“Shut up.” Kohen rolled his eyes. “Anyways, the third person I talked to just so happened to be a girl who works in the castle archives. I told her it’s been a while since I’ve read a good book, and she told me to meet up with her in an hour when her shift starts, and she’ll give me some recommendations.”
“Kohen, I could kiss you,” Sawyer blurted, to which Kohen scrunched his nose and begged him to stay back.
“Okay, this is all fine and dandy, but that only gets one of us into the castle,” Kade pointed out.
Kohen’s face fell. “I could probably take one of you with me. I’ll just say I had a friend tag along. But a group of four guys who havejust been dying to read a good bookseems off.”
“Not if they’re anything like Seb.” Sawyer chuckled, and I gave him a glare. I wasn’t too keen on joking with him after the way he wasloungingwith Maeve the other day.
“So, who's coming with me?” Kohen questioned.
My hand raised.
“Okay, so change of plans.” Kade clasped his palms together. “Sawyer and I will stay watch out here. If the opportunity presents itself, we’ll kill Beaumont.” He glanced between Kohen and me. “Same goes for you two. Remove your armor and go get yourreadingon. Meet back here at dusk, or sooner if you complete the job.”
Thirty minutes later, Kohen and I had made it through the castle's gates and waited outside the bounds of the kingdom's courtyard for the bookkeeper. When she arrived, I introduced myself under an alias then kept my head down as much as possible. I didn't need her taking a guess on who I actually was.
We followed her inside the castle and down twists and turns of corridors, winding until we reached the archives that were separated from the hallway by a set of rounded doors.
I felt bad for using the poor girl to break into the castle, though if I wasn’t here for duty, I would have completely lost myself in the archives of Draemor. I’d thought my father’s library was incredible, but this one was right up there with it.
Aldous Hawthorne.
I wondered what my poor excuse of a father was up to. I couldn’t say I missed him—not after everything he’d put me through for literally my entire existence—but a small part of me did hope he was at least alive.
“So, what genre are you two looking for?” the girl asked. Her straight, black hair swung over her shoulder as she bounded up the navy-carpeted stairs of the archives.
Once she left us to our own devices, the plan was for Kohen and me to split up and search for Bitchmont. This pitstop was just our excuse to enter the castle. Although I couldn't say I minded getting a glimpse of the magnificent library.
“My friend here is into erotic romance, but I’m somewhat of a history buff myself. The older the manuscript, the better,” Kohen said, shooting me a tight grin.
Douche.
“How old are we talking?” she questioned him, her thin, rounded eyebrows arched as she visibly tried to ignore his first remarks. “Any texts earlier than the past two centuries are in King Beaumont’s study.”
Perfect.
“Oh, really?” I sighed, trying to exaggerate my disappointment. “That’s too bad. I assume he doesn’t let anyone borrow them, does he?”
She froze on the stairs, her hand settled upon the railing as she turned halfway to meet us. “He does, actually! He just asks that they be returned the same day, and he often likes to know why the individual is reading such ancient writings.” She leaned in closer, cupping her hand around her mouth to whisper. “If you ask me, I think it's a bit odd how secretive he is with them.”
That was strange, but not something we really needed to worry about right now.
“Can you remind me where his study is? It’s been so long since I gave him a visit,” Kohen said politely, flaunting his teeth in a oh-so-sweet smile.
“Second floor, by the infirmary.” The girl’s eyes narrowed, and I could tell she was beginning to cross the line of suspicion.“But he prefers that visitors make an appointment instead of just showing up.”
I ran a hand over my forehead, sweeping it through my hair. “We’ll have to keep that in mind. In the meantime, can you show us the romance section?” I patted Kohen on the shoulder. “I’ve been trying to get my friend into erotica for some time now. I really think it's a genre he would enjoy. He’s quite kinky once you get to know him.”
Her cheeks glowed a vibrant red as she fought to hide her smirk, but she nodded and continued up the stairs.
“I’ll get you back for that,” Kohen snarled under his breath, shouldering me into the railing.
“You started it.”
Just to keep it convincing, I made Kohen check out the dirtiest book I could find. He punched me in the gut when we left the archives, but the pain was well worth the satisfaction I got from watching him pass the bookkeeper his selection.
In the corridor, he shoved the text into his rucksack. “I hate you,” he spat. “Daddy’s Dirty Dungeon Doll? Seriously?”
