Page 84 of Fate Unchained

As she stepped inside, she gasped. “Oh my.” Her head tilted up, she walked a few steps forward. The room was easily two stories high, and from floor to ceiling, books lined every wall. Narrow ladders sat on rollers to allow someone to reach anywhere among the stacks.

“This is all yours.” Morana’s voice took on a sweet quality again. “You can live here. No worries about the outside world disappointing you. Causing you pain. All you’ll do, all you’ll ever do, is simply read. Study. Enjoy. Lose yourself in all the pages. You could read all day, every day, and only get through a fraction of the books in here in a lifetime.”

She was right. All Lilah had ever wanted was to sit in her library and get lost in her books. The outside world was always an intrusion. An obstacle. Or a disappointment. Even Kyril, the one who was supposed to be her mate, wasn’t really hers.

She turned to Morana. “And what do you want from me?”

Morana shrugged. “Finish the spell with the rune. And help me explore the rest of the grimoire’s remaining secrets.”

“How did Boris get the grimoire?”

Behind her, Boris chuckled. “I won a bet.”

Lilah stared up at all the books. A chill wrapped around her as if icy fingers stroked her arms. The same licorice smell tinged the air, and the scent rolled through her, soothing her. She relaxed.

Morana stepped forward and put her hand on Lilah’s shoulder. “Take your rune back. Tap into your real power, and finish the spell.”

33

Kyril placed his hand on his chest, directly over where his half of the rune lay. “Go and get Hans and Briony.”

Hazel’s shoulders dropped. “Lilah—”

He snarled. “I’ll find her. You’re not the only one with a connection.”

Hazel’s brows shot up, but she didn’t say anything, only nodded. She waved her hand, created a portal, and was gone.

Could he really do this? Kyril paced across the small room. He’d found Lilah before, back in the cave when she’d drifted away with her magic, but that hadn’t been finding her physically. That had been … different. And she’d had her half of the rune.

He pressed harder on his chest. Deep inside, his instincts quieted. Yes. He knew what he had to do.

The air in front of him wavered, then Hans burst through, holding Briony’s hand. He was followed by Ayren and Blazh. Both vulk were red-eyed, their claws out.

Hans and Briony rushed over to Zann, Briony dropping to her knees. She kept one hand in Hans’s, and the other she placed on Zann’s chest. Her palm glowed with white light.

Kyril glanced at the window. It was still an hour until dusk, Briony shouldn’t have access to her power yet. But she did.

Briony still clutched Hans’s hand, and both glowed with a white light. Hans gave Briony more power, just like Kyril had given Lilah strength when they fought the shade.

Hazel stepped through the portal and staggered. Brooke sprinted forward and put her arm around Hazel. The spellcaster’s face was completely bloodless. Brooke helped her into a chair. “How is Zann?” Hazel asked.

Hans turned. “He’ll be fine. But how did he get like this?” His gaze met Kyril’s, and the buzz which meant Hans was connecting to him mentally sounded in his mind. “What happened?”

Kyril bared his teeth. “You should have been here.”

“You and Zann are pack enforcers. You can handle it.” Red glinted in his eyes. “I would have been here yesterday to pursue Morana myself, except Hazel’s magic was too low after she crafted the spell for Boris, and she couldn’t create a portal for me. What happened to Zann?”

Kyril jerked his chin at Hazel. “She was dead, and Zann saved her. It made him pass out, but he knew what it would do, and he said he’d be all right.” He growled low in his throat. “We need to find Lilah.”

Hans glanced at Hazel. “She’s not about to scry for anything.” He spoke aloud now. “She’s done.”

Briony stood up. “I might be able to do it, but I’ll need to wait for nightfall.” She dropped Hans’s hand. “I’m not taking more of your power if you’re going to leave to fight.” The two exchanged a long look.

“No,” Kyril said. “We can’t wait that long.”

Brooke stepped over to the bowl. “A magicwielder taught me how to scry.” She extended her hand over the scrying bowl. Instead of the purple flames that appeared every time Hazel used it, black smoke erupted. Brooke flew backward in the air. Finn lunged and caught her just before she slammed into the wall.

He set her on her feet. “They taught you well.”