“When you want the book, let me know.” Her low laugh rang out. “Don’t sneak in. Boldly tell me to hand it over and I will.”
“Alright.”
“Would you have stolen it, or would you have grabbed it, strode over to me and told me you were taking it?”
“The latter,” I admitted in a soft voice. “I don’t think I could’ve stolen it from you.”
“There may come a time when you need to steal.”
“And that’s when I’ll do it.”
That time was coming quickly. I could feel it creeping across my bones on jagged claws.
We sat on the sofa in front of the crackling fire, bookends on the comfortable cushions, facing each other with our legs hitched up beneath us.
Leaning forward, Reyla laid the book on my lap. “See what it wants to tell you. It must have something to say if it revealed itself to you.”
“You think the book is magic.”
“Every time I opened it, it showed me something new.” Covering a yawn with her hand, she nudged the thick tome. “Go on. You know you want to read it.”
“I can do this another time. You’re tired.” This journey was taking a toll on my friends, not only me.
“I can sleep later. Read, Tempest,” she said with a smiling growl.
Alright. Excitement coiled inside me. Tonight, I might discover more clues that would help me end this horror. Where to start? I stared down at the cover before finally opening the book and was momentarily speechless. “There’s no title page.”
“Really?” She scooted closer, slumping against the cushions on her side. Her eyes slid closed before she propped them open again.
I’d make this quick.
I pawed to the next page and the one after that, flipping through the entire book
I found only blank pages.
39
TEMPEST
Shock washed over me, and I lifted my head. “It doesn’t want me to read.”
“That makes no sense.” Sucking in a breath and releasing it, Reyla took the book from me and scooted back to lean against the armrest, flopping the book onto her legs outstretched between us. When she opened it, utter bewilderment crossed her face. “It’s . . . I can read it.” Blinking fast, she scrolled to the beginning and ran her finger down the page. “Everything’s here, just like it was the last time I looked at it.”
From where I sat, the pages remained blank.
“Do you think . . .” A look of puzzlement settled on her face, her mouth turning down.
“That it doesn’t want me to read? Yeah. Yet it seems happy to let you scroll, though.”
She bit down on her lower lip, and tipped her head back against the armrest, lost in thought. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Maybe because it only wants to reveal things you need to see.”
Her lips curled up in a sly smile, and for a ghost of a moment, she perked up. “So tell me what you want me to know.”
Clever.
There were so many things I needed to understand. Where to start? If the book caught on to what we were doing, it may go blank for her. Which was most important? Bone coins. The Lieges. The Blade of Alessa. I wanted to know everything, but I had to prioritize just in case. “Anything about the powerless?”
