Beauties of the Beast (The Yellow Hoods, #4): Steampunk meets Fairy Tale by Adam Dreece Read Free Book Online Page A

Well, as much as could be expected, given what’s happened, I suppose,” he said, offering the classic smile she used to see nearly every day when she’d pop over to Tee’s house.
    “Are my parents with you?” she asked eagerly.
    William gently shook his head. “Your parents are helping Jennifer in Mineau. They’re well, and, of course, worried about you.” He crouched down and looked at her, eye to eye. “How are you doing? You’ve been shot, but I’ve heard you’re recovering well.”
    Elly unconsciously touched her bandaged side. “I’m doing okay. I can move around a bit now, but it still hurts. Yesterday, I made it through without the pain-stopping elixir the monks make. It’s made with the poppies from the nearby fields, and while it smells terrible, it tastes worse. But some good came of it—I’ve discovered chemistry! One of the monks gave me a book he wrote about how they make it. It’s fascinating.”
    “Really? Huh,” he said with a laugh. “So, you’ve discovered something of interest to you?”
    Her eyes sparkled. “Apparently, a few of the monks used to be inventors, though they won’t call themselves that. They’ve been giving me every book on the subject, its history, that they can find. I can’t wait until I can make my own little lab and try some of my ideas.” She chuckled and smiled.
    “What is it?” he asked.
    Elly tried to sit up, not sure exactly how to put it. “To be honest, I always wished I could be like Tee. The way she would look at things sometimes, the wheels in her head turning. I never thought I was like that, despite what Tee would say. But now, especially with the secrets she shared with me… I feel different. I feel free, and I’m loving it.”
    “What did Tee tell you?” asked William, his face tensing.
    She studied his steely expression. She could sense his concern and figured that Tee hadn’t shared what she’d told her. It warmed her heart to know that Tee really was her sister against everything, and nothing would ever be able to come between them again. “She said my real last name is DeBoeuf and I’m related to a leader of the Tub, the one called the Butcher. She also said I’m as much of an Abominator as she is.” 
    “When I was slipping in and out of consciousness, I thought a lot about it. I feel like I’ve awakened a new person.”
    William stroked his beard pensively.
    She’d never seen him with a look she couldn’t read, and it made her reflect on how little she really knew him. “Is my last name really DeBoeuf?” she asked, bracing herself.
    After some hesitation, he replied, “It is. How do you feel about that?”
    “Excited, confused. I’m not really sure. I trust my parents, and I’m sure they have a very good reason for it.”
    “They do. We all do,” said William with a sigh. “But, look at this pile of books. Are these all about chemistry? Have you read them all?”
    “Yes, but I keep them here for when I need to go back for reference. Some of the monks have started teasing me, calling me the River. Apparently there’s a Staaten dialect with an expression about a river washing away… all the wood? Or something? I don’t remember. Does that make any sense?”
    William skimmed through the titles of the books. “Jennifer calls someone like that a ravaging reader. I always imagine someone ripping all the pages out and eating them when she says that,” he replied with a chuckle. “This is an impressive list, Elly. You understand all of this?”
    “Not all of it, but it’s making more and more sense. Sometimes one of the monks is able to explain something to me that I’m stuck on, but for the most part, I'm figuring it out. Like I said, I want to try things soon.”
    “Just don’t blow yourself up, your mother would be really upset,” said William with a fake stern look.
    “No worries,” she replied with a wink. She watched as his expression melted away and he gazed at the main building of the abbey. “Are