“If you pull the ring, the door opens,” Axell offered, noticing her gaze. “You are not trapped in this room, Maggie. You are not trapped with us. We are safe together.”
Maggie gave him a long look. For someone who appeared lighthearted and easygoing, Axell had a depth to him that made her reevaluate him.He was canny where Dan was open. She smiled tentatively. “That was my concern. You’re observant.”
Axell gave her a wider smile as she studied him. “I am, and I missed your sharp mind. I missed our friendship. You are funny and frightening.”
That, too, resonated as truth, and Maggie gave him a nod of acknowledgment. Then she turned away and looked around the room. The library itself was one of the most magical places she’d seen. It reminded her of both the Library of Congress and the Duke library… and maybe the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
This room was huge and lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, complete with rolling ladders. Semicircular shelves speared out from various spots like the letter “C” had been carved of wood over and over.
“Is there an upstairs?”
“Not so far.” Dan stared around the room. “It shifts some days, though. So maybe later? It often shares what it—or maybe the castle? Or the hobs? I honestly don’t know whodecides,but it offers answers… anyhow, it or a hob or both decide what it thinks we need, but only when we need it. Like it’s answering a question we were soon going to ask. I don’t know why.”
“A questionDanielwas going to ask,” Axell added in a soft voice. “It answershim.It does not answer me. The library talks to him this way, not to all witches.”
Maggie wandered around the room studying the assorted tables with various workspaces—including easels and tables with chessboards inset into the wood.
“Bookwheels. Very fitting,” she said, half to herself. She rotated one of them that resembled a Ferris wheel. Six books were open on the platforms, and as she skimmed the books, she realized that someone was studying mind magic. Without looking back at Axell and Dan, she asked, “Your research?”
“I didn’t like that you and Ellie forgot so much,” Dan said quietly.
Maggie turned in a full circle, seeking the one witch she had to avoidat all costs. “She’s not here, is she?” Her voice cracked slightly. “Brandeau. I was told… you don’t understand.”
“We do.” Axell reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “She was your friend, Maggie. You trusted her and—”
“And they erased it!” Maggie scowled.
“Yes… with my help.” Dan stepped closer to her, his hands held outstretched with palms out, as if trying to show he was harmless. He didn’t feel harmless, not if he was a part of erasing her memory—and Ellie Brandeau’s memory, too.
Dan said, “You asked what my magic is.…”
The two exchanged a look.
“I amplify other magic,” Dan said after a long moment. “Like when you and Axell and the doctor…”
“Had pleasure,” Axell said.
Maggie snorted. “I was going to say got off, but your way sounds more elegant.”
Axell simply smiled.
“Can we not mention that around Sondre?” Dan asked. “He already doesn’t like Axell.”
At that Maggie paused. She had questions there, too, but her own business was more pressing, selfish though it was. “We’ll loop back to that,” she said, glancing between them. “Talk to me about this amplifying thing. Can we talk about that?”
“We are alone here, Maggie.” Axell opened his arms wide, as if to gesture at the expanse of the library. “It is only us. Just three friends talking among books.”
The tension drained from Maggie as the truth of that statement washed over her. She was intrigued by why these two men were erased from her memory.Thatwas part of the mystery that was safe to ponder, more so because it was in the shelter of a gorgeous magical library. They weren’t pursuing the forbidden subject—yet—so Maggie thought about her backlog of questions.
“So what do you know about my escape?” Maggie settled in front of an empty bookwheel, idly spinning it. “And how do you get research books to appear here?”
As she spoke, several books appeared on the various book trays.
“Damn, where was this when I was in law school?” Maggie tapped the cover of a book. “Or studying for the bar exam?”
“Probably right here.” Axell stroked the side of the wheel reverently. “Antique and magical.”
“Like the headmaster,” Dan teased. “Maggie has a type.”
