Without much thought, as the sound disappeared, I walked to a section of the stacks where I had seen books on druids. These books were ancient but magicked so they didn’t fall apart and crumble to nothing.
Looking at the titles, I ran my finger down the spines. Some intrigued me, some were just bad poetry, and some were histories of people that time had forgotten.
Though despite my best efforts, a single title continued to draw me back to it.Violet of Island of Flightless Birds. Somehow, I knew that wasn’t a flower but a person. I pulled the book for my piles so that it would stop distracting me.
Finally, I found one that made me pause.Of Druids and Their Magic.I took it out and headed back to my table with the piles of other books on it.
Dry and simple, there wasn’t much in it that I hadn’t already found on my own. Most of it was covered in school when I was younger. Only the last chapter was interesting, and even that didn’t answer my questions. I felt like the best way to find out would be to ask, but all three of my ancient males were nowhere to be found.
I slumped into the chair. I couldn’t scour the whole library to find things I didn’t know. I only had a week left. A week of living with a vampire who was the most awful being I’d ever met. I didn’t know what was going to happen after that. It was a small price to pay to make sure that Vitas and Roran got back to the temple.
I hoped I could survive a week.
* * *
Quietly reading one of the books on my stack the next day, I sensed someone else in the library.
Without the sound of the door opening and closing, I was instantly suspicious and on guard, but I kept my head down.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone standing between the stacks, perfectly still.
I glanced over and instantly recognized the long black hair and strong jawline.
Aiko.
He put a finger to his lips and motioned me to follow him. I left the book as it was and stood.
I didn’t think there was a way they could spy on me here, with no painting to cut eyes out of, but I wasn’t going to take my chances.
Walking backward, Aiko guided me through several more stacks and then to the very back of the library where a rich, woven rug in reds and creams sat under several plush chairs and a settee.
Finally turning away from me, he walked to the end of the stack on the right and pulled a book.
The center of the wall slid back and pulled to the side just enough to allow a person to pass through if they ducked a bit.
Aiko smiled, winked, and ducked inside.
I followed.
The door slid shut a moment later and several lights popped on.
“This stronghold is full of secret passages.” Aiko took my elbow. “This one comes straight up from the stables and garages.”
“Can you sneak me out?” I didn’t want to spend the week if I didn’t have to.
“Yes, but not yet.” He stopped and turned to me. “We have a plan, and I know you don’t know us from this hole in a wall, but you have to trust us. Everything we do around Savion has to be calculated carefully. Early on, we realized he would rip the throat out of anything that displeased him. And we don’t care to lose the Breaker of the Spine on our watch.”
Chuckling, I motioned for him to continue walking. “I’d like it if you didn’t lose her either.”
The passage was short, and we were in the stables in just a few minutes. Aiko finally stopped and pulled me to the side.
“Kane, Odom, and I have been talking. It’s better if we sneak you out for the next few days and show you how to use a gun and get you back on a horse. Savion is in no mood to grant us that favor. And”—he reached behind him and pulled something from behind the riding tack—“teach you to really use the sword.”
I gasped and grabbed the sheath and sword he held out to me. “Oh, gods, thank you! This was my father’s—.”
My father who probably wasn’t my father.
I shoved the thought aside and strapped the sword to my back, quickly and easily. “What’s your plan?”
