Spell Bound Read Online Free

something to focus on other than the fact that basically everything in my life had been a lie. Or that I’d somehow lost seventeen days. Or that I’d had a ghost inside of my body.
    Suddenly, I missed Jenna so much that it was almost a physical ache. I wanted to hold her hand, and hear her say something that would make this whole situation funny instead of incredibly screwed up.
    Archer would’ve been nice, too. He probably would’ve raised an eyebrow in that annoying/hot way he had, and made a dirty joke about Elodie possessing me.
    Or Cal. He wouldn’t say anything, but just his presence would make me feel better. And Dad—
    “Sophie,” Mom said, shaking me out of my reverie. “I don’t…I don’t even know how to start explaining all of this to you.” She looked at me, her eyes red. “I meant to, so many times, but everything was always so…complicated. Do you hate me?”
    I took a deep breath. “Of course not. I mean, I’m not thrilled . And I totally reserve the right to angst over all this later. But honestly, Mom? Right now, I’m so happy to see you that I wouldn’t care if you’re secretly a ninja sent from the future to destroy kittens and rainbows.”
    She chuckled, a choked and watery sound. “I missed you so much, Soph.”
    We hugged, my face against her collarbone. “I want the whole story, though,” I said, my words muffled. “All of it on the table.”
    She nodded. “Absolutely. After we talk to Aislinn.”
    Pulling back, I grimaced. “So how exactly are you related to her? Are you guys like, cousins?”
    “We’re sisters.”
    I stared at her. “Wait. So you’re like, a Brannick Brannick? But you don’t even have red hair.”
    Mom got off the bed, twisting her ponytail into a bun. “It’s called dye, Soph. Now, come on. Aislinn is already in a mood.”
    “Yeah, picked up on that,” I muttered, shoving the covers off and standing up.
    Mom and I left the bedroom and headed out to the dim landing. There was only one other room on this floor, and I suddenly found myself thinking of Thorne Abbey and all its corridors and chambers. It was still hard to believe a place that massive could just be…gone.
    We headed down a narrow flight of stairs that ended at a low arch. Beyond the arch was yet another murky room. Did these people have something against overhead lighting?
    I spotted an ancient green refrigerator, and a round wooden table positioned under a grimy window. The smell of coffee hung in the air and there was a half-finished sandwich on the counter, but the kitchen was empty. “They must be in the War Room,” Mom said, almost to herself.
    “Hold up; did you just say ‘War Room’?” I asked, but Mom had already moved past the kitchen and was rounding a corner. I trudged after her, trying to get a sense of the house. The main word that came to mind was “spartan.” At Thorne, there had been so much stuff—paintings, tapestries, knickknacks, freakin’ suits of armor—that your eyes couldn’t process all of it. Here, it was like everything that wasn’t completely necessary had been stripped away. Heck, even some things that were necessary seemed to be missing. I hadn’t seen a bathroom yet.
    There were no windows, just several fluorescent bulbs affixed to the ceiling, throwing a sickly light over everything. And by “everything,” I mean the one dingy brown couch, some metal folding chairs, a couple of overflowing bookshelves, some cardboard boxes, and a huge, round table covered in papers.
    Oh, and the weapons.
    There were all kinds of scary instruments of death littered from one end of the room to the other. Next to the couch, I counted three crossbows, and there was a pile of what looked like those throwing star thingies on top of one of the bookcases.
    Izzy was sitting cross-legged on the couch, a paperback book in her hands. She didn’t look up when we came in, and I wondered what she was reading that had her so absorbed. Monster Killing for Beginners ,