Risen Episode Three

By Odette C. Bell

There’s no way Arwyn can back down now. She might’ve met Richard’s brother. But she won’t give in to him, no matter what carrot he dangles.
There’s only one thing she’s after. And she will search for it, through every basement, through every secret, and through every bloody fight. For Arwyn Bright was never born to sacrifice – she was born to find the truth.
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Risen follows a witch hell-bent on revenge and the man who banished her as they navigate a dangerous magical academy. If you love your urban fantasies with nonstop action, high stakes, and a touch of romance, pick up Risen Episode Three today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Jul 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005192112

Book preview

Chapter 1

I just stood there, staring at him.

John kept his head tilted to the side. I don’t think I’d ever had eyes like that on me. All over me. They couldn’t miss a thing. And neither could I, not now the truth had been exposed. I’d passed John, the most popular guy in this school, so many times, and he’d passed me. But I’d never seen it. The striking resemblance between him and Richard, and more than anything, the same light behind their eyes.

Take the hand, Arwyn. Take it, and I’ll get you out of here.

My lips twitched. Everything slipped into place. The hide, Belle, all of it. And what are you gonna do with me? Kill me for my bright power? You were behind—

He flattened his hand and shook his head. You think I killed Melanie, your friend, right? Couldn’t be further from the truth. We tried to save her, just as we tried to save every other kid with mild bright powers. We just didn’t get there fast enough.

I laughed. In that bitter way you do when you don’t believe someone’s lie. Or at least, when you’re desperately trying not to. But it shook through my stomach, into my throat, and around my waist. It felt like a straitjacket.

It had to hold me to this view. If it didn’t, I would slip. Slip into his eyes.

Maybe he had other ideas.

He dropped his fingers but only halfway. He closed them against his palm.

Then he gestured toward the school. There’s no point in having this conversation here. Come with me. He locked his hands behind him, and he started to stroll.

I narrowed my eyes. Excuse me? You think I’m gonna follow you? You—

Don’t you want to find out what’s in this book? He gestured to the side, twisted his fingers around, and plucked up the book. It had fallen in the mud. It hovered beside his shoulder, then squeezed itself underneath his arm, the fabric of his school blazer rumpling.

My eyes widened. I wanted to tell you that the book was fake. But I’d already confirmed by touching it it wasn’t.

He paused, foot halfway over the precipice of the broken wall and window.

He looked at me. I’d seen regal looks before. The way someone’s brow can flatten, their chin can tilt back, and their eyes can align with you. Richard would give them occasionally. Though most of the looks he shot me were nothing more than that of utter desperation. But John was different. John’s stares promised real power.

He couldn’t wield it over me, though. I ground my feet into the mud.

And that would be when Belle roused.

He’d dropped her like she meant nothing to him.

Her fingers twitched first. Then her face. John had come to a stop beside her. He shifted one of his hands out from behind him and reached down to her.

You should’ve seen the smile that spread her lips as she took his fingers. That right there was adoration – real love.

I knew for a fact John didn’t share it. You didn’t dump the things you loved in the mud.

My king— She sliced her gaze over to me. What, had she gotten momentary amnesia? Had she forgotten that I’d been the one to defeat her?

You should’ve seen the burst of jealousy that went off behind her eyes, her greed the equivalent of a flare.

John pulled her to her feet. All the while, his attention was on me, even though his eyes were technically on her. He pressed his lips into a smile. It was… leading.

I’d never been looked at by someone like that. Not by Richard, and certainly not by any other guy. This was the look of someone who knew me better than I knew myself. And for whatever reason, he wanted me – warts and all.

Was I forgetting something? Oh yeah, he was a dirty criminal.

And I had the power to destroy him.

I pushed a hand up toward the storm. It no longer raged anywhere near as violently. Possibly because it had been created by John’s power. But now he had what he wanted, he could kick back. But if he wanted me, keep kicking, because he wouldn’t get me.

I swear the entire world buckled at the sound of me squeezing my fingers in tightly. Not John, though. He chuckled lightly. Don’t you want answers, Arwyn? Don’t you want the truth? There was something about the way he said that. His voice shook. It wasn’t with tenderness, wasn’t even with vulnerability. It was like… it was like he was the embodiment of the thick wall that had separated me from the truth all of this time, and with one simple shove, I could push him right over.

All the facts were there. I just had to be brave enough to reach out and take them. For half a shaking second, my hand wanted to dart out from behind my back and accept his. But I stopped. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blast you off the school grounds with lightning? I growled.

I told you— Belle began, getting into a defensive position even though she should remember there was no point.

John somehow looked so relaxed, he ought to be leaning against a car, even though he was doing nothing but standing a few meters from me. He tilted his head back and faced me as if I was about as scary as a household cat. And the only thing you did with a household cat was pat it until it purred. I won’t. I have all the facts. Do you want them? Did you have any idea who I was? You figured out I’m Richard’s brother without me having to say it.

You already knew that. Because you were using Belle to spy on me. She must have been there when I defeated the Astor dragon, ha? I snapped.

His eyebrows peaked. You defeated the Astor dragon? Well. I have to say, I’ve been trying to do it for a long time. Maybe, his eyes sparkled more, you will realize we have always been on the same page. Richard, your commander, your king, your lover, he added, tone strained, lied to you. He never even told you he had a brother, did he? Nor did he tell you about the books. Tell me, what did he do when he found out you took them?

Don’t react, I told myself strictly. The reaction had already happened, and it was like trying to drag back a tsunami after it had bolted from the seafloor.

Look away, and all it would do was confirm my guilt. I did it anyway.

The guilt was confirmed.

He ignored every single one of your protestations and tried to get the books back, didn’t he? Did he try to answer any of your questions? Did he even let you question? Of course he didn’t. Because he doesn’t want you to know the truth. Because all you are to him, he took an emotional breath and had to close his eyes, is a shelved weapon.

I spluttered at him. Excuse me?

That is how my brother views the world. He gestured widely. He still held Belle’s hand, but in that way you do with a fragile child who has hurt themselves and can’t quite stand on their own yet.

My lips twisted with concern. Not at the fact he was holding her. At the fact… inside me, I could feel something wavering. Something groping out. Not for his hand, but at the promise of truth within it.

There’s no way I’m gonna believe—

Come. You can destroy me, he gestured to the power building in my hand, in the inner sanctum if you want. Arwyn, you have climbed another level of brightness. You climbed the same level of brightness my brother has been pushing you to climb for years. This time, you’ve done it for you, not him. And this time, he can’t use it. But you can. At any time, if you don’t like what I tell you, use the brightness to destroy me. The power is in your fingertips, and it always has been.

Don’t cave. Don’t freaking cave, I told myself as desperately as I could. But in all honesty, I was already caving.

I took a step forward, and that sealed the deal.

I followed him. Followed him through the school to a room right in the middle beyond a magical door. Followed him to a truth I was not willing to face. Followed him to a future that was beyond me.

I had reached another level of power. I had climbed up the mountain. But I had not reached the peak. It turned out I wasn’t even halfway there. Because whenever we surmount a problem, when we get to the top of a hill, we’ll see another.

If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll have the skills to overcome it. If we’re unlucky? Well, if you’re unlucky, your name is Arwyn Bright. But who cares? You will keep trying anyway.

Chapter 2

The inner sanctum wasn’t what I would expect. I’d visited plenty of magical spaces, and ever since investigating Belle, I’d been to magical spaces in this world, too. But the sanctum was… cozy. I don’t know why that word struck me, but I could certainly tell you I couldn’t get rid of it. It got stuck there, wheedling into my head, expanding, twisting, wriggling around and taking up more room.

I stood still, not wanting to touch anything, but my fingers tried to fidget out from behind me anyway.

There were a couple of leather recliners, then a big one in the middle of the room. The word throne came to mind, but it wasn’t ostentatious, just the exact opposite. It was beaten and well-worn. It looked as if someone had sat in it repeatedly. And though you can’t ever see the marks thinking makes on the world, I imagine as they’d sat on it, they’d thought over some problem until the very air zinged with it.

There were bookshelves overflowing with stacked up books, and I recognized some titles. They came from our dimension. But they were here. Wasn’t that dangerous?

It was like an old concern reached in and slapped me across the cheeks.

Mind readers didn’t exist, but John had to come close. He stood several meters away, eyes on me, watching everything. He’d gotten rid of Belle momentarily, telling her she needed to sweep the school to ensure that no one had seen anything.

That left us alone. I certainly didn’t feel intimate, and I wouldn’t use that word, but there was something about the way his lips curled as he faced me. You are worried that the accumulation of magical tomes in this area will attract chaos, ha? Well, it won’t. Chaos isn’t what you think. And everything you’ve been fighting—

I looked at him, knowing the importance of not being led around by the nose, but also knowing the importance of not showing him what I was currently thinking. But I failed. Emotions will do that to a girl. Fenrir is not my real enemy and never was.

He nodded once.

It was kind of… I dunno… charming? No. It was engaging – just easy to look at.

To think, how many times had I rolled my eyes at him? He’d just been the most popular