“Do you recognize it?”
“It’s called the Aurea Dei. Translates toHalo of the Gods. It originally consisted of seven stars, but two have gone dark, so now there are five.”
“What could that have to do with defeating Kylian or closing the portal?” Zadyn says.
“I have no fucking clue.” I sink onto the table, exhaustion tugging at me. “Hey book?”
Its ears perk up at the sound of my voice.
Yes, my Queen?
“What does this have to do with the portal?” I ask, hoping this time it just spits out the answer like Siri and makes everything a hell of a lot simpler for us.
But the book seals itself up again, spitting dust at me in the process.
“Cool. Thanks so much.”
It’s dark by the time Eaton leads us to the empty kitchens, slipping into a large pantry and emerging with his hands full of snacks. Tragically, none of which include a Butterfinger.
“Damn it,” he mutters. “I really thought that grimoire would be the key.”
“I did too.” Zadyn sighs, slumping back against the counter where I’m perched. “There’s got to be something we’re missing.”
“I think that’s a given,” Kai says around a mouthful of grapes. Zadyn shoots him a dark look.
“Do you know who it belonged to?” I ask Eaton.
“Not sure exactly. My grandfather once told me it belonged to one of the first Blackbloods, but he never figured out who.”
“One of the High Queens?”
“It’s possible.”
That would explain the book mistakenly calling me queen.
“Maybe if we could figure out more about the portal, then we might be able to understand the science behind it.”
Eaton shakes his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, sunshine. It’s not science. It’s magic. And it doesn’t always tend to make a lot of sense.”
Propping his elbows on the butcher block island, he starts, “From what I’ve read, it dates back to the beginning of our world. No one is certain how it came to be. Some texts say it was a natural perforation that occurred during the forming of Solterre—making it easier for those with enough skill and power to walk between worlds that shared similar rifts. The High Queens began to worry about the kind of creatures that were passing through and decided it needed to be regulated. So they installed the Guardians.”
Kai holds up a hand. “Random thought, but how could my brother have actually gained control of the portal?”
“I think the bigger question is how was he powerful enough to kill two Guardians?” Dover points out.
“It doesn’t make sense. You’d have to be god to manipulate the portal like that. Even the witches couldn’t.” Eaton rustles his golden curls, his eyes landing on me. “Hence the Guardians.”
“So just to be clear—the portal was essentially a gate?” I confirm. “Well, doesn’t every gate have a key?”
“If there were a key, then why wouldn’t the High Queens have used it themselves instead of sticking the Guardians out there?” Mar says.
Furi?I ask.Your previous rider…did she ever mention anything about the portal or a key?
I do not know of any key, Blackblood.
“There could be a million explanations for that. Maybe they didn’t know about it or never found it,” Dover suggests.
“The only ones who could answer that question are the witches,” Eaton says.
