Page 29

Silas pulls some books off one of the shelves, revealing a safe. He takes a key from his pocket and places it in the lock, opening it. He pulls out my grandmother’s book wrapped in a clean silk cloth.

“You knew what it was, didn’t you?” I ask and he turns to me.

“I knew the moment I saw the emblem on the front. I have seen this before. Before the war began. We have been looking for it,” he says, opening it.

“Why?”

“Because it is supposed to say how to break the curse,” he says, pulling the cloth off and revealing my grandmother’s book.

“And if I can’t read it?” I ask.

“We keep looking; we have found you so the Chosen One can’t be far,” Dragus says, coming up behind me and sitting on the edge of the desk.

“How do you know?”

“For someone not wanting to break the curse, you seem to ask a lot of questions,” Dragus tells me.

I am asking questions, but not for the sake of breaking the curse placed on them. I want to know how to restore the Fae back to their magic if any remain— restore the balance.

Silas places the book in my hand, and I brush my fingers over the emblem. I recognize the emblem carved into its leather. My grandmother always hid the book, so I never got a good look at it. I realize where I have seen it. My mother’s necklace had the same emblem etched into the stone it held.

“You recognize that?” Silas asks, stepping closer. I nod.

“So, you’ve seen it?”

“Yes, on my mother’s necklace.”

“Do you have it?”

I shake my head. I know where it is, I’m not telling them that, and if they don’t ask, I will keep it that way, because something tells me her necklace is linked to the curse on them. I’m not sure how I know, though I have this strange feeling that both the book and her necklace are connected somehow.

Opening the cover, I turn a few pages before handing it back. “It’s still blank,” I tell him. He takes it from me and flicks the pages like the words were going to appear. Silas grips my shoulders, staring me in the eye.

“Are you lying to me? Can you read it?” he says, emphasizing every word.

“No, you know I can’t lie. So why ask?” I tell him. And it is the truth. I can’t read it. I know one thing they obviously don’t know. It may be my twenty-first birthday, but Fae magic is extremely specific. Magic doesn’t manifest until the exact time you were born, and I still had until 10:03 PM tonight.

“Because Fae with magic can lie,” Dragus says.

I shake my head, disagreeing with him. “No, they can’t, my grandmother would have told me that.”

“Not if she was lying to you. Didn’t you say she still had her magic?”

I say nothing because he is right; she did still have magic.

“Fae struggle to lie with magic, but it can still be done,” Silas growls annoyed.

Silas swears, smashing everything off his desk in a rage. I move away from him and Matitus comes over and grabs his shoulders, pulling him against him. I watch, curious about how easily Matitus can calm him. Matitus runs his hands up his arms and over his broad chest. With each touch, Silas’s breathing slows, and his anger slowly dissipates.

“We will find them; we have our mate. It won’t be long till we find the person the Oracle spoke of.”

Silas sighs, leaning into Matitus. I move my gaze away and I find Dragus with his head cocked to the side, watching me. His eyes sparkling at me as I observe Matitus and Silas.

Abigail enters, her head down, making everyone look at her.

“Breakfast has been served, my Lords,” she says, scurrying out.

“Wait,” I tell her, but she takes off. Turning around, all eyes are on me.