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Nylah chuckled. “Yeah…I wish it had been me.”
“Really, you don’t.” I rubbed my hand across my throat. The ghost of her hands were still wrapped around me there, even though she hadn’t touched me at all.
From the next room, we heard Ren and Lucia shouting at each other. The words weren’t clear, but we could hear their tones. Lucia wasn’t happy, but Ren was furious.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard him this angry,” Nylah said in a low voice.
“I’m surprised he’s not taking me out for what I said.”
“She did something,” Nylah said. She rubbed the back of her neck. “When he bound her hands, tying up her magic… She had a spell on all of us.”
“You didn’t feel it before?”
Nylah shook her head and closed her eyes. She frowned, concern filling her face. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and worried about it as she thought.
“I should have known something was wrong. I feel like I’ve been asleep, and I just woke up. We’ve never had a reason to tie her magic like that before, and I’m willing to wager she counted on that. You tried to tell me, didn’t you? That’s what you meant.” Nylah let out a frustrated sigh. “This isn’t our magic.”
“Conjurite,” I said.
She shot me a sharp look. “We don’t accuse Fae of that, not unless we know for sure. It’s a terrible thing.”
Luciawas a terrible thing. Couldn’t they see?
“I think Ren is on your side with this one. It’s about time.” She smirked at me. Nylah disliked Lucia every bit as much as I did. She’d respected Ren’s choices because they were close, but she didn’t like Lucia at all.
The shouting escalated, followed by a deafening crash.
Nylah and I jumped up at the same time and raced for the door.
When she yanked it open, Ren stood before a large hole in the wall. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were the color of ice.
“She’s gone,” he said in a bitter tone.
“Oh, no,” Nylah breathed.
Ren looked at me, and cold washed through my body. His anger was very different from what I’d seen before. He was pale, his skin tight and paper thin so I could see the shape of his skull. His magic danced in the air around us, alive, breathing on its own. His emotions were everywhere, scattered across the room. Ifeltit.
Without another word, he turned and left the room, leaving me and Nylah behind, staring at the damage Lucia had left in her wake.
18
Iwalked into the palace library and looked up at the towering bookcases. The library ceiling had to be three stories high, and the bookcases ran all around the room, stretching all the way to the top. The curtains covered dark windows, but a storm raged outside, rain pattering against the windowpanes.
The library lights were on, grand chandeliers hanging far above me. The plush carpet was a deep red underneath my feet.
Ladders and balconies allowed anyone to reach the top books. In the center of the room, comfortable couches created an intimate circle, with side tables and a coffee table. It looked cozy, and I wanted to curl up there with a book to forget about everything that was happening in my life.
I walked along one shelf, letting my fingers play over the spines. Most of the covers were cloth. It looked like a lot of first editions and rare books, impossible to find anywhere else.
I’d been to Nylah’s library a few times, and I had a small collection of books in the bookcase in my room, but this was spectacular. I’d never seen so many books in one room in my life.
I walked along one shelf and picked a book to read that I’d never heard of before. I ran my fingers over the cover, tracing the dim letters that had been worn away with years of use.
The couches were as comfortable as they looked, and I sank into the cushions with a sigh. I opened the book and started reading. I let the story transport me to another world.
“Ellie?”
Ren’s voice was right next to me, and I jumped. I twisted in the seat. Ren stood a short distance away, looking apologetic.
