Her stomach pulled into knots. It had been deliberate. “Do you know what he was planning, or just that he wanted those books?”
“The latter.” The tight edges of his shoulders relaxed as the web of arcanum seemed to ease. This would do. A simple back and forth. The most effective tactic so far.
“How did he know you were coming here?”
Kane let out a short laugh. “You figured it out. Why wouldn't he? He said he knew where I was going and that he could help me find what I needed.”
“And what was the exchange?”
“Well, the first was that I brought you home safely if things went…awry during my escape.”
“Did you kill Iprix?” It spilled off her tongue before she could stop it.
“No, no…that was not on me. I was waiting for him to die, yes. But I didn’t kill him.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. Erinna believed him to an extent, but the timing of everything didn’t sit well with her suspicions.
“I was meant to bring you home safely. That was what I gave your father. The assurance that you would make it out of the thrall alive while he ran off to fester in his own skeletons. And once we were in Iprix’s vault of knowledge, I needed to collect a few books for him. In exchange, your father gave me that coded index, and a place to dock the escape boat.”
Silence settled as Erinna processed the information and tried to wrestle with the growing sense of betrayal.
“Was that really so hard?” she sighed.
“Yes, Erinna. This”—he waved between the two of them—“is not something I make a habit of. Especially when I have a magical pact to work with.”
Disappointment pressed in. She felt no closer to understanding the machinations of her fate or her family. Her hand went instinctively to her mark. There might be something else he could help with.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about this?” She pushed her sleeve up and held her arm up to his face. Surely, he could answer that as easily as he wanted.
Kane took her wrist and brought her arm closer to inspect it. He traced it lightly in thought. The move sent shivers down Erinna’s spine. It felt far too intimate.
“I don’t know exactly what this curse is, but you were never meant to withstand its effects.” He met her gaze and raised an eyebrow. “Has anything unusual happened?”
She shook her head, but knew it was a lie. The Weeping Queen had come back. It had to be connected.
He dropped her arm and shrugged. “You’re pretty lucky then. But be mindful of anything out of the ordinary. Curses like these will leave a trace sooner or later.”
Dread cemented her feet to the ground. Reality crumbled whatever bubble of peace her complacency started to grow. She’d grown too comfortable while her father lay asleep beneath the effects of a curse.
“Thank you.” Her throat felt dry and raw.
They were running out of time, and the place was still full of traps. The library would be free game, but the fort that surrounded it was a different beast. There were protections warded into the stone and wood foundation. If they weren’t careful, one misstep or miscalculation could mean death.
Kane drew closer, as if the next words were a secret for only them. “If you wanted…we can find some information on thehistory and nature of aberrant Talents while we’re there.” His gaze was prying, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.
“I see no point in that.” Erinna refused to give him the satisfaction of holding his assumptions over her. Let him think whatever he wanted; losing always favored the first to break.
“What’s the plan for getting into the library? I heard you made a mess of things?”
Kane frowned and stepped back to lean against the wall. Finally some distance between them.
“We’re…switching to plan B.” The way he said it told Erinna everything she needed to know. There was no plan B. They were back to the drawing board, doing the same thing they’d been doing since she got there.
“What exactly happened, anyway?”
“Ask Afton,” Kane grumbled.
She rolled her eyes. Whatever orwhomeverwas at fault didn’t change anything. They needed to navigate the fort first before entering the library. Erinna chewed her lip in thought. Her mind recalled the invisible guidance when she was resetting the bars, and Inez’s sense that they would need Erinna. That they would need her Talent.
