The next day, my new foster mom came to me with a roll of thick yellow paper. "I found this in the mailbox. It's addressed to you. Any idea who sent it?"
"No," I lied. I unrolled the scroll and looked at the letter inside.
Dear Nyx,
You are cordially invited to this year's Umbragardian Beltane celebration, a night of passion, fire, and midnight revelry. Wait for me outside your home at 5:30 tomorrow night. I shall bring you to Umbragard to prepare for the party.
Sincerely,
Astor Peregrine Erebus Adonis Spyridon Shadowhawk,
Prince of Shadows and Lord of Midnight Revelry
His handwriting was tight and quickly written, but elegant. And the seal! The seal was awesome!
"What is it?" my foster mother asked.
What should I say?! If I said it was an invitation to a party, I'd have to explain with whom and where. She'd probably say I was too young to be out all night at a party. But then what else should I say it was? A letter from a friend? On parchment paper with a wax seal, sure. Then I had an idea. "It's an early birthday card from one of my friends! My birthday's on Saturday."
"Oh, how nice!" said my foster mom cheerfully. She didn't press me. Phew!
I went upstairs, still looking over the invitation.
"What's that, Alex?"
"Oh. Uh... hi, Patricia. It's just..."
She leaned over my shoulder and gasped. "Is that from your boyfriend?"
I sighed and reluctantly succumbed. "Yes. It's from my boyfriend."
"Wow, he's got really nice handwriting. This is such weird paper! Why does it have that red thing?" she meant the seal. "How come I've never seen your boyfriend? When do you hang out with him, anyway?"
"You don't see him because he only comes out at night." It was Isabel. Oh, no, not her too...
Patricia scoffed. "Isabel, you are a little too obsessed with vampires."
She shrugged. "Well, I had this dream in which I met Alexandra's boyfriend and he was a vampire..."
"It wasn't a dream. And he's not a vampire, he's a Shadow. He feeds on people's souls, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, right. Wait, that was real?"
"People's souls? You can't be serious..." Patricia laughed.
"Regardless of what he is, he invited me to this party tomorrow night."
"He's probably just a Goth guy, Alex," said Patricia.
"Whatever. He's gorgeous!" said Isabel. "He's throwing a party? Why?"
"Some sort of fire festival. And the full moon. Oh, yeah, and my birthday."
"OMG it's our birthday on Saturday!" Patricia cried.
"You're going to accept his invitation, right?" said Isabella eagerly.
"Yeah, of course I will."
"Fair eventide, my Love."
"Hi, Astor."
YOU ARE READING
Shadowbook
Romance*IN REVISION* Alexandra Wilson- nicknamed Nyx- is a foster child in a new home that she hates. Exploring the Jungian concept of the Shadow archetype gives her solace, but it doesn't improve her situation. Then she meets Astor, an elegant, mysterious...
