Chapter 29: Betrayal

*Esmerelda*

Headmaster Greg paused in his story. He reached into a desk drawer and produced an old leather-bound journal. The cover was worn, and the pages were yellow and tattered. I had seen similar journals in museums. It was likely older if it belonged to who I thought it did.

“Elijah would not be happy if he knew I kept this. He wanted me to destroy this journal, but I felt it important to keep it safe instead.”

He handed me the journal. I took it knowing that I was likely holding treasure.

The leather book weighed heavily in my hands. On the one hand, if Elijah wanted this destroyed, then to read it was an invasion of his privacy. But on the other hand, it was key to understanding him, where he came from, and what he had dealt with.

My curiosity and desire to know him got the better of me. If he was not speaking to me, then this was the closest I could get to him. And he had made sure that I had no other way to get any other information himself.