It took me a moment to process the sudden information; it couldn't be. It was merely a coincidence. However, even my own thoughts were less convincing than i'd hoped.

"Nice to meet you," I said, trying to sound casual. The boy's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and for a terrifying moment, i thought my expression had given me away. But then his brows loosened and he grinned.

"Well, i had better get going. See you around." He sounded so sure, as if we might really see each other again. And with that, he was out the door. I let out a breath i hadn't realized i was holding, then scurried upstairs to my room. The digital clock read 8:10 AM. The golden book sat on my nightstand, beside the vase of flowers from Luna, and our family picture. I snatched the book, running my fingers on the smooth cover to make sure it really was there, in my hands.

I flipped the pages gently but with slight rush, curiosity nagging at me. I finally reached the last story. A picture was illustrated of the elves, one whom had a striking resemblance to Jace. I shivered uncontrollably. The headline read:

The Blackrose elves

The Blackrose family went way back, before the first magical war. Their loyalty and alliance to humans was the strongest, therefore they were hurt the most when humans started attacking magical creatures and imprisoning them. After the official magical war ( Which humans had won,) the Blackroses were wiped, except for their son, Jace. He had been hiding in a invisible compartment in which humans could not enter.

Feeling devastated when he found his parents, Maria and Joseph, the king and queen of Clarcton, A magical land for gnomes, faeries, merfolk and elves, dead on the ground. Jace decided to take revenge on humans, and so he did, during the second magical war ( see page 405) where he almost wiped the whole human race avenging his parents deaths.

Humans, however, had advanced during the centuries ( Pages 200 and 206) and in return, almost wiped all the magical and supernatural races from existence completely. We fled, going into hiding. Nobody has heard of the elf prince in centuries. But it is suspected he now lived amongst humans, in search of the ██████ family, a group of hunters, which are the last of the humans whom know of magical creatures.

I stared at the page, mouth agape, not only because of the text, but because the rest was ripped or scratched out. It hadn't been like this before. I decided to put the book inside my drawer, which could be locked, and hid the key under my mattress. Dizziness washed over me and i sat down, holding my throbbing head.

Now THIS was too much to take in.

"Lyra! Time to go to school! Hurry, you will be late, darling!" I flinched at the sudden sound, then smiled weakly, glancing at the digital clock, which now read 8:30.

"Coming, aunt Silka!" I shouted back, and stood up, the dizzy spells threatening to take over any moment. I clung to the railing just in case, then climbed down slowly. The paintings now looked eerie, and i felt the hairs on my arm stand up. A chill had settled inside the house that hadn't been there before.

At least, not until HE had come to visit.

Even if my brother's book was just full of story's meant for children, i still had to be careful around Jace. There was something strange about him, the way he spoke and acted, his eyes...

I almost tripped, pressed against the wall for dear life. Why on earth does his eyes make me lose my head like this? Sighing in frustration, i tucked lose strands of hair behind my ear and went to grab some bread to nibble on my way to school.

A glint caught my eye, and i crouched down, rubbing my fingers on the wooden floor. There was a faint glittering track of green powder, leading right to the doorway. I felt my eyes widen and a gasp escape my lips. There was also traces of burnt paper, a single golden letter barely visible.

Just who was Jace and how did he know about my brother's book?