“But is that healthy? Shouldn’t you get together with Roane and talk?”
“You’ve seen how well that works with him,” she sighs.
“Yeah. He isn’t really into talking, is he?”
“Men.” Ardruna rolls her eyes. “What did you expect?”
I snicker and open my mouth to argue, but she’s right. Eiras never talks about himself, either, and as for Brogan… He never once spoke about his accident. Instead, he growled and yelled and was a pain in the ass for a long time.
Only, Roane didn’t go through a traumatic accident that landed him in bed. He’s not a cranky patient—or a mostly absent brother. So then why…?
“Watch out!” Ardruna jumps in front of me, growling, and I backtrack so fast I almost fall off the rock ledge to my death. “Take cover!”
A shadow falls over us. It’s a giant… ant? As large as the lioness, it rears up, going for her.
Myrmekes?I think. There was a tale of giant ants guarding treasures in the mountains and they were calledmyrmekes. What do I do? This can’t go on. I need to have a weapon to defend myself and others.
I could rename it. Simply call it something else and see if that works.
But Ardruna shoves the ant off, and after a long moment, it turns and trudges away, crawling over the edge I almost went over and vanishing from view.
“What in the hells?” I breathe, starting toward her. “Are you okay? Do you get these here often?”
“No, they rarely appear, but since you?—”
“—arrived here, the monsters keep coming. Got it.”
“It’s the truth,” she says.
My heart is pounding so hard I feel sick. I scrub my hands over my eyes. “Let’s get inside before more of them arrive. How do you open these doors? Is there a trick?”
“You should learn how, in case one of us isn’t around to show you. I don’t agree with Roane’s treatment of you.”
“That’s news to me,” I murmur, lowering my hands.
“All I’m saying, I think he should be teaching you how to find your place in this world, just like he taught Talton and me.”
“You needed teaching?”
“It’s a magical world.”
I glance around, making sure no more monsters are lurking. “And you’re magical creatures. What am I missing?”
“The fact that this is his world? He rules it, controls it. Now pay attention.”
“Rules it? More like it rules him. Okay, sorry.” I lift my hands. “Iampaying attention. Show me. Do I have to solve a riddle, as I did to open the library door?”
“Is that what you did?” Ardruna blows out a breath. “You could try it again, see if the door of the world opens.”
“That’s an idea,” I murmur.
“A good idea,” Olm enthuses. “We could go now!”
“Not now.”
“Why not?” he screeches.
A headache is hammering at the back of my eyeballs. “I need to see Roane. The books. Talton.”
