Read Online Dorothy Must Die Novella #7 by Danielle Paige - Free Book Online Page A

personality that could protect them from the world they had to live in. Gert’s overbearing sweetness, Glamora’s illusions, Mombi’s gruff bossiness. Nox’s remoteness, Holly and Larkin’s meanness, and Melindra’s tough-chick bravado. And Lanadel herself was just using her anger and her pain to build up walls no one else could climb. But how much was it costing them all to keep fighting all the time—not just Dorothy, but their own natures? What if they’d all done such a good job of inventing new people to be, they’d completely forgotten who they really were?
    Melindra was in love with Nox. It was obvious. But it wasn’t clear if Nox returned the feelings. Not that that was her problem. But Melindra was the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend. Melindra was her friend. And it was hard to watch such a strong, capable—and beautiful—warrior made to feel small because of a guy. Especially a guy like Nox.
    That night, Lanadel tossed and turned in her narrow bed, trying to process everything. After a while, she gave up trying to sleep. There was no point. She lay awake until the familiar little winged image of Gert roused her for another day of training, her thoughts still a muddled mess.
    Now that Mombi and Nox had decided she was capable oflearning magic, her training got even more intense. But she loved her magic lessons—not just because, more often than not, Mombi whisked her away again to Sky Island, but because Melindra often trained with her. And she learned much more from Melindra than she did from Mombi. It was Melindra who taught her how to summon up a fireball big enough to blow the dilapidated old Sky Island hotel to smithereens—and then put it back together, piece by piece, so that it was even stronger than before, while Mombi clucked in approval.
    Drinking lemonade from Sky Island’s sparkling river, closing her eyes in the hot sun after a long training session, with Melindra laughing next to her . . . For just a second, she could pretend this was all there was in the world, and that she was happy. And then Mombi would yell at them to get up again, dragging her back to reality. The old witch was relentless, and so was Nox. It was as if they were pushing her toward something.
    One night, she almost found out what it was. She was walking a route she didn’t usually take back to her sleeping chamber and heard Nox’s voice echoing from an unused training cave.
    â€œ. . . can’t possibly think she’s ready,” he was saying. Her senses spiking to alert, she pressed herself against the tunnel wall, straining to hear more.
    â€œWe don’t have the luxury of waiting until she’s ready.” It wasn’t Mombi he was talking to. It was Gert. The sweet, grandmotherly old witch. But now her voice was hard as stone.
    â€œDo you have actual information to act on, or is this just some wild hunch?” Nox sounded impatient. Almost angry. Somehow,Lanadel knew they were talking about her. And if they were, he was trying to protect her. Nox? Protect her ?
    â€œThere were reports before Dorothy returned,” Gert said. “He’s wanted Oz for centuries. It’s the perfect time for him to strike.”
    â€œHe can’t come to Oz,” Nox said.
    He? Lanadel wondered. Who were they talking about? The Wizard? But that didn’t make sense. The Wizard had already been to Oz.
    â€œWe don’t think he can come to Oz,” Gert corrected. “But we don’t know anything about how powerful he is now. We need an agent. The girl is perfect. You’ve seen the way she hides what she’s feeling. She’ll make a good liar, and that’s what we need. She doesn’t even know her own true self, and that makes her unreadable. Like someone else I know,” Gert added, and Nox snorted. “We don’t have time to coddle people, Nox. This is a war.”
    â€œSo you keep saying,” Nox