Page 33 of Librarian

“I was angry, so what?”

“Regret,” Benny corrects. “The sum of your actions hit you, and you realised that everything you’ve done has led you down a path that darkened so gradually you didn’t see what was coming for you until it was too late. There are only two options for you now: die, and in doing so allow them to win, or get your revenge by living your life to the full, rejecting all that they taught you.”

Anthea’s mouth shifts, something in her expression turning scornful. “Or I could use what they taught me to utterly destroy them.”

I roll my eyes at the ridiculousness of that statement. She’s not smart enough.

“Bold, but fruitless.” Benny stands. “You know, deep down, that you lack both the power and the skill to overcome either of them by yourself. It would be suicidal to try.”

The last thing we need is a rogue Anthea running around, giving our mother and Mathias a scapegoat on which to pin all their transgressions.

“Consider my offer.” Benny leaves the brown leather book on the stool, just out of her reach. “But don’t take too long.”

His warning echoes through the dungeon, but he’s already gone.

“Ugh. Arrogant son of a—! Why should I trust him?” she demands. “He?—”

“Think about your next words,” I warn. “He’s trying to save your life right now. Doesn’t that count for something?”

She makes a face. “I asked you to save my life before, and you didn’t care then, so don’t pretend like you do now.”

“If our places were reversed, you wouldn’t have believed me either.”

“I would’ve at least looked into what Mother had planned for you.”

An apology lingers on the tip of my tongue, but I bite it back. I had no reason to trust her before, and that hasn’t changed. Besides, she’s lying. She’d never have questioned Isidora.

With a final glare that tells her I’m not falling for her bullshit, I turn and jog after Benny.

When I catch up to him, I can’t help but ask, “Is that why you’re doing this? Revenge?”

He chuckles under his breath. “No. But I doubt redemption would’ve motivated her quite so well.”

Eleven

Kyrith

“Take your time, lass.”

His patience only adds to my frustration.

“This is ridiculous.”

“Naw, you’re allowed to be nervous.”

My grip on Jasper’s hand is so tense I fear I might snap his bones, but it’s entirely due to the wind and the slippery stone beneath my feet.

It has nothing to do with nerves. Or that car over there. Or that tree.

Oh, who am I kidding? The world looks so alien, and right now, I want nothing more than to go back to my Library and never leave.

At least, after a few days of rest, I’m no longer draining them like I was, and if Idobreak his hand, the McKinleys can heal that easily enough.

“I was ready to run out into Amsterdam without issue.” I stare at the windswept yard before me. “This is nothing.”

The clan is using the central yard as a car park, and the fleet of coloured vehicles judges me silently as I hover in the doorway. They look so much bigger in person. Smellier, too, if the old van pumping out black smoke to my right is any indication.

There’s a chill in the air that burns my nostrils on each inhale, and in the distance, two women are berating someone loudly enough that if I cared to, I could make out every word.