A Cage of Gold and Lies by Selina A. Fenech

Author:Selina A. Fenech
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: rumpelstiltskin, fairy tale retelling retold, urban fantasy, magic romance, spells wizards modern
Publisher: Fairies and Fantasy Pty Ltd
Published: 2022-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Dread built in me as I stared at the task calendar in the ritualist common area. How could I sign up for anything if I didn’t have magic?

The ritualists had a lot more freedom to their schedule than the conjurers did, and during my first afternoon as one of their rank. People came and went freely at all hours, taking breaks and meals when they chose. The perks of the position didn’t hide from me the truth that we were slaves though.

My roommate turned out to be a middle-aged woman with a pinched face and loud snore. She gave me the message the next morning that we would not become friends when she kicked my bed to wake me from my interrupted sleep and told me to go pick a job and pull my weight, or she’d report me.

Most of the tasks had already been claimed, but a lot of them required more than one ritualist working together, like the artwork creation and redecorations. Which did happen daily in Darian’s office. I couldn’t sign up for anything that would reveal my lack of magic to the ritualist I was meant to be helping. I looked for Rahanna’s name, hoping to work with her, but she wasn’t on the board. Neither was any mention of the protection spell or barrier spell maintenance tasks. They must be assigned elsewhere and limited to spellborn who’d passed Darian’s twisted loyalty lessons. I saw Cam’s name, but didn’t know if I could trust him.

There was only one option available that was an individual task I had any chance of doing—a cleaning task. Maybe it wasn’t taken because the other ritualists felt it was conjurer’s work and beneath them. I signed myself on for it every day that week.

I had a quick breakfast while other ritualists came and went, taking a moment to stare at the new girl but not the time to offer a word of welcome. The most I was given was a pitying look. I headed out as early as I could with the small binder in my pocket. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t use the spells; I had to make everyone believe I could.

When I saw the size of the area I was meant to clean, I was worried I’d made a mistake. Without magic, the enormous atrium would take all day to get done. I had been hopeful yesterday, seeing how the ritualists had some free time, that I’d be able to explore the estate more, find out who Ghost could be.

My binder contained several spells that would clean the room for me, but since I had the magic ability of a rock, I needed to find real cleaning supplies. I’d seen the conjurers using some the first day here. Supplies had to be stored around here somewhere.

After peering into several closets, I found a small utility space several rooms over near the servants’ entrance. Grabbing the duster, broom, rags, and spray bottle, I returned to the room and got to work.

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