Prologue
It seemed like over half a century ago since I was born. It had been. It had been seventy-two years. In those seventy-two years, I had seen the death of my only aunt. I had heard of the countless murders my brother committed. Why he kept me alive, I didn't know. As I grow older, I forget more and more of my past, but then again, I remember it too. I will remember something important one day. The next, I will have forgotten something with less value towards my life. Sometimes, I forget who I am. I am Ivy Rose Riddle, I remind myself constantly.
Although it was so long ago since the day I was introduced to this world, I haven't figured out one key event in my life. Where did everything go wrong? Evil wasn't always inside of Tom. Somewhere down the line, he changed. The only problem I had was figuring out exactly where things went wrong.
My memories are not only unreliable there. Even the more recent memories are fuzzy. One in particular. The rest of the night I can see clearly, but when it came to my aunt saying the most important spell of my existence, its muddled. I have had countless dreams of the night, but they all end the same way. She never gets to say the spell. I've wracked my brain thousands of times over. I've had people look into my memories. Nothing shows any progress in figuring out the spell.
I am a riddle. The spell is my answer.