Page 161 of Librarian

Now, if the pain of losing any of them didn’t kill me, returning to that empty existence certainly would. And without the Arcanaeum…

Dakari’s hand tilts my lips to his and claims them in a kiss. “If the worst comes to pass, you have people. Eddy, Hopkinson, Westley…You wouldn’t be alone.”

My heart thumps hollowly as I kiss him back. It’s not the same, and he knows it.

“Before I became Librarian, I thought I knew what love was,” I mumble, when he releases me. “But whatever destruction Edmund’s betrayal wrought on my soul would be nothing compared to the devastation of losing any of you. Maybe it would be better to just…close. Call this off.”

“No.” He’s unyielding. “You have a solid plan. Don’t doubt yourself now.”

I ease from his grip and look back at the blade. “Then we need to move up the timescale.”

I’d planned to wait weeks, initiating a slow ‘breakdown’ of the Arcanaeum. That’s not possible if I can’t open and close without risking the dagger.

I need to work on the spells to destroy Mathias’s phylactery and funnel his power into the Library, and then we need something big. Something that will make the lich stand up and take notice.

Something that will play on his overconfidence and bring him rushing to claim victory.

I swallow and meet his eyes again. “How do you feel about causing another earthquake?”

Forty-Five

Lambert

“You all right?” North asks as we step back into the Arcanaeum.

No. Not really.

Not only did my dad know that I had a brother, he chose to keep it from me because he thought I’d get caught up in the same curse that took Mom from us. Then, to make matters worse, he now refuses to move somewhere safe while the world is falling apart.

I love the man, but honestly, sometimes…

“You set all those wards,” North reminds me, grabbing my shoulder. “He’ll be fine.” A pause. “Bertie.”

“Urgh.” I pin him with my best unimpressed look. “What’s it going to take for you to keep that name to yourself?”

He grins back at me. “Not. A. Chance.”

“I’ll open a door into Antarctica and push you through it.”

“There you are.” Leo’s voice crashes through our banter. “Come on. There’s been a development.”

I don’t even notice my hand going to my pocket until I touch the paper there. I force myself to leave it alone as I turn to face him. He strides down the hall towards us with a gloomy expression on his face.

Not good.

“What’s wrong?” North really needs to work on his negativity bias, but from Leo’s expression, he’s not entirely off base.

Leo’s grimoire slips free of his holster, and he casts a ward against eavesdropping before he admits. “The dagger broke again when she opened the Library this morning. Dakari’s distracting her, but the plan has been moved forward.”

My heart falls. “You mean…”

“We need to do more damage to the Arcanaeum.” North looks as repulsed by the idea as I feel.

That’s part of the reason why I went to go and check on my dad this morning. The other reason is shoved into my pocket with the paper.

I want to believe that the Library is just…sleeping. Tired.

If I start breaking walls and blocking toilets with the rest of them, it feels a little too much like assaulting the building while it’s down. I know it would probably understand, but…