Page 20 of Librarian

“Thank you,” I grate out.

“But I’m only doing it because I respect the Librarian. When this latest shitshow is over, I’m retiring.”

“Whatever.”

He threatens to quit every time something doesn’t go his way. I’m not surprised he’s doing it now. The truth is, he’d rather die than give up his position.

Thank magic, because I don’t have time to deal with that shite.

I don’t even bother to go outside before casting the transport spell.

The bracing windthat hits me on my return to Orkney is a relief after the stifling heat of Ó Rinn manor.

“Done?” North asks, leaning against the wall of Fort McKinley.

“Done,” I confirm, then pause. His clipped tone didn’t invite questions, but we’ve got to work together for this. “Is everyone…”

“Ready to go. Well, except Eddy. Even she had to admit that going into battle without her grimoire was a dumb move.”

His relief is palpable. I get that. Eddy has been through enough already.

I trail behind him as he leads us in the opposite direction to the castle. The McKinleys have retreated behind their wards. It would undermine all of their protections if we were to open a door to the Arcanaeum straight from their stronghold.

Our destination is a small brick-built substation just down the road. The others are waiting for us by the green metal door. Instinctively, I search for Lambert, but the tags painted all over the building must be fascinating, because he’s too busy studying them to meet my eyes.

I’ve got to fix this.

He’s not going to listen to a word I have to say until we rescue Kyrith. Fair. But afterwards I need to explain…to apologise properly.

Everything I did, I did to save them both. To save my family. Yeah, I went too far. I betrayed them and everything I cared about for nothing. I’m a hardheaded eejit for not seeing it sooner, but it’s amazing the clarity that more than two hours of sleep and a broken ensorcellment can bring. I banjaxed everything, ignored all their good advice, and trampled their hearts in my attempt to avoid what happened with my parents. If I could go back and make myself stop, I would.

I have to believe they can forgive me. I’ll do whatever it takes to earn that trust back.

“Onvosobli,” Dakari says, and the invisibility spell wraps around both of us.

“Anditi tebli solinci,” I add, casting as well.

The two of us will stay out of sight while the other three pretend to go to class. It’ll take some heavy magic. The lich will see through anything less.

Even our best might not be good enough, but if we can keep out of his way, we can focus on finding Kyrith.

“Ad Arcanaeum,” Jasper says, knocking brusquely.

I hold my breath, half expecting the incantation to fail again.

It doesn’t. The door swings wide, opening into the foyer, and my heart sinks through the soles of my feet as we step through.

There’s no colour. Just a dozen plain black doors in the now monochrome entry room, each opening every few seconds toadmit another patron. It’s packed. The reason for that becomes painfully clear a few steps into whatwasBotanical Hall.

No stained-glass windows.

No hanging plants.

No books flying between shelves.

The floor is that bland grey linoleum that belongs in high schools and hospitals, and the shelves are…uniform, perfectly straight and devoid of the scrolling carved details I’m used to. I never realised just how unique each one of their predecessors were, but it’s painfully obvious now. The balcony above is no longer made of wood, but chrome and glass.

Every shuffling step forward strengthens the empty ache of loss swelling behind my sternum.