I started by the bookcase while Gideon slid beneath the bed. I ran my fingers over the old spines, each one taken over by time. Some of the titles were illegible; others were written in a curling, elegant script, similar to what I used to find in the priestesses’ library.
What was Kane’s mother like?
Was she like him? What did she look like?
How was their relationship before the exile?
Thumbing through the old books, I imagined her here, alone, and how scared she must have been to send her only remaining child to the Dryad Realm, and the horror she must have felt when he returned as an adult.
Why would she have left him again?
Any sane mother would've stayed.
Maybe she wasn’t sane. The rumors about King Kyros said he had gone mad with dragon sickness.
Not sure what I was hoping to find, I continued on the next shelf.
Gideon moved to the desk and began rifling through the drawers.
My finger tripped over a book that seemed to not fit in the space it was shoved in. I pulled it free and flipped it open. The inside had been cut in the center creating a pocket, and within that secret compartment, I found a rolled-up scroll.
“Gideon,” I hissed.
“Did you find something?” He closed the drawer and started walking toward me, then stopped, his eyes going wide.
“What?” I asked, but he was already moving.
He crossed the room in a heartbeat, yanked me into the shadows, and clamped a hand over my mouth. We slammed against the wall, straight into a cobweb. My nose tickled, and I sneezed against his palm.
“Quiet,” he said, pure panic in his voice.
I clutched the book tight as an illusion wrapped around us, turning everything fuzzy at the ends. The shadows in the room seemed to deepen, a cloud passing over the bright moon, removing any light we had.
While I didn’t have hearing as exceptional as the fae, I trusted that whatever Gideon heard was not good.
A grating noise came from near the fireplace and the wall slid open.
Ella, the brown-haired pixie, flew in.
“All clear,” she said with a sigh.
“Are you sure?”
A shiver of fear shot up my spine and I went rigid at the sound of Kane’s voice.
Gideon's hand on my mouth tightened.
My breath stilled. Could they see us? Hear us?
Kane hadn't stepped into the room. He spoke from the shadows, from some secret passageway. Ella fluttered around. Her gaze went to the floor and then directly to me.
“What is it?” Kane asked. “We have to keep checking the other rooms.”
Ella hesitated for a moment. “All clear, Your Majesty.”
“Good. Let's check my father's room next. I want everything sealed before I leave tomorrow.”
Ella flew back into the secret passageway. The wall slid back into place, leaving the room unnaturally quiet.
