heart leaps in my throat. I’m treading dangerous waters, but I won’t be treated like an unwelcome guest when he’s literally holding me hostage.

“Actually, I have a better idea,” he says. His smile is slow, leering, as he looks from me to Cora. His grin is almost demonic. “I’ll be back in one hour. See if you can’t find her some pants.”

“She’s twice my height,” Cora says.

Sebastian doesn’t respond. He’s already through the door, and I’m left with a sinking feeling I won’t like his idea one bit.

I don’t know where exactly we are in Sebastian’s manor.

He’s taken so many twists and turns, I have no idea where we’ve ended up.

We stand in the middle of a gaping room, devoid of furniture.

It looks like a ballroom, only without the elaborate decor and fancy chandeliers.

The only light here comes from the windows.

They stretch along the left wall, filtering in the final rays of an orange sunset.

Outside, Cora stands with a collection of Sebastian’s henchmen.

The pretty brunette and the old man who guard my cell.

Two men I’ve never seen. A short black woman with blood-red lipstick.

They all stare at me through the elongated windows, whispering amongst themselves.

Despite everything Cora’s told me, they’re standing outside in direct sunlight.

“Shouldn’t they be on fire?” I ask, casting an accusatory glower at Sebastian.

He looks at Cora and his followers, frowning, before addressing me.

“I see Cora has been educating you on the sun curse,” he says.

“Hard to break something if I don’t know it exists.”

I expect him to point out I’ve still yet to break it, even knowing it exists. He only nods toward the vampires watching me.

“Cora fixed us sunwalker spells,” he says. “Sorry to disappoint you, love, but I won’t be catching fire anytime soon.”

“That is disappointing,” I agree.

I cross my arms over my chest and do a slow rotation, taking in the room’s details. The floors are wooden and scratched. The walls white and void of decoration. The only color comes from the window drapes, but they’re all pulled to the side for my outside viewers.

“Does everyone have one?” I ask.

“No,” Sebastian says. “It’s a difficult spell.”

He looks toward the door, as if expecting someone to appear. My stomach twists, hard as I try to ignore it. I already know something bad is going to happen. I know he’s arranged something horrible to spur my magic, but I can only hope he’s not about to risk my life.

That’d be a complete waste, right? I won’t be breaking any curses if I’m dead.

“Sebastian—”

“They’ve returned,” he says, straightening.

I follow his gaze to the doorway. It’s the only exit out of this gaping room, and though Sebastian seems to have heard something, I can’t. Even as I strain my ears, I hear only the sound of my racing heart.

“Remember, you are a Pruce,” Sebastian says.

Without another word, he strides for the door, gesturing for me to remain in the center of the room.

“At least tell me what’s about to happen,” I say. My hands fidget at my sides, and I glance over my shoulder, at my outside audience. They’re all wide eyed and motionless now.

By the time I look back to Sebastian, he’s already disappeared from the room.

He makes me wait for hours. The sun has fallen, casting the room in horrible darkness.

Only three of the wall lanterns are lit, and their pathetic fire isn’t enough to fully light the room.

I’m surrounded by shadows and my own frantic thoughts.

The outside spectators are my only company, and they’ve barely looked away since Sebastian left.

They know something is coming for me, and they’re determined not to miss the show.

I use the time to practice magic, or at least, to try to practice. I end up with my hands dangling in front of me, useless and powerless as ever, until finally, the sole door opens. I’m unexpectedly hit with a wave of relief. What’s coming must be terrible, but at least this is almost over.

“Sebastian?” I call. I try to sound brave. Annoyed, rather than terrified. “I want another day. Give me another day with Cora?—”

Something moves in the doorway. It’s too dark to make out its features, but I know it’s not Sebastian. It’s not a vampire or a witch or anything human at all. It’s too tall, too thin, to be a person.

I suck in a startled breath at the way it moves. Spindly legs, bent at sharp angles, jolting it through the shadows. I stumble backward, keeping my eyes locked on the creature. I don’t stop until I hit the far back corner.