Page 39 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

It was the scale.

The problem, however, lay in the ten or so weights scattered on the shelf below it. It was impossible to tell which one—or ones—belonged on the scale to trigger the mechanism. The weights bore no fingerprints or clean spots to provide clues, and I suspected they were often rearranged.

Sure, I could try each of them, but the challenge of solving it on the first attempt was far more appealing.

Inspecting the scale closely, I noticed words engraved on its base. To my disappointment, they were in Latin.

“Can you translate this for me?” I asked, not bothering to turn around even when I heard him shift closer.

“Quod stella lucet in Aquila?” he murmured, his breath brushing my neck and sending a faint tingle over my skin. Then, in a whisper, he continued, “Which star shines brightest in the Aquila constellation?”

I’d always wondered why the school was named after a constellation, which had prompted me to dig into its history. That curiosity was now proving to be rather useful.

I picked up one of the weights for a closer look. Engraved on its bottom was a name, much like the inscription on the scale. This weight bore the nameLibertas. Placing it back, I searched for the one I needed.

“The Aquila constellation contains eight main stars, but Altair is the brightest. It’s also known as the Eagle Star,” I said confidently. I returned the black tourmaline to its original place and carefully placed the weight labelledAltairon the opposite side of the scale.

A clicking sound echoed immediately.

I tugged on the bookshelf, and it swung open to reveal a staircase descending into darkness, ending at an old wooden door.

Triumphant laughter escaped me.

I’d solved it. Well, it wasn’t particularly difficult, but still, I’d solved it.

Archer smiled faintly before he reset the mechanism, returning the weight to its rightful place and pulling the secret door shut behind us. He locked it from the inside, muttering, “We don’t want unwanted guests.”

Then he strode down the stairs, the only source of light from the candle he carried. I followed him closely, unwilling to risk walk the steep, narrow steps in total darkness.

When we reached the bottom, I saw that the wooden door had a pentacle carved into its surface, encircled by a ring.

Archer reached beneath his shirt to retrieve the necklace he always wore. Its pendant, tucked out of sight until now, held the key to the door.

He unlocked it smoothly and pushed it open, turning to face me with a smirk.

“Welcome to the hideout—the safest place in Aquila Hall.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DOROTHEE

I caughta glimpse of the room that lay within as the old door cracked open, and my breath caught in my throat. The hideout wasn’t particularly big, slightly smaller than the dorm rooms. An elegant oval wooden table with a large candlestick in the middle stood in the centre. There were six chairs around it, and at the very end, there were two familiar faces whose eyes wandered to us as soon as we walked in.

The delicate makeup on Maisie was scattered around her eyes, and the mascara was running down her cheeks in tear-soaked streaks. She sat in the chair at the end of the table next to a fireplace, and Nathaniel was kneeling in front of her, her hands held firmly in his own.

Nathaniel straightened when his gaze met mine, recognising who the person next to his friend was. His hands left his girlfriend’s, and she wiped away her tears, only for more makeup to paint her cheeks.

Before I was able to react, Nathaniel rushed past me and grabbed Archer by the hem of his shirt, slamming him against the nearest wall. A gasp escaped me, but I didn’t interfere. I didn’t know much about Archer and Nathaniel, so I didn’t wantto join their fight. They could very well settle their dispute among themselves.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind, bringing her here?” Nathaniel practically spat in his face. His expression was a mixture of anger and…panic.

My cheeks burned in guilt as Archer had to face his friend’s wrath because of me. If I had known I was this unwelcome, I wouldn’t have followed him.

“I had no other choice,” Archer answered calmly, but his eyebrow twitched for a moment, as if he was questioning himself.

“We talked about this, and we all agreed that we wouldn't ever think about dragging her into this fucked-up world. But no, the little Kingstone heir never does what anyone tells him.” Nathaniel released his friend by pushing him against the wall once more. “If you don’t give me any good reason why you had to risk everything by showing a De Loughrey our world within the next ten seconds, I swear—”

“They tried to kill her,” Archer hissed at him, his voice lowering when the sound of a key switching the door open echoed through the room.

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