“Blood magic,” Zani finished, her world crumbling further. “He appears to be using blood rituals to intensify his sorcery powers.” She moved to a large desk covered in notes and diagrams. “Help me search. We need to find anything related to that stone.”
Zani frantically sifted through papers, her hands trembling. The Cosimo she’d known had been kind, brilliant, and ethical.
How could that same man have emerged from this darkness? Or had the kindness been the lie, a mask worn to gain her trust? To what end?
“Zani,” Will called softly, urgently. “Someone’s coming.”
“Hide!” Zani hissed, diving behind a large cabinet of specimens as Will pressed himself into the shadows beside a bookcase.
The door creaked open, and a servant boy entered, carefully balancing a tray with several vials. The child, no more than twelve, moved with practiced precision as he arranged the vials on a worktable. He was clearly familiar with Cosimo’s laboratory. His eyes never strayed to the darker corners of the room, as if deliberately avoiding whatever horrors they might contain.
Once the servant departed, Will let out a long breath. “That was close.”
“We have little time,” Zani whispered. “Cosimo could return any moment. You keep watch by the door while I search.”
Will nodded, positioning himself where he could see both the corridor outside and Zani working within the laboratory. “What exactly are we looking for?”
“A notebook—Cosimo always documents everything.” Zani’s fingers traced the spines of several leather-bound volumes on a shelf. “He’s always meticulous about his research, and was even five centuries ago, apparently.”
She pulled volumes down, flipping through pages of alchemical formulas and astronomical charts, setting each aside with growing frustration. “Nothing here about the bloodstone.”
“Maybe check his desk?” Will suggested, his eyes constantly darting to the corridor.
Zani moved to the ornate writing desk, carefully shifting through stacks of parchment. As she pulled open a drawer, something clicked. When she slid a finger into the space above the drawer, she felt a small, round wooden button. When she pressed it, there was a second click. Then a small hidden compartment on the desk’s side suddenly slid open.
“Will,” she breathed. “Come look at this.”
Inside the small flat box lay a black leather notebook, its cover emblazoned with a symbol she recognized immediately. A twelve-pointed sigil.
“This is it,” she said.
Her hands trembled as she opened the book. The first pages were filled with familiar calculations. There were basic astrological symbols and star charts that every young witch and wizard would study at a school in the coming centuries. But as she turned the pages, the writings grew darker, the equations interwoven with forbidden formulas and profane symbols that made her eyes ache.
“Anything?” Will asked, still vigilant at his post.
“Yes.” Zani exhaled. She read the page twice.
The blue stone I accepted for safekeeping from the Mer Prince has shown itself to be quite useful. And since no Prince or representative has come back to claim it, I am inclined to keep it for myself, in service to the crown. This stone has already cemented my place at court. Catherine says I am indispensable. After the next eclipse occurs, we will both be more powerful. Although I would prefer to execute this ritual without the aid of dark magic. I will not seek a sacrifice. For now, she wishes for me to have this item made into an amulet for her to wear, so that she can keep these powers close.
And there itwas - the rudimentary sketch of the amulet.
“It looks like your theory about the stone starting out as a Celestial Sapphire was right.” Will shook his head. “This is crazy.”
“It is so much crazier than that, though, Will. Cosimo’s journal is here. The fragment of text that I found in the archivesishis journal.” Zani breathed excitedly.
Before Will could respond, there was a motion in the corridor. Not the tread of another servant. This step was Cosimo’s.
“He’s coming back,” Will warned. “We need to go.”
But Zani couldn’t tear herself away from the notebook. “Just a few more seconds,” she pleaded, frantically turning pages.
The footsteps stopped outside. The door handle turned.
Will grabbed Zani’s arm, dragging her behind a large bookshelf just as Cosimo entered. Another man accompanied Cosimo. He was older, with a long gray beard and shrewd, piercing eyes that seemed to take in everything at once.
“Hmmm, I could have sworn I locked this door.” Cosimo frowned, looking around suspiciously. His eyes landed on the rows of vials left by the servant boy. “But I can see my apprentice has been here.”
“Apprentices are notoriously careless,” the older man tutted. “I once had a page who–”
