Chapter 17
Seventeen
Kyrith
The Arcanaeum manages to finish the sketch just as he bolts out of the chair.
“What the feck is this?” he demands.
I don’t think he really wants an answer, so I stay silent. Leo is smart enough to know about degeneration. Clever enough to put the pieces together.
Lambert opens his mouth to say something, and I do my best to silence him with a quelling glare before he finds himself on the receiving end of Leo’s emotional outbursts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work.
“Dude, it’s okay. I mean, yeah, it’s a little more complicated than we thought it would be, but Kyrith’s already copied it down. I’m sure when you two nerds put your heads together, you’ll figure it out, just like you did with the last one.”
I brace for Leo’s answering outburst, but it never comes. The ó Rinn heir takes a deep breath, then deliberately unclenches his jaw before jerking his head down.
“We’re already one step closer than anyone has ever been to getting rid of this thing,” he finally says. “Thank you, Kyrie.”
Warmth creeps up my neck to my cheeks, and I turn away. “It was nothing.”
“It wasn’t,” Lambert corrects. “She burned her hands—badly—and she collapsed after. She needs to eat something before she does anything else.”
Leo’s gaze dips, and his disquiet is plain in the ticking of the muscle above his jaw as he looks at the reddened skin of my palms.
“Feck. We should cancel your tutoring—”
“Hardly necessary.” I push to my feet at last, ignoring the way Lambert shifts to shadow me in case I fall a second time. “I am perfectly all right.”
Much better now that Storm Leo has apparently been averted.
He kept his promise, I realise. Things have undeniably taken a turn for the worse, and yet his temper is leashed. A warm glow takes up residence behind my ribs, and I automatically reach for the diagram the Arcanaeum drew.
“Boss.” Lambert hesitates, then powers through the quelling glare I level at him. “At least sit down and eat. We need to start with some theory first, right?”
The huff of annoyance that escapes me as I fall back into my ghost form is long and drawn out. It lingers in the air as I wave a hand at the little sleeping nook, dismissing it so there’s nothing left to hint at the…cuddling incident.
“Lambert, I am old enough to know my limits and how to respect them. If I say I am fine, I mean it. Now come and don’t dawdle.
Mr ó Rinn, please put your shirt on. The rules…
” Oh, wait. Technically, there are no rules about patrons being properly attired.
“Well, never mind what the rules say. This is a respectable establishment.”
I really should add it to the list of rules… But… Well…
Oh, for magic’s sake. I just like looking at pretty heirs. Wait. No. Men. All men. Not just heirs. I’m sure there are other attractive men out there… They just don’t frequent the Library as often as they ought to.
I am not fixated on the heirs.
Leo smirks as he fetches his shirt, redressing as Lambert offers me a knowing look. Wisely, however, they both keep schtum about the matter as I lead them downstairs.
“So, this is good, right?” Lambert starts. “You should take tomorrow off to celebrate. Or at least tonight. We can grab a movie! Or maybe—”
“No time.” Leo dismisses the idea. “I need to start work on the next runeform. All of this progress is useless if we can’t finish what we started.”
“It was a success,” Lambert insists as we join North at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey, dude, Leo’s curse is one step closer to being broken.”
At some point, Eddy joined her twin, and she beams at the news.
North lifts his chin in Leo’s direction, which is probably as close to a congratulations as he’ll give. “Cool. The others turned up while you were occupied, but I redirected them to the study nook.”
“And Pierce?”
North shrugs. “Late, I guess.”
“Maybe he won’t come,” Eddy adds helpfully.
I misstep, though it’s thankfully less noticeable in this form. Being late is so unlike the Carlton heir that I instinctively do a sweep of the Arcanaeum, in case he’s up to some mischief.
No sign of him.
Interesting.
I assumed he’d be here. Why show us Mathias meeting with his mother and then just disappear? Pierce, for all his superciliousness, fits the mould of adept heir perfectly. I’ve met dozens of versions of him across the years, and they all delight in playing their power games.
He wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to steal the pendant, manipulate the enchantment, and then risk discovery by wearing it to meet Mathias, if it wasn’t to gain something out of it.
As if in answer to my thoughts, a black door swings open, admitting the man in question into the bathroom several halls away, of all places.
Did the Arcanaeum do that on purpose? The smug creak of the hammer beams makes me suspect it did.
“Can you direct everyone to the Eastern Garden?” I ask it quietly. “We’ll meet them by the door.”
A book on the table beside us flaps once in answer, then zooms off into the halls.
“Are we finally going to see the secret garden?” Lambert asks, practically skipping at the idea.
“One of them.”
“There were four, right?” North asks, surprising me. At my suspicious look, he shrugs. “It was in the blueprints I studied when I was trying to steal that fucking book.”
Eddy elbows her twin. “Did you ever apologise for that?”
The memory of North on his knees and the dark reluctant way he offered that apology lingers between us as our eyes connect. A whisper of a dare flashes through his expression so briefly I might’ve imagined it, but I know I didn’t.
“He did.” I clear my throat. “There were four quads, yes. Originally, they were simply gravel and grass. I…improved them, but they’re unsafe for patrons thanks to the mist, so they remain closed. I would not recommend trying to access any of them without me.”
They’ve become accustomed to crossing the parapet, but still, it only takes one distraction for them to end up mindless and raving.
Unfortunately, someone chooses that moment to ring the bell in the Rotunda, and I groan.
“One second, someone’s at the desk.”
Thankfully, it’s a familiar group of patrons waiting for me. After hurriedly helping the elderly sisters find several options for their book club next month, I pop back to Kinetic Hall.
Eddy, North, Leo, and Lambert are already gathered by the small blank section of wainscoting at the far end.
The only indication of what lies beyond is the slightly larger than usual window—the glass stained to hide the effect of the mist. As I reach forward, the illusion falls away.
The runeform in the glass pulses once before it dissipates.
A brass handle solidifies under my hand just as Dakari and Jasper round the corner.
Pierce arrives from the opposite direction a moment later, but I don’t trust the way his eyes have lit up at the sight of the door.
Evidently, neither does Dakari, because he puts himself between me and the Carlton heir.
Chivalrous, but unhelpful in this case.
“I was just reminding the others to avoid looking at the mist.” I aim the words in Pierce’s direction since he alone has yet to actually encounter it. “And that this part of the Arcanaeum remains off-limits unless you’re with me, for your own safety.”
There it is again, the tiny glint in his grey irises that has me mentally reviewing every locking spell I know as I turn the handle.
The garden hasn’t changed much. Previously, the centre was dominated by a huge fountain tribute to the Erinyes, but I did away with that to create the glass and metal solarium that now stands there.
I’ve even managed to convince tangerine roses to bloom around the edges, and the picky flowers are fiendishly difficult to grow in the mist.
The metal is a glossy black. The glass is stained in rich jewel tones, and I worked hard to make the structure blend with the existing architecture.
The result is beautiful. Some of my best work. I ghost ahead, opening the door to give me an excuse to look back and take in their expressions.
Leo is too busy poking at his chest through his jumper and looking into space to really appreciate my work. Dakari is only interested in me, his dark eyes tracking my every move, and Pierce is more interested in the stone walls and the mist, even though I expressly told him not to look at it.
Oh well. No great loss if he loses his sanity, I suppose.
“There’s no way we’re all fitting in there,” North grumbles, picking his way between the hundreds of pots that line the path. “I’ve seen bigger closets.”
Thankfully for my ego, Jasper and Eddy’s awe is open and unashamed. The McKinley heir even pauses when he passes an orchid of ease, the black blooms hanging down in great clumps from the pot by the door.
“Is that…?” he trails off. “Naw. Not here, surely?”
“It is.” I smile. “And you shouldn’t get too close.”
The plant produces pollen that will kill a man in seconds, but the sap can be distilled and used to treat all manner of anxious and depressive conditions.
On second thoughts, perhaps I should move it to a different courtyard for safety.
Orchid pollen may be dependent on pollinators rather than air dispersal, but the potential for tragedy is still there…
He gives it one last look before entering the solarium after Dakari. That leaves only…
“Pierce.” I tut. “I don’t have all day.”
The Carlton heir snaps around like I’ve struck him, then strides towards the door, lingering in front of me for a second, like he might say something.
At some point, we need to discuss what he showed us on the projector. I tug at my sleeve, debating how to bring it up, but he disappears inside, and the moment is lost.
It can wait until after tutoring, I console myself, as I shut the door behind us. I’ll have to corner him alone. Having the others there won’t make him any more forthcoming, and I’d rather find out what he knows without all the bickering that comes when they’re together.