The bell rang. Rhyan offered one final anguished look at me, and then he took off. I breathed out slowly, my power dancing through my veins, my feet feeling so light I swore I could fly. I wanted to tear the track up, I wanted to outrace everyone. I wanted to see the smug look on every soturion’s face fade away as they ate my dust.
But I took a slow, measured step, and then another.
And I was the worst one out there.
I could barely focus the rest of the day on all the classes I was forced to sit through, and the bland lunch I could barely keep down, while Dario’s eyes shot daggers at me across the table.
I’d almost believed I’d get to be alone with Rhyan in the training room. But a familiar hiss in the corner shattered that fantasy at once.
We were both sweating by the end, second guessing our every move. Trying to perform each exercise, to keep up with Academy guidelines, all while we knew his father’s snake was memorizing everything to report back.
When the final bells rang, there was a knock on the door.
Kenna’s cousin, Soturion Baynan, held a scroll closed with a wax seal stamped with the lettersH.H.I.H.
His Highness, Imperator Hart.
Rhyan’s eyes widened as he closed the training door behind him. I broke the seal, unraveling the parchment for us both to read.
To Lady Lyriana and Lord Rhyan,
Come to the courtyard immediately following the combat clinic tonight.
A gryphon will be waiting to take you to the Library of Glemaria. There, in a reserved room only the head librarian can unlock, will you find the items we discussed. All information you need will be stored there.
No materials are to ever leave the premises. You must memorize everything you need. I have chosen my men to assist you. They will join you tonight, along with Lady Meera. Use your time wisely. You have only one chance.
H.H.I.H.
Rhyan’s eyes met mine, the same determination brewing in them that I felt running through my veins—more powerful than his father’s command. Then he crumpled the scroll.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
RHYAN
I stood outside in the cold, the night like a familiar and unwelcome blanket covering my body. Combat clinic ended a short while ago. And Lyriana had fought. Because, of course, she had. It wasn’t enough to parade her before the entire Court, or force her to run in armor that stood out. She was to be a spectacle at all times. The disgraced Heir to the Arkasva, the weak and powerless soturion.
But despite my father’s and Kane’s attempts to hurt her, she’d done well. More than well. I’d been proud as fuck watching her evade every hit and punch. She’d even managed to knock out one of my old apprentice’s snobby cousins. And she’d done it all without revealing her true strength, or her true power. Asherah’s power.
My stomach turned as I continued to wait. Because hard as I tried not to, I couldn’t help but think of Lyr that moment in the cave, the moment when Dario and Aiden had revealed the truth about Garrett. The split second before she looked to see if I was okay, I’d seen it on her face. The fear. The horror. And there was still so much more to tell her. So much more to reveal. But how could I? How could I tell her the things I’d done? The ways in which I’d failed. The other secrets I’d kept. The secrets I was still keeping. The secrets I’d tucked away about the Guardians.
And about her power. HerRakashonim.
It had killed Asherah. And if Mercurial was right it would kill her again. I needed to understand it. Needed to learn everything I could. When we visited the Library of Glemaria tonight I intended to begin my research.
Asherah had left Auriel behind for another world. I’d be damned if Lyr left me in the same way. Not when I could stop it. Not when I could save her.
I scratched at my palm, then suddenly stopped. The habit was one I’d barely noticed I did, but tonight, I couldn’t help it. Mybetrothed’s engagement ring was rubbing against my skin. Another secret I carried. One I did not yet want to face.
The doors to the Katurium opened, finally revealing Dario and a freshly showered Lyr. Her hair was still damp, pulled back into a loose braid that fell over her shoulder. They were both looking annoyed, their arms folded across their chests as they marched toward me.
“To the library then?” Dario asked, his gaze to the sky as a soturion began a descent on a gryphon. The one I assumed we’d be flying.
Lyr was watching the beast warily, but suddenly, she looked at Dario, her eyebrows wrinkled. “I hope you’re not too bored all night. I’m sure the library’s not your scene. I’d suggest some books for you to read, but—”
“Bored?” Dario asked. “Why would I be bored? Are you trying to insinuate I can’t read?”
Lyr smiled sweetly. “Of course not. I’m assuming you have no interest.”
