Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“Jessie, stand back,” Tristan said, waiting until I backed up before he pulled the handle to unlatch the rear roll-up door.
A stack of wrapped boxes covered in bows and ribbons was stacked up halfway, filling the floor of the bed.
“What in the world?” Broken Sue asked as he came around the rear of the truck, peering in.
“Looks like we found the Christmas presents,” Austin said, huffing out a laugh. “How many people did they buy for?”
Turned out, it was a great many. Anyone Nessa and Sebastian knew even reasonably well had gotten a gift, and those of us who were close to them had gotten a few, including high-end watches. Well…for me it was a pocket watch, and I was told to handle it carefully. That would be my thing going forward, obviously, a pocket watch sewn into a dress. Apparently, they thought my theme should be “weird and fussy.”
Wrapping paper littered two large sitting rooms in Ivy House as everyone sat around grinning at their gifts. The presents had been as perfect and/or sentimental as the ones he’d given my team in the caves.
Ulric held up a card. “This was put in with mine, Jessie,” he said, hopping up. A gold sign around his neck read, Open for business.
“What does the other side say?” I asked, pointing at it before I took the card.
He grinned before flipping it. All sexed out.
“It’s for the bar,” he said, laughing. “And look.” He showed me his new watch. “The face is blue and pink to match my hair! So cool, right?” The band was a color-changing situation, too, a mix of blue and pink that changed as it caught the light.
“That’s gotta be custom,” I said, opening the envelope.
Ulric smiled brightly.
A couple of pieces of pink paper waited inside, along with a piece of parchment. I pulled one of the folded pages out and opened it up.
“Either they only have pink notepaper at their disposal or this is their new calling card,” I said, peering down.
Jessie-
I’m still trying to figure out how to hide gargoyle wings. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Other than investing in a lot of hoods to pretend like their wings are cloaks, you can try to make this magical serum and rub it on. It should be like an oil. Give it a try and see how it works. We can go from there.
Sabby xoxo
“Huh.” I looked through the parchment, reading the instructions. It was probably a lot harder than it looked.
“What’s that?” Ulric asked Tristan as he bent to clean up some of the wrapping paper.
Tristan held up his wrist, showing a beaded bracelet with two colors of metallic beads in a strange sort of design. “The beads represent Morse code. It’s an inside joke.”
“What does it say?” asked Jasper, who was also wearing a sign.
“I got two packages, each of them noting what the bracelets within say. One of them says ‘daddy’ and the other says ‘owned.’ I got one of the two bracelets. The other package is empty, meaning Nessa has kept that bracelet for herself.”
The room ground to a halt, all eyes trained on Tristan.
“Which bracelet did you get?” Jasper asked, playing with his sign. Unlike Ulric’s, both sides said, Open for business.
Tristan crinkled up a handful of paper. “Owned.”
A sly smile worked up both Jasper’s and Ulric’s faces.
“That sounds like a fun game,” Jasper said.
“It will be, once I hold the other bracelet.” Tristan grabbed more paper.
“Atta boy.” Ulric slapped him on the back.
“Look at this.” Cyra slowly put on a new pair of glasses, large and trendy, noticeable, and very clearly free of lenses. “Cool, right?”
I noticed her watch, white mother-of-pearl with small diamonds, a shiny white leather strap, and a simple, elegant design.
“Why does everyone get these really cool wristwatches and I’m the weirdo with a pocket watch? What if I don’t wear a dress—where is it going to go then?”
“In your…pocket?” Hollace asked, sitting beside Aurora on the other side of the room.
“Of my waistcoat? Oh God, what if he makes me wear waistcoats,” I grumbled.
“Would anyone care for anything to drink?” Mr. Tom asked, standing from his chair.
“What kind of watch did you get, Mr. Tom?” Dave asked, hulking at the side of the room, near the wall.
“We all know what kind you got,” Jasper said to Dave with a grin.
It was true—Dave was the only one with a watch situation more absurd than mine. A large wall clock with a plastic frame and black numbers hung around his neck on a thick gold chain. It reminded me of Flava Flav the rapper back in the day.
Mr. Tom’s wings rustled. “Master Jimmy’s Spider-Man watch was repaired for me. I will be wearing that when the situation calls for it, and not before, so that I don’t accidentally break it again.”