Page 146 of Hidden Kingdoms

“Ask her, she took me there.” I pointed towards Alouette who grinned at me around a mouth of food.

“Don’t get pissy with me, Killer, I knew you had what it takes. I wouldn’t have taken you there otherwise. It was Bastian who thought it would be a fun little experiment.”

I narrowed my eyes at her as she chewed, annoyed that the fact Bastian thought I was expendable had been rubbed in my face.

Alouette had some faith in me, at least.

“Who’sthe Keeper?”

“Thatis a question for another time. Right now, let’s test your new skill, shall we?” He smiled as he rose, crossing to one of the hollowed-out alcoves stuffed full of books. Arden pulled some loose, dislodging them carefully to avoid the rest tumbling to the floor before he returned and took his seat.

“Close your eyes and take a book, we’ll see if it works once you’re out of themagik library.” He held a plain, burnt-orange book between us, the cover blank of any image or title, nothing that could allude to its contents.

“You’re telling me thatwasn’t a magik library?” I grumbled, raising my eyebrow at him.

“Close your eyes.” A soft laugh under the words, so I did, holding my hand out for the book to be placed onto it.

“No cheating,” Alouette teased.

The weight of the book settled into my palm, and I wondered whether there was something I should be doing. Some way to call to whatever it was that had worked before. But before that thought had fully formed, images pushed into my mind. I pressed my lips together on a smile as scene after scene flooded my mind. They weren’t the flash of images that would assault me in my dreams; this was like a movie. Like the very words had come alive and were painting a picture. My mind the canvas as they brushed across my conscience with a vibrancy that made my heart race.

Flocks of birds swirled through the sky which had now replaced Arden’s room, their glossy feathers a shining sapphire blue, wings paling gradually to a bright white. They flew together twisting through the sky completely in synchronicity, soft trills floating through the air as I followed their path. I fell under their hypnotic rhythm, unwilling to look away until the vision cut out, and I was back facing Arden, the book back in his hands.

“Well?” he pressed as I readjusted to a sight without hundreds of birds.

“Birds,” I said, as Alouette scoffed beside me. “They were blue with white-tipped feathers, all flying together.”

Arden’s eyes lit up as I spoke, and he held another book towards me. Closing my eyes, I held out my hand without instruction. The next book was lighter, the wait to see whether this one would work the same stretching on before something flickered to life behind my dark lids.

The scene was dark, the only light coming from the stars and a large fire lit within a clearing. The thick shadow of trees in the distance only visible due to the density of their darkness. The fire rose high as I watched the first woman emerge from the gloom, a sheer dress covering her body but doing little to hide her nakedness. Drums began to sound around me, their ominous beat filling the air as she started to dance, bare feet pounding against the dirt, body swaying in a sensuous rhythm. Her thin dress swirled with her movements, naked skin exposed with every move she made. One –by –one, six more women emerged from the gloom, thin gauzy dresses shifting as they moved. The light of the fire bathed them in harsh shadows that highlighted every dip and curve of their bodies as they, too, began to dance to the beat of the drums.

They were all different, yet there seemed to be something that pulled them together as one, something I couldn’t put my finger on.

The night lifted, and I was back in the soft armchair, in the warm chamber filled with all its curiosities.

“A bunch of naked women dancing around a fire,” I said before he could ask.

“Fascinating.” His voice was full of wonder as he traced the outline of the book. “And yes, this one wasPrishini’s Memorium of the Devine Gathering. One of only two tales of the goddesses being together. Though Prishini was born millennia after the goddesses had removed themselves from this realm, but that’s beside the point. What a power you have discovered, my dear.”

I found myself smiling, because he was right; this was something that cost nothing. There could be no negative to knowing what was in a book without reading it, no way it would turn into something I had no control over, unlike other ways my magik had decided to manifest. Even in the library, I had been able to touch and remove myself from the books without difficulty.

“Everything you have said today, Elodie, only reinforces that you do come from Oraculum. How you ended up in the mortal realm is another issue that we will work on finding the answer to.” I nodded, uncertainty suddenly coiling within my stomach, my smile falling.

“While I am a highly proficient teacher, I cannot claim to be all knowing when it comes to the arcane arts.”

Well fuck. Looks like I’m leaving after all.

“So, I have to leave then, to learn more about my magik?” My pulse was a beast roaring in my ears as I waited for the words that would send me away—into the unknown yet again.

“Not necessarily.” I didn’t dare a sigh of relief. “While you’re here, you can be taught control over your magik in many ways, and in time, when you’re ready, you may decide that Oraculum is where you need to be. Though I do not possess the gift of foresight.” He winked at me as I stared at him. “I do not thinkyou will be sent away. I have a feeling there is much more to you being here than just the Prince’s need for you.”

I really hope not. Things are already complicated enough without more being piled on top of my disastrous life.

Arden’s dark eyes were studying me, flicking over my face as he absently drummed his fingers on the books he still held.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

He waited, the heat stifling once again, as I sat under his scrutiny. Only the crackle of flames broke the quiet that descended between us.

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