Chapter 41 Unstable World
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
UNSTABLE WORLD
ADELINE
We’re inside the sanctum. A library inside a library, inside a library. The impossibility of it is screwing with my mind.
If only that were everything…
Roane stalks after me, exuding heat and light. The ring on his finger seems to pulse with a white glow, while he’s all shadows and golden glimmers.
The books whisper and shift on their shelves and in their niches. Slender chains clink and drag. It feels like… an aviary. I’d seen one at the royal palace, full of small birds flitting here and there, their wings fluttering.
Pages fluttering, as it turns out, sound quite similar, and the sense of this being a prison lingers.
However, these aren’t songbirds; they are dangerous portals into alternate worlds, I remind myself. No matter what Roane and his friends think, I’m able to grasp the concept. I may be reckless sometimes, but I do realize the hazard.
I’m aware. I won’t ever forget the serpent slipping out of Olm’s book and attacking us. That was a wake-up call, for sure.
Roane’s presence at my back is comforting. I smooth my hands over my bodice, over the gems and embroidery, then down over the tulle of the skirt. The dress he chose for me.
“You’re the kind of girl who should always dress in silk and gems.”
The stupid smile won’t leave my face. His taste lingers on my tongue. The memory of his mouth on mine, his hands possessively gripping me, the feel of his arousal pressed to my body, those moments stay with me, wrecking my train of thought.
Then I spot the lectern with the Book of Areon and I hurry up the dais steps to gaze at it. It’s still open on those two pages I glanced at last time.
Roane follows me up onto the dais. “Remember not to touch it. You’re not allowed to read that book. Come, let’s go.”
“You’ve never leafed through it?”
“No, and neither should you.”
“Are you saying this world may crumble if I undo the binding and read one more page?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you speak from experience. What happened when you touched it?” I reach for it and he grabs my hand.
“Why the fuck do you have to touch everything I tell you not to touch?” he snarls. “I swear, you’ll be the death of me.”
I turn to face him and what I see in his eyes… is stark fear. It stops me in my tracks. “What happened when you touched it, Roane?”
“You really want to know?” The fear shifts back into anger. “I almost fucking died. This book… it’s the fucking foundation of this world. So go ahead and ignore my warnings, make light of them. Who cares, right?”
Chastised, I bow my head and sigh. “Sorry. I promise I won’t touch it. What about the other magical books? Am I allowed to read them?”
“This isn’t a place of leisure,” he snaps, not appeased. “These books are dangerous.”
“So you’ve said many times. But we need answers.”
He gives me an exasperated look. “To what?”
“To what ails this world.”
“Nothing ails this world.”
I rub my hands over my face. He’s insulted. I didn’t mean to hurt him, to imply he’s botching his job as a librarian, but…
“Are you doing anything different from the previous librarians? I’d like to see their journals. Those can’t be dangerous, can they?”
“Be my guest.” His anger lingers, evidenced by his stiff back and brusque movements as he climbs down the steps, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along. “They aren’t shelved far from here.”
I follow him, skipping to keep up, his grip on my wrist bruising. An apology quivers on the tip of my tongue, but then I’m distracted by a heap of masonry.
A wall of the library has collapsed, shelves and books and all.
“What happened here?” I breathe.
He’s silent, coming to a stop.
“Does it have to do with the crash we heard and the pieces breaking off the columns earlier?”
“It’s an unstable world.”
“Is it?” Yanking my wrist free of his grip, I walk over the rubble and lift a book. The fine chains it was bound with slither off and fall. The pages vibrate.
“Give it here right now!” he roars, leaping after me. “Give it to me…” He staggers backward, face pale, and presses a hand to his head. “Fuck…”
My heart starts to pound. I place the book down. “Roane. What’s the matter?”
His lips peel back and he lets his hand fall to his side. “Don’t worry about me. We should get out of here.”
“And the journals?”
“Of course. The clues and answers. That’s all that matters to you.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “That’s not fair. I’m trying to help.”
“You can’t fucking help!” he shouts. “It’s all falling apart.”
Anger is born from pain, Naida always said, mostly when faced with my teenage tantrums, but I don’t know how to help Roane when he won’t tell me what is going on and refuses any help.
I don’t know what to do.
But a growl fills the sanctum, echoing off the walls, and then comes the sound of nails clicking on the floor. A large quadruped shadow appears behind Roane, and he turns to face his lioness friend.
“Druna! Where have you been?” His voice drops. “Why are you covered in… is that fucking blood?”
My heart drops to my toes. She’s smeared in dark crimson and her muzzle is coated in it.
“It’s Talton,” she says grimly. “He was taken.”