Soren and I don’t waste any time making our way to the library, moving quickly to the next floor. I step into the narrow staircase, the icy draft slicing through my cotton tunic as I descend. The only sounds are the soft patter of my shoes against the stone slabs and the click of Soren’s claws on each step.
The staircase stretches on forever, winding around andaround as if I were going down seven levels instead of just one. In fact…I should’ve been on the next floorminutesago.
I pause, my breath coming out in short pants as I spin around to check in with Soren.
A dark emptiness waits behind me.
Soren isn’t there.
Ice floods into my veins as I backtrack, ascending the stairs to see if Soren stayed behind for some reason.
I race up, once again going around and around the winding case without an end in sight. Soren is nowhere to be found.
My nostrils flare as I try to slow my heightened pulse. Panicking won’t get me out of whatever I’ve walked into, nor will it help Lunaria.
With one last try, I go back down the stairs, an endless path before me. I descend until my chest is heaving and my heart is pounding in my ears.
Reality sets in as I realize?—
Something has trapped me here.
Sixty-Four
Tourmaline
The screamof my childhood friend pulls me deeper into the dark library, running into stray chairs and catching corners of study tables. My left ankle snags on solid wood, and I barely have time to right myself as I tumble forward. I scream in frustration, shoving yet another chair out of my way.
Opal’s scream echoes from the left, and I take a sharp turn as my eyes finally begin to adjust to the darkness. Then her cries fall silent. My legs burn as I sprint through the three-floor library, headed straight toward where Opal’s cries came from.
I hiss as I reach the far left wall, a bookcase stretching along the entirety of it. There are endless rows of books, but no Opal.
Another pleading cry comes from deeper in the library—maybe a level or two up.
But I can’t see well enough to find the stairs to the next level.
“Opal!” I shout, my voice ringing in my ears.
Silence answers.
My hands begin to shake, but I force a quick breath to try to calm myself.
“Lunaria, slow down,” Adrian huffs from behind me. “You nearly reached how far you can go without me with that damn collar on.”
My fingers fly to my throat.
The magic suppressor.
I spin around to face Adrian. Even with my magic teetering on the edge of emptiness, the collar might be dulling my senses.
“Take it off,” I nearly shout.
He only pauses a brief moment before complying, making quick work of snapping it off.
The moment the cool metal slips from my neck, I close my eyes—trying to focus on my senses instead of running blindly through the massive room.
My Essence stays quiet, but my ears twitch as a soft cry reaches me, my fae hearing enhancing what’s around me. I try not to think about the way my magic doesn’t stir within me or roar back to life—try to ignore the pain that fills my chest at its absence.
The hidden room.
