Page 54 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

“Samhain is a cruel holiday when you’re forced to spend it at Aquila. They have power over us, and it doesn’t matter how strong-minded we are, they can mess with our heads as much as they like because Samhain is the night of the dead.”

I hadn’t noticed that Archer had his hand at the base of my spine, guiding me back to Ebony as the night slowly crept in.

“But why had she tried to drown me? And why did Alessandra try to lure me to death the way she had killed herself?” I pleaded, facing him.

We stopped walking, and all I could see in Archer’s eyes were the same questions I had, but none of them held an answer.

“I don’t know, but I have a theory that they’re trying to prevent history from repeating itself. Whatever happened with our great-uncle and aunt went deeper than just some accident.”

“But why would ending my life solve this problem?” It didn’t make sense to me. If I was supposed to die, and they wereattempting to change fate, then why was I supposed to meet the same fate that was already my destiny?

Archer looked like it physically pained him not to have an answer to give me in this moment, when I needed it most. I took a frustrated breath as panic made its way through my veins.

“I don’t want to die, Archer.”

He shook his head, his eyes hardening in a way that wasn’t meant to scare me off. “You won’t die, Dorothee. We’ve got this. We’ll find this damn book and all the lost memories of our bloodline. This isn’t our fate. I promise we’ll weave the strings of fate into a destiny of our own choosing, because this is our life.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

ARCHER

It’s alwaysa pleasure to be greeted by your friends—especially when they act all friendly and unbothered, as though they haven’t just broken into my room while I was with Dorothee at the graveyard all afternoon.

“Oh, darling, you’re home,” Jesse grinned sweetly at me from my bed, lying on his stomach with his feet kicking in the air like a teenage girl. His beloved notebook was laid open in front of him, and a pencil was tucked behind his ear, tangled in his brunette curls.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, irritation sharpening my voice at their blatant invasion of my privacy. It’s not as though I had any great secrets hidden in my room, but I still appreciated my personal space.

My gaze shifted to Nathaniel, who was seated in my armchair, surrounded by a dozen tarot decks spread across the coffee table. A few were even scattered on the floor and in his lap. He didn’t acknowledge my arrival, absorbed in the cards as though I were invisible.

Not bothering to wait for an explanation, I went to my wardrobe, searching for more comfortable clothes to change intoafter my much-needed shower, which I had been hoping to enjoy in peace.Alone.

“I’ve found information on the Book of Shadows,” Jesse said innocently, as if my life didn’t hang in the balance of locating that damn book.

Nathaniel’s head snapped up, a frown furrowing his brow. “You didn’t tell me that.”

Jesse shrugged. “I wanted to make a dramatic entrance with the news when Archer got back.”

“Stop acting as if this is just another one of our stupid, unimportant study meetings,” I hissed. “Dorothee’s life depends on this—hell, my life depends on this. Frankly, I’ve no intention of dying before I’m legally allowed to drink.”

Silence hung in the room as they stared at me, caught off guard by my outburst.

I rubbed my face with a sigh. “Sorry, Jesse. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just... a lot. Please, tell me what you’ve found.”

Jesse swung his legs over the side of my bed, sitting upright with his leather-bound notebook in his lap. “It’s fine, mate. I should apologise for—”

I waved him off. “No, that’s who you are, and I like who you are. I overreacted. Just tell me what you’ve got.”

He nodded, adjusting his golden glasses before looking down at his notes. Pushing his curls aside, he began reading aloud. “A Book of Shadows is a book containing the beliefs of its owner, such as instructions for magical rituals. It’s associated with Wicca and witches. While there are countless Books of Shadows written by numerous authors, two traditional types exist. The first is a coven book, containing core rituals and practices passed down unchanged over generations. The second is personal and far more common, written by individual witches even to this day. It varies from person to person but generallyincludes rituals, runes, astrology, crystals, and other knowledge significant to the writer.”

He glanced up with a hesitant expression, as though reluctant to share the rest. “The good news is, we now understand what a Book of Shadows is.”

“And the bad news is there are thousands of them filled with pseudo-witchcraft, and we’re searching for one specific book written by someone we don’t even know the name of,” I finished for him.

He nodded, swallowing hard at the grim truth in my summary.

Turning the page of his notebook, Jesse stood and handed it to me. I set my clean clothes on my desk and took it from him.

“That is rather unfortunate, but I’m betting Mairead senior wasn’t stupid. She’s likely leading us to the right book with the riddles she’s left behind,” he said as I scanned the page of his messy cursive notes.

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