“They don’t teach that at Fives,” I murmured.
“No,” Selene whispered. “They don’t.”
I watched her as she stood and stepped inside, holding the door open for me to follow. We stepped into an ornate room with red carpeting and matching red velvet furniture, the door closing behind us. The wood walls were carved with elemental symbols—some I recognized from my enchantment class were allegedly to ward off evil spirits. An empty gold vase sat upon a small wooden table—a fancy, pointless display, in my opinion.
Another double door, similar to the one we had just entered, was on the other side. Two large symbols in the shape of a diamond with a line striking through it took up the entire middle of each door. It bore a slight resemblance to the symbols at the front gate.
Without hesitation, Selene grabbed the golden knob and turned it. The door pulled open and she looked it up and down.
“It’s not warded.”
I walked over to her and studied the door. “Apparently not.”
She glanced at me, her forehead creased. “The ward wasn’t up when Ivy came either. It’s supposed to have an enchantment specific to each element for deactivation.”
“Something’s not right.” From my understanding, the door was always locked and warded to keep out anyone who didn’t have the enchantment. Having an enchanted door leading to the library basement was expected, but the detail of it having an enchantment specific to each element so a singular mage couldn’t access it on their own was not. Miss Lee had discussed the enchanted door during one of my tutoring sessions, and somehow Selene had known about it. Though it was designed to give access to multiple mages, I imagined only a select few had access. “You had a plan to open it?”
“No.” Selene entered and started down the hallway.
“Woman of few words,” I mumbled, jogging after her as the door closed behind me with an echoing thud.
A spiral staircase marked the end of the hallway, the center of the stairs a dark abyss. My nonexistent acrophobia was unfazed by the lack of guard rails, however, I wasn’t a fan that the bottom wasn’t visible. We had to get in, find the Academy Directory book, take pictures of the pages, and get out.
Spelled torches lit our way as we descended the steps. The smooth stone was one I had heard about—melted together like cement so not even the strongest of earth elementals could manipulate it. We reached the final step and walked down a short tunnel that led to a massive opening. I laughed. Rows upon rows of bookshelves spread across the entirety of my sight. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“Where’s all the dust and cobwebs? It’s not matching its vibe without them.” I ran a finger along a surprisingly clean shelf.
“Air preservation spell. They’re alphabetically ordered,” Selene said, pointing to the gold letters marking each shelf and getting straight to business. “I’ll start with A and you start with D. If it’s not under academy or directory, we’ll check F for Fives, then S for staff.”
“Yes, Captain.” I saluted and she looked back at me, pinning me with herI’m going to kill youlook. I couldn’t help but smile as I turned toward aisle D.
It surprisingly didn’t take long for me to find the book:Directory of Staff and Students.
“Got it!” I hollered as I plucked it off the shelf.
“Shhh!” Her hush came from a few aisles down before she met me.
“What?” I waved around us. “No one’s here, and it’s not like anyone can hear us.”
Selene shook her head and grabbed the book, looking it over.
“Can you hold it open?” she asked as she pulled out her phone.
“Selene Thomas. Was that a question instead of an order?” I opened the book, grinning.
“Maybe it shouldn’t have been.” She tilted her head down at the book, as if she was trying to cover the small twitch of her lips—the start of a smile.
My gut sparked, like a match had been lit.
Selene had started taking photos in a section of the book but was stopped by a low, distant growl that echoed from the opposite end of the basement. I strained to see, but all I saw was the row of bookshelves leading into a black void.
“Selene,” I said as she rushed to take more photos, “we have to go.”
I closed the book and grabbed her arm, ushering her toward the stairs. I had no clue what made that sound and didn’t intend for us to stay to find out. I went to toss the book on a nearby shelf, but Selene snatched it out of my hands.
“I don’t have enough information.” She tucked the book under her arm, taking it with her as we jogged. “The ward is down. I should be able to bring it upstairs.”
Another deep growl—much closer this time.
