Page 119 of By the Flames of Her Fury

Bam.

The thunderous boom clattered around us, making me jump back. Several books had fallen off the shelf at our feet. I struggled to catch my breath, heart racing.

The sound of footsteps drew nearer. Neither of us spoke as the record keeper came into view, eyebrows hitched. His gaze flicked to the books on the floor.

“Apologies, sir,” I said, clearing my throat.

His nose twitched. “Just pick them up.”

I nodded quickly, and with one last, sharp look, he padded away. I retrieved the books and reshelved them one by one, while Vera straightened her shirt. When I finally looked at her, she was already looking away. I felt frozen, my movements mechanical, still trying to process what had happened.

Vera raked her fingers through her hair, then her eyes fell to the last book in my hand. “Everett, look.”

I tore my gaze away from her and to the cover of the book. Ancient Runes of Pyraethi Origins.

Well, look at that.

We both made our way back to the table, where stacks of other books rested. The record keeper in the far corner narrowed his eyes at us, but I ignored him.

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to focus on the book and the symbols I’d seen. I closed my eyes and reached for the memory I’d trapped as an illusion from yesterday’s adventures. The slick stone walls, the musty crypt air, the flickering torchlight. Symbols carved deep into ancient rock. My magic caught the image and sharpened it until I could almost feel the grooves beneath my fingertips again. I opened my eyes and searched the table, and Vera was already there with a parchment and pencil in grasp. She handed them to me wordlessly. I briefly met her gaze, her fingers brushing mine, as I took the pencil and began to sketch the glyphs.

An X on top of a rectangle; an upside-down, cracked clay pot; a phoenix wearing a crown; a sword with a figure eight across the middle. Vera sat quietly next to me as I scoured the book on ancient runes until I found each one.

Forge

Vessel

Rise

I rubbed my eyes, heavy from staring at the pages for so long, when the last one caught my attention: the sword with a figure eight through the middle.

“Forever life,” I said aloud.

“What?” Vera asked.

“That’s what this last one means. Forever life.”

She hummed. “But it’s not possible to live forever. Is this part of another myth?”

“I don’t think so.” My brows knit together as I remembered the frozen-like state the original demithes used to put themselves in to live hundreds of years. These people had quite the fixation with this idea of living longer. It sounded like immortality. But she was right—that wasn’t possible. At least, it shouldn’t be possible. Who would want to live forever? One lifetime was difficult enough as it was.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting off a headache as hours’ worth of words and symbols bled together in my mind. A cold thread slipped down my spine. The feeling that I was missing something just wouldn’t go away.

Stop it, I told myself. Vera trusted these people. If I kept looking for trouble where there wasn’t any, she would only push herself further away from me.

But, still…

My gaze slid down the walls until they hit a smaller, iron door on the other side of the chamber. An engraving above read “the Inner Sanctum.”

I nodded to it. “Do you know what’s in there?”

“The Elders let me in yesterday,” Vera whispered. “It’s a smaller version of this, with the oldest and most important texts of the kingdom. They showed me an ancient scroll written by the original demithes.”

Intrigue flared through me. “We should see what else is in there.”

A mischievous grin slipped across her lips. “After you.”

I pushed to my feet and crossed the room, the record keeper’s eyes tracking me the entire way. “We would like access to the Inner Sanctum, please,” I said, keeping my voice polite and diplomatic, the way Kieran would.