Faults

Chapter 27: Taylor

Christian plants a kiss on my jawline, working his way back to my mouth. "I told you, you're intriguing," he says breathlessly.

"You tell me that every time we do this," I say back.

"It's the truth."

He doesn't give me a chance to respond. His lips are on mine in an instant, his hands tangled in my hair. I pull away. "You also do this whenever you want something."

"There's some truth to that as well," he replies, nodding.

I tilt my head. "What is it this time?"

"We need to attack again," Christian says bluntly.

"Who?"

He smirks. "Shane, your brother's friend."

"How did you even know Shane exists?" I ask, confused. I've only seen him a few times, and never have I said a word to him.

"He was there when I gave Aydin his mark," Christian explains.

Whenever Christian wants to plan something, he practically seduces me into it. It took a lot of convincing to get me to help him with killing my mother, but eventually, I agreed. She never helped me, anyway. Aydin was always the favorite and I was always left in the dust. She never loved me as much as she loved him, so killing her wasn't the hardest decision I've made.

It was difficult, yes, as she was my mother and all. But on the other hand, she was never as caring towards me. It was always about Aydin. Everything was about him. Why can't we just kill him now and get it over with?

"Christian, can't we just skip Shane and take out my brother?" I ask, frustrated.

His lips curl into a grin. "What a bold request. I suppose we could try, but be prepared for Archie to attack us. I've been watching them–they don't leave each other's side."

"How unfortunate. We're stronger than them now, though," I snicker.

"We always have been," Christian laughs. He walks over to the bed and lifts the mattress, pulling out two books. I recognize one, the same book he showed me the night he got here.

He hasn't told me what it is yet, no matter how many times I've asked him. He said it's his "secret weapon", but that's all I know. I haven't had a chance to look at it, since he makes sure I can't get ahold of the book. The second one, however, I haven't ever seen before.

"I think it's time I tell you about these," he says. "Well, at least one. We might save the other for later."

"What are they?" I question.

"Spell books." He places the new one on the table and holds out the one with sigils on the cover. "This is Exitium Per Maleficia. You may or may not have heard of it before. It's the most powerful spell book to have been written in Galariesse. The spells are ability-specific. It was deemed "too dangerous" for use, but I'd say things have been just fine."

I arch a brow. The title of the book sounds familiar but only vaguely. I take the book from his hands and flip through it. The spells range from simple to what appears to be more advanced. As Christian said, they're all organized by ability. I find my ability, fire, and skim the spells.

"I'll teach you how to do the incantations," Christian says.

As interesting as this all sounds, I can't keep my mind off of the other book. "What's the other book?"

He picks it up off the table and stares at the black leather cover. "Dolorem Ipsum. It's another spell book, but it wasn't written within Galariesse. It's... Far more interesting than Exitium. We'll save these incantations for another time, though," he explains, placing the book back on the table.

"Can we try one of the spells now?" I ask.

"Of course," he replies, taking Exitium from my hands. He looks through the page I have it opened to and points to one of the spells. "How about we try firebending? I know you can create fire, but how about being able to manipulate it?"

"That'd be great."

"Let's try it then," Christian says, staring at the spell. He closes his eyes, raises his right hand, and begins speaking, "Ignis ignis, ardens lucidus, sacra mea vide, animam meam flecte, ignem accende." A flash shoots from his raised palm and hits me in the chest. It ripples through me but doesn't hurt. Christian reopens his eyes and smiles. "Let's get to work, shall we?"

"Work?"

"Oh, yes."