“So, we can lie down straight after if necessary?”
Part of me wanted to go second, of course. Put off the pain as long as possible and see what happened with Courtney. It was selfish, and I knew it made me chickenshit. Courtney was the baby of the family. If anything, it was my job to lead the way, pave the path, let them know there was nothing to worry about it.
I glanced over at Courtney. Fear filled her eyes. She didn’t even bother trying to hide it either. Her teeth gently gnawed at her bottom lips and her fingers tightened into fists.
She was scared.
I didn’t think Courtney could be scared of anything.
Bella nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” she said, standing as well. She took the book with the mysterious gold emblem with her. “You wanna go first?”
I inhaled. “Yes. Definitely.” My nod was sharp and jerky. I hoped they didn’t call me out for being afraid, even though I was. “May as well rip the bandage off, so to speak.”
Before I could chicken out, I marched down the corridor and opened the door to my bedroom. I rolled my wrists, trying to soothe the fear that hissed through my body like a scared cat.
When I twisted back around, Bella was standing in the doorway with the book clutched to her chest and Courtney was leaning against the wall. She couldn’t even look at me. Her hands kept fiddling with her pants and then her hair and then her face. She wasn’t ready for this.
I opened my arms, palms up, waiting for Bella to hit me with whatever magic was going to level me.
“Where do you want me?” I asked.
“Ah.” Bella glanced down at her book as she held it out in front of her. Her eyes scanned the text and she nodded. However, when she lifted her head so she could lock eyes with me, she gave me a hesitant smile. “Can you strip down to your knickers. Might be easier for the tattoo to work.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure.” I wasn’t sure why I needed to be practically nude, but who was I to argue?
I stripped off my jeans and tank; and stood in my matching black knickers and bra.
“Okay. I’m ready,” I said, and closed my eyes, not sure I wanted to watch as Bella shot me up with some sort of magic I hadn’t heard of before.
Hadn’t heard of before...
My eyes shot open.
“Where did you find this spell, Bella?” I asked, eyeing the way she was reading the book.
She looked up from the place she was reading. “It’s in one of the advanced magic books I’d hidden inside my skirts the day Mother died,” she said. “I’ve been poring over it, hoping to find some clue as to whether Mother’s magic killed her because she was burning through so much of it just trying to keep our realm up and running, or if it was something else.
I blinked. “Sorry, what?”
Bella blushed a pretty shade of pink. “Well, after Mother got sick, I started going through the hidden parts of our library that she’s told me not to look in.”
My eyebrows lifted. I had never expected Bella to break rules; Courtney, absolutely. Breaking rules was practically her middle name. But Bella?
“And in one of the books it taught me how to create these hidden pouches in my skirts. I can hide anything in there... books, jewelry... Doesn’t matter the size. They all fit.”
I put a hand up as I tried to process what she had said. My sister had ‘hidden depths’ I didn’t know about, in more ways than one.
“Are you telling me that you... hoarded Mother’s ancient books?” I asked slowly, putting my hands on my hips.
It was only when my hands found my hips that I remembered I was questioning my sisters in my underwear.
“Ah... yeah.”
A massive smile slid onto my face. “Brilliant!” I said, shooting me gaze over to Courtney and pointing to her. “Did you put her up to this?”
“This is all Bella,” Courtney said, her grin matching my own.
Bella tapped her finger on the book, her face turning pink.