Page 130 of A War of Three Kings

We could easily kill those guards, kill the academic, then disappear through the portal, but I am loath to harm people just doing their job and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I glance back at Keira and know I would do it anyway.

Before I have the chance to grab him, the druid slips out of the aisle and walks down the passage. If he betrays us, I am going to be livid.

I use hand motions to give silent orders to Zinnia and Silvan to erect the invisibility wards around us once more, and we step out of the aisle as a group. I need to see what is happening. To be able to react immediately.

“Give him a chance,” Keira breathes in my ear.

It takes everything within me to prevent myself from launching into the attack. She has the command here, not me.

The academic stands before the portal we opened, his short, flabby arms waving rapidly in multiple directions. “I was on the top level, up there. I had fallen asleep on my notes and a bright light woke me. The entire portal was glowing intensely,” he says in a frantic rush while the guards scratch their heads. “I swear it. The portal opened!”

My heart hammers and my fingers itch for my sword.

“I thought these portals were broken,” one guard provides.

They all turn toward the clicking of Murdoc’s footsteps down the walkway as he approaches them. It feels like they see right through our ward, staring in our direction, but none of them react to our presence.

“Druid Murdoc.” The head guard tips his head toward the stressed academic. “What do you have to say on this?”

“The portals are broken. They were damaged during the Great War and not even the fae could open them,” the druid scoffs. A hot wave of relief crashes over me. “Perhaps you should get more sleep, Stevenson. Preferably not in the library.”

“Then what did I see? You can’t say it was nothing!” The little man puffs himself up with anger.

Murdoc lets out a long-suffering sigh. “I was simply practicing a magic wield described in a text I was reading and it got away from me. The power unraveled in a flash of light. No monsters or fae are lurking in this library.” The druid pulls a guard aside, deeper into the library toward us. “If you could escort Stevenson to his rooms personally, it would be appreciated. The man has stopped taking his medication, and this isn’t the first time he has hallucinated. I want him seen safely to his bed. You may need to get a little forceful.”

Murdoc leads the guards away while the academic continues to protest. Niall lets out a long, harsh breath that I feel in my bones. Keira gives me a mischievous pinch and a knowing glance. I don’t have to kill anyone for her this night.

With painstaking slowness, we creep back to the portal, carrying our prize. We pass through it, leaving Niall behind in the palace, then close it after us.

Edmund pushes himself off the wall and stalks straight for us. “What happened? Were you seen?” he barks.

Drake and Klara both fall to the ground, laughing in uncontrolled hysterics. She slaps his arm. “I thought this idiot was going to give us away. I think that is the longest he has ever gone without talking.”

“It was a damned struggle,” Drake manages. “Especially when that druid turned up. I was ready to strangle him. You didn’t help, Klara. You were literally shaking with silent laughter.”

Keira breaks out into giggles while Zinnia gives them all death stares. “That bastard saw through my ward. How did he do it? I don’t like it.”

Edmund looks at us as though we have gone mad. Perhaps we have.

“It was a close call, but we got the books and scrolls,” I tell him.

“Which druid discovered you? Why didn’t you take care of him?” Edmund’s gaze burns into me.

Keira steps forward. “Druid Murdoc?—”

“Druid Murdoc discovered you? And you let him go?” Edmund grinds out, clearly trying to keep a rein on his temper.

“Oh, I considered ending him.” I grin at Edmund. “But I didn’t need to kill the man. It turns out he wants Niall to become king.”

Chapter 35

Keira

Ienter the war room with a huge yawn cracking my face and a steaming mug of coffee in my hand. The musty scent of old parchment immediately hits me, as dozens of the tomes and scrolls we stole last night are spread out across the table.

Only my father glances up from the pile. Caitlin, Lynna and my grandmother are all immersed in Living Memory Scrolls. Bradford and Tomas argue over a passage in a book. Diarmuid sits there, lost in thought, a tome open in his lap.

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