Then Kael steps back into the shadows of the building, his horns disappearing into the darkness. “Keep your secrets, little tether. But don’t pretend you can outrun what’s waking up inside you. The Veil doesn’t sleep. And neither do the things it’s holding back.”
Then he’s gone. The air feels colder without him here. Like the shadows themselves took a breath and exhaled frost.
Raiden breathes out slowly beside me. “He’s wrong, you know.”
I glance up at him. “About what?”
“You’re not a tragedy.”
I don’t answer. Because I’m not so sure.
Not anymore.
TWENTY-THREE
LINDSAY
I findTamsin exactly where I expect that evening—back table, third row from the enchanted windows, picking through her dinner like it offends her. She glances up as I slide into the seat across from her, eyes narrowing. “Okay, that face says you either found a prophecy or murdered someone and need help hiding the body.”
I lean in and whisper, “We’re going back tonight.”
“To the Forbidden Wing?” she asks, deadpan.
I nod once.
A slow, gleeful smile spreads across her face. “You know, I was mostly joking when I suggested that. But Iadorethat you’re taking me seriously.”
“I haven’t stopped thinking about it,” I admit. “That book. The way the magic reacted. If there are answers, they’re in there. And no one else is offering me answers.”
“Midnight?” she asks, like we do this all the time.
“Midnight.”
Someone sets a tray down beside me with a clatter of nervous energy and zero stealth.
“Please tell me you’re joking. That place is dangerous,” Nolan says, voice cracking just slightly on theyou’re.
I glance over at him. “Hey.”
“Hi.” He slides into the seat beside me, then winces. “Sorry, I wasn’t spying or anything—I just, um, heard you. You kind of have this...gravitational pull. Not in a weird way. Okay, maybe a little weird. I’ll stop talking now.”
Tamsin snorts into her drink, entirely unhelpful.
I raise an eyebrow at him, pretending I don’t find his flustered rambling ridiculously endearing. “You always panic this much when someone says the wordforbidden?”
His ears turn pink. “Only when it’s followed bywingandtonight.”
I tilt my head. “We are big girls, we know what we are doing.”
He shrugs, fiddling with the strap of his bag. “Yeah. But I am your friend. And you’re not doing this without backup. Especially not after…everything.”
I think we are a little more than friends, but I don’t correct him.
Tamsin lifts her cup in a mock toast. “I vote yes to backup. Preferably magical and squishy-hearted.”
Nolan's eyes narrow. “I amnotsquishy-hearted.”
“You literally knitted your grandma a familiar-sized scarf for Winter Solstice last year,” she deadpans.
