The Enemy in My Spellbook
A royal spell auditor discovers her enemy's thoughts written in the margins of every spell she uses. He can read her corrections.
ImagineYourBook writes a fresh draft from this idea.
How it begins
The spellbook called Iris insufferable.
She underlined the word and wrote: Imprecise.
The ink moved beneath her pen.
I was being polite.
Iris closed the book.
Then opened it.
The sentence remained.
In the quiet around her, three hundred years of approved magical scholarship appeared to be holding its breath.
"Who's there?"
A line formed in the margin.
Someone whose work you are ruining.
She recognized the handwriting.
Rowan Hart.
Exiled spellmaker. Accused traitor. Author of the defensive charm she had been assigned to certify before breakfast.
Also, apparently, incapable of accepting a useful correction.
Iris dipped her pen.
Your third binding term leaks heat.
A pause.
Then: Only if you pronounce the second one like a school inspector.
Iris was a royal spell auditor. This comparison was both offensive and disappointingly close.
She checked the ward on the library door.
Locked.
She checked the listening charm above the desk.
Inactive.
Then she wrote: Can you see anything except this page?
No.
Hear anything?
No.
Read my thoughts?
Only the ones you insist on writing down.
She considered the answer.
On the desk beside her lay an execution order for the book's creator.
Her signature was required beneath the certification.
The margin darkened.
Iris, are they asking you to approve the winter ward?
She had not written her name.
She turned to the title page.
There, in ink she had used yesterday, was her preliminary assessment.
Below it, someone had written a second note.
Do not speak the final line.
Outside the library, the morning bells began.
Iris looked at the execution order.
Then at the spell.
Why?
For the first time, Rowan's handwriting lost its elegant certainty.
Because I tested it.
The last word spread through the paper like spilled water.
Iris set down her pen and went to lock the door again.
Your idea. Your book.
Keep the spark. Change anything.
Create my bookCreated with ImagineYourBook. Free to use as inspiration.
Outline and characters
- Iris discovers Rowan's thoughts in a spellbook.
- Rowan reads her corrections from exile.
- They establish limits on their accidental connection.
- A royal audit reveals erased spell authors.
- Iris learns Rowan's apparent betrayal protected an apprentice.
- They uncover a spell powered by compulsory silence.
- Rowan offers his own magic to sever the link.
- Iris finds a consent-based alternative.
- They expose the royal archive before the renewal ceremony.
- They retain their magic separately and choose their relationship.
Characters
- Iris Wells, 29. Royal spell auditor questioning the final binding term
- Rowan Hart, 34. Exiled spellmaker refusing a coercive magical connection
Series possibilities
- Iris finds a spell whose author can edit only the spaces between words.
