Read Online Bitter Demons by Sarra Cannon - Free Book Online Page A

the
first thing on everyone's mind. So, like I was saying, Meredith
would take over as Prima. After you have that level of power,
you're pretty set, you know? Primas never get sick or anything like
that. Even a bad car wreck that would kill most people would barely
hurt a Prima."
    I sucked in a huge breath and leaned forward,
placing my elbows on my knees. "Seriously?"
    She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at me
like I was loopy. "Haven't they told you anything about what it
means to be a Prima?"
    "Are you kidding me?" I said. "They didn't
even tell me I was the future Prima until earlier this week. And
they've known for months."
    Her eyes grew very wide at that. "Weird," she
said. "I guess you've got a special kind of situation going on here
in Peachville, what with the whole no reigning Prima for almost
twenty years, but I thought they would have told you everything the
minute they discovered who you were."
    She shook her head, as if trying to make
sense of it.
    "They should be treating you like royalty,"
she said.
    "I wish," I said. "Instead, they keep
saddling me with all these rules." I shook my head. I didn't want
to talk about my life in Peachville. "Anyway, tell me what you were
saying. About seconds never being Prima."
    "Well, not never," she said. "Just almost
never. Primas don't die easy, so chances are that once Meredith
takes over as Prima, she'll be in charge for a long time. Long
enough to get married and have a daughter of her own. The line
would pass down to her daughter automatically."
    "What if she had a son instead of a
daughter?"
    Caroline laughed and shook her head. "Primas
only have daughters," she said. "So Meredith's daughter would be
next in line for the throne, so to speak."
    "Even if Meredith died before her daughter
was eighteen?"
    "Even if she died before her daughter was a
year old," she said. "That's just the way it works. I would still
have more power than an average person, but once Meredith has a
daughter, I'm out of the running. It's the reason why people don't
treat me the same way they do my sister. She's a lot more important
than I am."
    Having a sister was more complicated than I
ever thought it would be. "That's just some people's opinions," I
said. "You're still important."
    She smiled at me. "You don't act like a
first," she said. "Maybe growing up away from this whole circus was
good for you."
    "I don't know," I said. "Maybe. But most of
the time, I just feel lost. Like I have no idea what's going on in
this town, and no one will straight up tell me the truth. There are
just too many secrets."
    "The Order does like its secrets," she
said.
    "So what's your training like?" I asked. "Do
you train the same as the rest of the squad? Or do futures learn
special skills or spells and stuff?"
    The question had been on my mind for a long
time now.
    "Oh, it's definitely different," she said.
"We train with the rest of the squad during the day. Probably same
as you with practice after school. That's all pretty standard. But
we get extra training at night with our mother and her
trainers."
    "Your mother has trainers?"
    "Of course," she said. "There's so much
amazing magic out there. You wouldn't believe some of the things
I've seen my mother do."
    "Like what?"
    Caroline looked around to make sure no one
was listening to us. She leaned closer to me. "Stuff like making a
snow storm that covers five counties or levitating high in the air.
She's constantly practicing different forms of magic."
    "Wow, she can control the weather?" I was
amazed. There seemed to be no limit to what was possible with
magic.
    "It kind of runs in the family," she
said.
    "Does your mother train you, then?"
    "Sometimes," she said. "I have my own
trainer, too. Laura. Don't you have a trainer of your own? All the
futures are supposed to have one."
    I shrugged. I was beginning to think nothing
worked like it was supposed to in Peachville anymore. They had been
without a Prima for so long that they forgot they needed