As desperately hungry as Synne was, she struggled to contain her nausea. Her hands shook viciously as she wrung them together.
This no longer felt like a dream and a nightmare would be an understatement. There was something about Julian's presence that just felt deathly real. Magic isn't real, she gritted her teeth, fighting her emotions.
She was so absorbed in her battling thoughts she didn't hear Rolo enter the room.
"You're still alive, that's a good sign."
Synne continued to stare at her full plate. Rolo waited in silence.
"Why am I here?"
The question seemed to suck the warmth from the air.
"Synne-"
"Don't say my name!" Synne shot to her feet.
She didn't want to think of the name her father would say proudly when introducing his daughter as the future Dr. Montaigne to his friends, the same name touching the murderous lips of Rolo's mouth. Her anger seethed as she defiantly met Rolo's surprised eyes, "Answer me!"
"You need to calm down," he said, his eyes slightly bulging.
"Calm down? Calm down!" Synne saw red, but didn't notice the black tendrils of smoke crawling around her feet.
"You murder my best friend, you drag me here and lock me up, and you want me to calm down?!"
Rolo started wheezing, clawing at his throat. Tendrils of black fog curled around his neck, tightening with every passing second. They crawled up to his chin, exploring his face and filling his mouth with darkness.
Synne screamed and jumped back, hitting the table and knocking her still full plate airborne. The smoke vanished, leaving behind a foul stench, and Rolo dropped to the floor gasping.
"Fucking bitch," he rasped.
"I- I didn't do that. I can't do that."
"You can and you did." Rolo rubbed his neck, getting to his feet. His face became sunken and hollow, his skin dull and ashen, but eyes were alight with anger.
"If you ever do that again to me, I will kill you." He rasped.
"I don't know- that's never happened before." Synne stuttered.
Rolo scoffed, but did not continue.
Synne, immediately overcome with fatigue, did not have the energy to pursue Rolo's insinuation.
Rolo moved to the door, waiting pointedly, Synne sulked behind him, allowing him to guide her back to her room.
She dragged her feet through the door, ready to sink into the satin sheets, before she could, however, Rolo spoke.
"You're here for the Baron, he needs you. Don't let that fool you, pull the same stunt tonight with him and he will snap your neck."
Synne turned to him quizzically but the door was closed and Rolo was gone.
Sleep found Synne quickly, however it did not meet her gently. She tossed and turned, dampening the bedding with her fresh sweat. Nightmares came effortlessly to Synne.
"Dad.. DAD!" Synne watched her father clawing at his chest. "Dad, what can I do?" She sobbed as his body hit the ground.
She was useless. Even now, 4 years later she continued to relive the same moment, take the same actions, reminders that she couldn't change anything.
"Miss, uh, miss it's time to rise." Laysa's soft voice twinkled in Synne's ear.
Synne started awake, the smell of a warm breakfast meeting her nose. Laysa had brought her a simple tray of eggs, bread, and water. But in friendly company it looked like a feast. She began to inhale it.
"Thank you," she mumbled through a full mouth, remembering Laysa still standing there.
A blue shimmer crossed Laysa's face, "Oh, miss, you're too kind. You do not need to thank me." She watched Synne devour the rest of her meal.
"Rolo has advised me that you are to start studying magik today, he has sent up materials." Laysa gestured to the desk near the balcony doors.
The mention of Rolo jolted Synne awake. Had she really done magik? No, she shook the thoughts out of her head, it's not real, they're toying with you.
"You're to remain here until further notice, I have permission to visit you three times a day with your meals." Laysa bowed her head, "I am very sorry miss."
But what could Laysa be sorry for? She didn't drag Synne from her life. If anything she was the only friend she had in this depraved hellscape. Synne couldn't find the words and watched Lysa as she scurried out of the room.
Synne tried to go back to sleep. Her nightmares had left her sore and worn out. As much as she tried to relax with closed eyes it felt like something was pulling at the back of her mind.
She sat up and let the feeling lead her out of bed. The nagging feeling, the silent whispers, were coming from the desk. The thick, old book on the desk to be more specific.
It was bound in very old, crisp leather. Letters gilded in gold read Magik and the Families who Wield it. It looked to be 500 years old with the smell of must leeching off of it. Despite its outward appearance, it hummed with life. The book radiated energy, drawing Synne closer in. She fingered its spine, gasping at the shock. The book's energy amped up, the cover slammed open and its pages whipped to an elaborately embellished family crest. Though it wasn't the book's animation that caused Synne's breath to catch, it was the inscription at the top of the page.
Montaigne.
YOU ARE READING
Blood and Ivy
Paranormal"Some are raised weak, others are born to it. Let's find out which you are, shall we?" Synne Montaigne was a burgeoning academic with high hopes of succeeding in medical school. Science was all she had to turn to when her father died of a heart att...
