Chapter 31
Imani had never seen a library quite like the dwarves’ collection. She wasn’t particularly well-versed in the libraries of the realm, but she’d seen a few of the more impressive ones, and this one was something special.
Joy swelled inside her at the rare manuscripts and books, whole shelves of them—entire, beautiful shelves—filled with magical knowledge for her to absorb. One of these held the answers to where the book on the wand was. Maybe one of these was the book on the Drasil.
She lifted one down with more reverence than she’d ever felt for the sacred texts that Ara had kept inside her trunk, blew off the dust, and began to read.
Some time passed before a shadow stood over her. It sent her own scattering toward the corners of the room.
She knew only one person who had that effect, and since she was alone in the library, it was easy to guess. She didn’t look up from the papers strewn about. “Kiran. Good afternoon.”
“Imani,” Kiran replied in greeting.
Plopping down next to her, he propped his head on his hand and stared at her for a few long moments, assessing her. “You look beautiful today … as usual,” he whispered.
“Flattery like that will get you nowhere with me. You should know better,” Imani tsked. “You want something.”
Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and he twirled a piece around his finger, giving her a small, lopsided grin.
She looked down her nose at him. “What do you want?”
“Right,” he said, clapping his hands together loud enough to make Imani jump in her chair. “I’m here because I want to steal something, and I need your help to do it. Well, I need your magic.”
Blinking at him, Imani felt that tiny little shift in their relationship again—he was starting to trust her, to bring her into his world. But he was also using her for her magic again. She didn’t know what to think.
“Is that so? What’s the deal then?”
He threaded his hands through her hair as he leaned closer, cradling her head. “I have something you want, aomagho ruya,” he murmured in her ear, giving her a soft kiss there.
Taken aback, Imani pushed him away slightly and studied his face. “And what is that exactly?”
“A book on bloodlines. A very old book in Elvish.” He sat back and crossed his arms across his broad chest, still smiling as if he knew all her secrets. “Now, don’t you want to know why I want your help?”
“Fine. Why do you want my help?” Imani deadpanned, more curious—and a little nervous—that he knew she wanted the book on ancient bloodlines that Tanyl had gotten rid of before she could read it.
She knew there was more in the book than Tanyl had assumed—she felt it in her bones.
That was dangerous knowledge for Kiran to possess.
“I need your shadows to unlock a door for me. Those shadows of yours are quite handy in getting past wards and locked doors.”
Imani sat back and mirrored his stance. Her breasts pushed up as she crossed her arms, and his eyes flicked down there and back up again so fast she almost didn’t catch it.
“And, pray tell, what door does the almighty First Witch need little old me to unlock?” she asked sweetly.
“The high sentinel’s.”
Imani’s stomach dropped. She shook her head. “No. That’s a bad idea, Kiran. I can’t help you with that.” She needed more time in the library. If they were caught, they’d be exiled immediately.
“You must not want this book all that much,” he hit back smoothly.
“Why don’t you just order me to help you?”
The smug look on his face grated on her. “I’d rather make a deal than strongarm you, my darling.” With a dramatic sigh, he flicked his wand once, conjuring something.
A book dropped heavily onto the table. It was tattered and thick, and a small puff of dust blew up as it settled on the wood. The title made her mouth go dry. He really did have it.
A History of Royal Bloodlines.
Imani couldn’t hide her surprise. Her mouth fell open.
She reached out and delicately ran her trembling hands over the lettering.
“How …? How did you know I wanted to read this book? And where did you find it?” It terrified her that he had this and was giving it to her. Did he know about the Drasil?
“Tanyl,” he replied. “He admitted your crime while trying to convince my brother and me to pass you over for the assessments. Said you were caught stealing from the master library, and when I casually inquired what you stole, he admitted it.”
She clenched her hands. “Did he tell you why I’ve been looking for this book?”
“No, but if I had to guess, it would be because you’re researching slips and doorways.”
As usual, the man was too smart for his own good.
Imani canted her head to the side. “How would you know that?”
“Because I read it.” He rolled his eyes. “And gods, it was beyond boring. That was the only interesting part—I figured you would agree, too.”
A moment of tense silence passed over them.
Eventually, Kiran reached out for her hand, twining their fingers together.
He didn’t seem bothered by her missing ones.
“You didn’t have the same education as most witches with your power.
I understand your desire to learn more. It’s not a crime, although it was smart of you to keep your curiosity about doorways and slips to yourself.
There are more books I can let you borrow on the subject, if you agree to help me. ”
Imani studied his eyes closely. He wanted her to help him badly, and she didn’t detect any evasiveness or lies in his answer or face.
She didn’t claim to be an expert at reading the elf prince—he was a master liar—though she was getting better at recognizing his tells, like the slight narrowing of his eyes or the flip of his hair off his face …
and she didn’t think he knew about the wand.
“Well, now you know one of my secrets. What about you? What are you stealing from the dwarves’ high sentinel?”
She didn’t expect an answer. He surprised her.
“The locations of all the slips in the dwarves’ territory.”
Imani could only blink, shocked he would be honest with her. “Why?”
“Now, that’s a bit too much information for our little heist. But rest assured, the documents mapping them out are of the utmost importance.”
There it was—him shutting her out again. But he’d given her more than she’d expected. Plus, the book was worth it. All she had to do was unlock a door, right?
Easy.
Kiran and Imani froze. Kiran grabbed her arm and tugged her behind him slightly. She almost growled at his overprotectiveness but bit her lip to be quiet.
Seeing the high sentinel sitting at his desk when they padded into his office was a surprise. He was a hard-looking man with a soft-spoken nature. For a moment, the three of them simply stared at each other. The large clock ticked ominously in the room.
The high sentinel leaned back, his wand suddenly in his hand with a confused look on his face. “This is a private room, as you could see by the locked door and the defensive wards I placed. What are guests of Eto doing in my personal office at”—he turned to check the time—“midnight.”
Kiran kept Imani firmly in place behind him, his own wand out and ready.
He gave the high sentinel a crooked, secretive grin and raised his brows.
“Well! If you must know, we are on the hunt for some information—information I know you happen to have in this very office.” He paused. “Maybe we can make a deal.”
All the high sentinel did was arch a brow. “I’ve heard of your deals, Serpent Prince. I think I’ll call for my guards and remove you from the premises.”
“You have more slips than you’re reporting to the throne,” Kiran stated.
A mere narrowing of his eyes was all the high sentinel did. “And how would you possibly know that? What is your proof?”
“I don’t have proof.” Kiran stared at him coldly, unblinking. “That’s why I’m here, you idiot. I have good intel that a scouting party recently returned with interesting information that I know is locked in this office.”
“Well, you can’t have it. Gau—”
Kiran moved his wand, but Imani was faster. She’d moved directly in front of the high sentinel and leaned over, her hands on his legs so that she could look him in the eyes.
“You won’t be calling anyone,” she purred, that layer of glamour distorting her voice a little.
With his wand still outstretched, Kiran glared. “What are you doing?”
“Put your wand down. We don’t need it.” She shot him a sidelong glare of her own.
He scoffed but slipped it back up his sleeve.
As she ran her hands over the high sentinel’s face, he had a far-off, distant look as he reached to touch her. Imani wound her shadows around his arms, locking him to the chair. “Ah, none of that. No touching.”
She turned back to Kiran. “While I’m pleased to see you not immediately using me for my power, this will be far easier and more effective than anything you had planned.”
That book was hers, and she wasn’t giving up getting her hands on it because they couldn’t procure the information Kiran wanted.
Kiran’s clenched jaw was all the answer she needed.
She grinned and turned back to the high sentinel. He seemed to be fighting the magic, wiggling and blinking repeatedly, as if to clear his head.
Imani struck.
“Where are the maps of the slips in your territory?”
The sentinel darted a glance at his desk drawer but clamped his jaw shut against the magic.
Kiran ran his hands through his hair. “He has a heartmate,” he said to Imani. “That’s why I didn’t ask you to use your power. But the shadows are handy.”
“This magic is weak on me,” the high sentinel said through gritted teeth then grinned.
With a soft touch to Kiran’s arm, Imani leaned up, her mouth brushing his ear. “The maps are in a desk drawer somewhere, I’m certain.”
The prince seemed to relax visibly and nodded his agreement but still didn’t take his eyes off the male elf.
When Imani turned back to the high sentinel, he was more focused, but her shadows held him strong in the chair.
Kiran tapped the man’s knee, signaling Imani’s attention. “Your draw on him is fading. Keep him where he is, my love—I have other ways of getting resistant people to talk.”
The dwarf cleared his throat again but stammered, “If-if you or your heartmate—”
“If we what?” Kiran stood a little taller. He curled the fingers on his right hand while holding his wand in his left, pointing it straight at the elf.
The high sentinel writhed in the chair, suddenly gasping. His mouth hung open, and his skin grew redder with each passing second.
Is Kiran choking him somehow? She stood stock-still, unsure of what to do. If Kiran wanted to kill this man, she wouldn’t stop him. But she hoped he wouldn’t. Unlike her killing the common female elf, the messy fallout from a high sentinel murder would be a political nightmare.
“I’m learning that I don’t react well when my heartmate is threatened,” Kiran said matter-of-factly at the dwarf again.
“Your Highness, please,” the dwarf choked. “I’ll give you the papers.”
Imani’s eyes sparkled as she finally found a stack of papers mentioning exactly what they needed—several clearly drawn maps with slips clearly marked across the mountain. They weren’t in a drawer, but instead right on the desk.
“Stop playing around. You’re killing him,” Imani muttered, pushing Kiran to move away from her so she could grab the papers.
She gasped as a wall of power from the high sentinel slammed into her, and it took all she had to keep the shadows locked around him.
“Dammit! He’s almost free of the shadows,” she ground out, trying to keep him restrained a little longer.
High sentinels were strong, and she was still learning to master her shadows.
“What was that?” Kiran asked, ignoring Imani. “I couldn’t quite hear you. Where are they?”
The sentinel slammed his fist onto the desk, wand in hand. He was going to retaliate, still fighting even Kiran’s magic. Imani couldn’t hold him much longer. She could call more darkness forward, but she couldn’t risk letting someone see her true dark magic unleashed. Or risk killing him.
Her patience broke. “Get out of my way, Kiran,” she snapped.
There was a more straightforward solution to this mess, one that she’d learned from her years of collecting.
Imani shouldered around the prince and aimed her wand at the dwarf. Magic blasted through his kneecap. Bone crunched and blood splattered as he howled in agonizing pain.
She ignored the moans to grab the papers on the desk, snatching them up like lightning. Once the maps were firmly in her hand, she stepped over his leg and marched to the door.
The prince stood staring at her with a look of confusion and contemplation, like he was working something out in his mind, but Imani didn’t have time for it.
“Stop standing there,” she growled at Kiran, irritated at his inability to accept her help. “Perform a memory spell and let’s get out of here.”
Kiran nodded, his face serious. Although she didn’t miss the tiny glint of amusement he gave her as he murmured a memory spell.
The dwarf’s eyes went slack.