Fated To Die: YA dark retelling (The Retelling Series Book 1) by Tara Gallina

Author:Tara Gallina [Gallina, Tara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-05T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Silence falls over the room as if time itself has stopped. The picture is near identical to the piece of jewelry in my pocket, only it’s of a real butterfly. Teal and green colors paint its wings.

“I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I,” Daceian says, his urgency charging the air.

Keeping my gaze down, I turn the book so he can see the page. Then I remove the butterfly brooch from my pocket and hold it out on the palm of my hand. “Look. They’re the same.”

He hesitates to move closer, even though I know he wants to.

Now, he’s timid after all his prancing around and taunting me? Boys.

I close my eyes. “I promise I won’t peek, but you have to come see this.”

His footsteps draw near.

I lift my hand higher. “Take it.”

His fingers brush my palm as he removes the brooch.

“This was your mother’s, and now it’s yours, and you just handed it to me?” he asks with clear shock.

My nerves thrum. “Yes. Why? Does it mean something?”

“If the riddle I know is accurate, it means you are indeed The One.”

“The One?” My voice quivers. Being singled out is never good. Mother was The One in the village with different colored eyes until I was born. When she died, I took her place, also becoming The One everyone feared and detested. Queen Alys is The One who abolished the monarchy, and Princess Bretta is The One who doomed us all.

“What does the book say about the butterfly?” Daceian asks.

“I don’t know. My eyes are still closed.”

“Open them and read it out loud to me.”

Pushing aside my fear, I read the paragraph under the butterfly picture.

“‘The Dalán-dé Spirit opens the chrysalises of trapped butterflies, setting them free to explore the world as they were meant to be.’ What’s a Dalán-dé?”

“It means butterfly.”

“Is that what this is?” I tap the picture. “The butterfly has a white body. Usually, they’re black, but this one is almost transparent.”

“The pages are blank to me. I need you to tell me if there’s more. Look for a riddle,” he urges as if he’s about to explode.

I scan the page to the bottom, finding nothing, and move onto the next. At the top, I find what appears to be a poem. I read it aloud.

“‘The maiden with eyes of the grass and sky will break the curse before she dies. Her Dalán-dé Spirit will set us free, when she presents it to her mate to be. Together, they’ll unlock the secrets of the past, defeat the darkness in the House, and slay the Hag at last.’”

I lift my head to peer at Daceian then catch myself and force my gaze down. “What does it mean? Is the Hag referring to your mother?”

“Yes,” he breathes.

“And slay means ... kill?”

“Yes.”

“Maiden with eyes of grass and sky, that has to mean me or my mother,” I think out loud.

“Is that why she was Fated to Die?” Daceian murmurs so low I almost miss it.

“M-my mother?” Again, I have to force myself not to look up and connect with him in the way I need to right now.

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