Page 109 of Hidden Kingdoms

Another boom sounded, its waves knocking into me, and I heard the telltale noise of books tumbling to the floor somewhere close by, the air grew thick and heavy as I tried to assemble my thoughts.

“Elodie!” A deep voice roared with desperation from somewhere within the stacks that now quivered, all threatening to fall.

Without a second thought, I wrenched my feet from the floor, running towards him. I skidded to a stop at the end of the row as the next hit rattled the walls, and the slap of leather spines onto marble filled the space. Spinning I searched for which direction to head in, but he was already there, sprinting towards me.

“What’s happening?!” I cried out as I closed the space between us, and his hands grabbed me tightly, eyes scanning me from head to toe.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! But what’s happening?”

He opened his mouth to reply as another boom broke against the ceiling, the sound of wood toppling had him pulling me into his body. The air grew heavier, tightening my chest.

“Fuck!” he cursed as the rumbling stopped, before he picked me up and chucked me over his shoulder, arm clamped across the back of my thighs. I shrieked as I grabbed onto one of his weapons belts to steady myself.

I needn’t have bothered, Marcellus had me in an iron grip as he darted through the rows of books, turning so quick I had to squeeze my eyes shut to hold back the nausea. Managing to lift my head enough to see under his arm, we passed quickly through the dark corridor. The light from the stones blinking on and off in rapid succession as his large strides powered us back into the circular chamber. The sun that had earlier filtered from the glass ceiling had darkened as Marcellus burst through the black wooden door and burst through it.

“Oh, thank fuck!” Alouette exclaimed as we came to a stop in front of her, hands fisted in her hair. “Fuck, Mars, I didn’t know you were in there, I didn’t know how I was going to get her out!”

The sheer relief in her voice was enough that I wasn’t going to question her on why she thought it would be a good idea to take me to a room that could possibly have killed me.

Not yet anyway.

“Well, I’m out now, so you can put me down.” I patted his back, aware that my arse was inches from his face. His arm tightened before he grunted and placed me down. Blood rushed back to my brain dizzyingly fast, and magik settled back inside me, no longer tamped down by whatever entity guarded the library.

“What’s going on?” Alouettes features had shifted slightly, a feline shape in the angles of her face.

“Come on,” Marcellus demanded, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the corridor.

“Where are we going?” I stumbled slightly to keep pace with him.

“I’m taking you to your room. Something’s attacking the wards.”

I drew us to a stop, which was difficult given he probably weighed the same as a grizzly bear, and he glared at me as I fisted the material on his sleeve in my hand. but I didn’t relent as Alouette halted behind me.

“Take me with you!” I blurted, that dread still winding its way through me even as my magik worked to chase it away. I could feel it churning inside me, desperate to grab hold, and I was scared of what would happen if it did. “I can’t be alone in that room while all this is going on!”

As if to prove my point, the walls shuddered around us, and Marcellus stepped into me, his huge frame shielding me from the trickle of dust that fell upon us, hand grabbing my other arm.

“Alouette will be with you. You’re going,” he growled, and I felt a tremor pass over him.

“Nope,” Alouette piped up, popping the word on her lips before he could drag me a step, and I turned to her as best I could. She was leaning casually against the wall inspecting nails that had definitely grown a good few centimetres since I last saw them. “I’m not standing guard in here. I’ll be out there with my team. So, eitheryoustand guard, or she stays in there alone, but we haven’t got time for you to take all day over this.”

I could have sworn the flicker of a smile passed over her lips, but Marcellus hadn’t even looked at her, eyes piercing into me instead. He was practically vibrating, and a wind had begun to whip through the hall high above us as tendrils of my hair tickled my face.

“I can help! I know about wards, please, Marcellus.” His grip tightened and my heart pounded as I laid my hand on his chest, silently pleading not to send me away.

“I vote she comes,” Alouette said from behind, and I bit my cheek to keep my smile hidden.

Scowl deepening, he looked over at her, mouth opening to speak as echoes of shouts carried towards us.

“Fine,” he ground out. “But you do not leave my fucking side.”

“I swear!” I nodded at him as he pulled me in the opposite direction, and we all began running. I followed him through the twists and turns of the palace, taking three steps for every one of his. His hand stayed clamped around mine as we ignored the people who were running our way, before we burst out of the palace’s main doors.

The world had gone dark. The sky above filled with thick grey clouds merging together, growing even darker in the distance before they melded into a point of pitch black.

A point I knew without a doubt contained nothing good.

42

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