Page 17 of Tricky Princess

“You mean…” Ellea couldn’t help her dramatic gasp as she clutched her chest.

“Any book you could ever want is probably here,” he said with a warm smile. “It may not be shelved yet, but it’s somewhere in this realm.”

Ellea looked back at the countless books in front of her, taking in the names. Some were in other languages, but others she could make out. She was utterly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of books. Remembering how quickly she intended to leave Hel altogether, she grabbed the first one she could comprehend. Would she have time to finish it before Ros showed up? Duhne looked over her shoulder.

“Dracula and His Consort.” He gave her a devilish smirk.

She quickly flipped through it, searching for words that would help her determine the filth level without giving away too much of the story. She smiled widely and looked up at Duhne.

“This will do.”

Ellea had grabbed a few more books before Duhne said he would take her back to her room. She slowly followed him out, flipping through the pages and savoring the feeling of having something to read. A thought popped into her head as she noticed Reaver at the end of the library.

“Duhne,” she said, stepping toward the balcony where they’d eaten. “I’ll meet you by the end of the library. I want to bring some snacks to my room. I didn’t eat enough.”

He gave her a worried look, but nodded before walking toward an eager Reaver. Ellea waited a moment before whispering, “Viatrix?”

The woman appeared at her elbow, and Ellea muffled her shocked gasp. “Fucking Hel.”

“You called?” she said with a bored tone, glancing at her opaque nails.

“What are the chances of you getting me any book I can read on the history of Hel?” Ellea asked, keeping her tone low.

Viatrix’s pale eyes seemed to glint at her request.

“It will take some time, but I can get a few delivered to your room later today,” she said, keeping her voice low as well.

“Do you know where I’m staying?” Ellea asked, her brows coming together.

“Of course, I do, you silly monster,” she scolded. Ellea rolled her eyes at the insult that actually felt warming.

“I will be forever grateful for any help you can give me,” she said sweetly, stepping toward the table and grabbing a few scones and pastries. She didn’t want Duhne to get suspicious.

“Doubtful,” Viatrix said as she floated away, scanning volumes of books on her way.

“Thank you,” Ellea said under her breath and headed for the door as her plan fully formed in her mind.

7

Rosier

EIGHT DAYS WITHOUT ELLEA

It was a short fifteen-minute ride on the ferry to the small island, but Sam still managed to eat three bags of chips and drink a breakfast margarita. “Might as well enjoy it while I can,” he had said to a grumbling Ros. He wasn’t wrong. This was going to be the easiest part of their journey.

Billy had spent the whole trip trying to shoo away his negative thoughts. “Save it for the last two parts of the journey,” she had said.

The deckhand led them up a path as he droned on about the history of the island and the monastery on top of it. Ros blocked it out and calculated how long it would take before he would see Ellea. The answer: too long. He rubbed at his chest to try to ease the ache that had settled there when she was taken. Billy grabbed their attention, and they slowly crept away from the tourists and headed toward the intricate garden at the back of the massive building.

The garden had a maze of ferns and bushes as tall as Ros. The five of them followed it to its center, passing rose bushes along the way.

“Hey, it’s you.” Devon pointed to a giant bush of thorny roses.

Ros only grunted and walked past him.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“Rosier, it means ‘rose bush’ in some languages,” Devon explained, catching up with them.