I swallow a sigh, glancing around. “I see a tunnel. Maybe there is a staircase leading down.”
“What are you waiting for, then? Unless you changed your mind and have a sudden burning desire to take me to the royal palace?”
“Dream on.” I turn toward the tunnel, a dark opening in the cavern wall. “This is where you will stay.”
“Nasty. One way or another, I’ll find out why you are immune to my power, girl.”
“I’m not a girl. I’m a woman, and you’re just a book.”
“When it comes to magic, there’s no such thing asjust a book,” he whines but I ignore him. The fine hairs at the back of my neck prickle. Something is nagging at me, something…
Entrances. In myths and legends, entrances to enchanted places are always guarded. We entered the Areon way too easily. Sure, there was a riddle to solve, but is that enough? The passages between worlds are often guarded by beasts and immortal priests who make sure few pass—except for the dead, or the brave and mad, and the Areon seems to be such a liminal place.
“What are you doing?” Olm demands when I look around and hesitate. “What’s wrong?”
A howl echoes. It seems to emanate from the tunnel I was about to enter. It wraps all around us, burrowing inside my head and making my ears ring.
“What was that?” I whisper, glancing around wildly, looking for a place to hide but there’s only rock and darkness. “Shit…”
“Monsters are contained inside the library sanctum,” Olm says, “why would there be any loose in?—?”
“Shh. Quiet.” I let out a controlled breath. “Maybe it left, whatever it is.”
But the howl comes again, this time closer, louder, and with a curse, I run back the direction I’ve come, toward the entrance of the library.
I knew it had been too easy.
“But there is a warrior librarian,” Olm is chattering inside my head, “a guardian who is supposed to keep the monsters in check. This is the one place in the world where magical books are controlled, why would he?—?”
“Oh, damn!” I skid to a stop. The door is closed, effectively trapping us inside the library. I shove it, bang my fists on it. It doesn’t even tremble or produce any echo. It’s rock, smooth and without any handle. Without any indication that it was ever open.
Not good. This isn’t good at all, and?—
A low growl from behind freezes the blood in my veins. Slowly, I turn around, pressing my back to the sealed door, feeling as if I’m moving through thick syrup.
Across from me stands a gigantic, white lioness, her wicked teeth bared.
Good Gods.I’ve only ever seen such a creature in drawings. I thought they were extinct, I thought?—
She leaps at me, a great arc up in the air, and screaming, I drop to my knees and throw up my hands to cover my head.
This is it, this is my end. At least I’ve seen the Library of Areon…
“Ardruna!” a grave voice shouts. “Sit.”
CHAPTER TEN
THE GUARDIAN
ADELINE
The lioness stops mid-leap and crashes back to all fours, still snarling. Then she turns away, tail flicking back and forth.
Wait… She didn’t eat me? I lower my arms a little, cowering by the door, the satchel lying on the floor beside me. A loud whistle turns my attention to a raven flying in circles overhead.
And then I glimpse a man. He’s tall with broad shoulders and clad in a dark vest with a hood that’s drawn low over his face. His long legs are encased in black leather pants and tall boots.
He’s frowning at the lioness, a hand on the handle of a long knife sheathed at his belt. He lifts the other, gesturing imperatively, and the raven lands on the ground and hops a few steps. Its eyes are golden and hard.
