Page 86 of Unseen Eye
“Garet doesn’t love me,” I say, more to myself than anyone else. “He’s too selfish and has his own agenda. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t have to make sense to love somebody,” Theo says, his tone lightening. “Nice punch, by the way. You did me proud.” He walks toward Izzy, leaving Cal and me alone.
For the first time since this confrontation started, I look at Cal. His eyes are a raging storm, still locked in an angry glare at where Garet stood, but there’s something else there too. Jealousy?
“You can’t actually be jealous of him, can you?” I ask, unable to resist.
Cal breaks his glare and looks at me. “Izzy’s right. He does love you.”
“Who cares if he loves me?” I exclaim, the frustration spilling over. “I certainly don’t. It doesn’t mean shit to me.” Wanting to shift the mood, I add, “Sorry I blew it by calling you Cal, by the way.”
This finally makes him smile. “Darling, don’t ever apologize for that,” he says, giving my hand a quick squeeze.
“You really need to quit calling me that,” I mutter, trying to ignore the warmth spreading in my chest.
“What was that?” Cal laughs, a teasing glint in his eyes. “I could call you another nickname. How about ‘evil’ or ‘princess’? Or maybe ‘evil princess’?” He raises an eyebrow, clearly enjoying himself.
“Forget I said anything,” I grumble, turning back to watch the crowd.
Not long after, one of Drystan’s guards slips in and whisperssomething to him. My heart kicks into overdrive.
It’s go time.
Without missing a beat, Drystan strides toward us and says, “Get out of here.” I barely register the slight tremor in my hands as we dart down the hallways until we rejoin Theo and Izzy. A quick change into something more practical, and we’re out the back door, racing across the fields within minutes.
“Grab on,” Cal says, taking my hand before blinking us away, Izzy and Theo right behind. We land in the forest beside the castle in Astermiri. The familiar scent of pine needles and damp earth floods my senses, grounding me for a moment. I pause, catching my breath from the blink, and take in the surroundings. It’s impossible not to picture the battle that raged here just over a month ago. Cal was right—they’re rebuilding. The stone walls are slowly rising. Scaffolding clings to large sections of the castle, while piles of stone and timber lie in wait. The air hums with the rhythmic clanging of hammers and the sharp whir of saws, a jarring contrast to the hushed stillness of the forest.
Cal gives me a quick, reassuring look, and I nod before he leads us to the side entrance. My grip tightens around my pack, nerves simmering just beneath the surface. The guard on duty is passed out, slumped against the wall, a faint snore escaping his lips. “Good job,” Cal says, patting Theo on the back, a rare note of approval in his voice.
He steps closer to the guard, placing the rune-infused stone beside him. My chest loosens just a bit—we’ll know the second he stirs. We move quickly, slipping through the gates and past the entrance. With both Garet and Baron in Coire, the guards seem less on edge. I catch snippets of their conversation as they pass, murmuring about the latest scandal—a missing shipment of silver for the gates or someone trying to bribe their way into the castle kitchens. We keep to the shadows, holding our breath until they’re gone. The air smells faintly of wood polish anddamp stone, the sounds of muffled footsteps echoing down the corridor.
We reach the library without a hitch. The moment we step inside, the space awakens. Lanterns suspended in the air flicker to life one by one, their light spilling across the room like ripples on a still pond. The way they brighten feels deliberate, as though the library itself is acknowledging our presence.
“Guess that answers whether anyone’s here,” Theo quips, glancing around with a grin. “Unless people in Astermiri have figured out how to read in the dark, I think we’re good.”
“Split up,” Cal orders, his voice low but commanding as he strides toward a corner. “We don’t have long before we need to hit the next location.”
I can’t help but smile faintly at their reactions. Even Izzy, who rarely shows wonder, seems transfixed. Theo, of course, is less subtle, craning his neck to take in the vaulted ceiling. “You think we could move one of these to Coire?”
Izzy rolls her eyes, brushing her fingers over a row of ancient tomes. “We’d need to move half the kingdom just to fit it.” She picks up a book from a nearby shelf, its cover adorned with runes that shimmer faintly.
“Focus, both of you,” Cal calls out from across the room, though even he can’t entirely mask his wonder.
I move quickly, scanning the shelves for anything I might have missed last time. The library looks exactly as I remember, down to the books Leigh must have been reading, still piled in the plush armchair in the corner. I feel a pang of nostalgia, a fleeting memory of her voice echoing in my mind. But there’s no time for that now. As I pass the shelves, the books shift slightly, their bindings rustling softly, as if whispering secrets to one another.
“Let’s see if this works,” I mutter, stepping into the center of the room. Clearing my throat, I call out, “Hello, library?” My voice echoes faintly, blending with the gentle hum of magic inthe air. “I don’t suppose you could point me toward any books about the creation of the gates?”
The library freezes. Shelves that swayed gently just moments ago go rigid, the faint whispers of books falling silent. The lanterns overhead drift higher, their lights dimming as if retreating from me. It’s not just quiet—it’s as if the entire room has decided to turn its back.
Izzy’s laugh breaks the spell. “Did you seriously just try to talk to it?” She raises an eyebrow as she snaps a thick tome shut. “What, did you think it was going to sprout a sign that says, ‘This Way to The Gate’s Secrets’?”
“Worth a shot,” I mutter, turning back to the shelves. “Guess we’re doing this the hard way.”
Theo hums thoughtfully from a corner, a pile of ledgers at his feet. “These are interesting,” he says, flipping through pages so ancient they look like they might disintegrate. “Apparently, the gods had a very complicated trade system. Who knew they were into tariffs?”
“Fascinating,” Izzy replies, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She taps her foot against the polished floor, her impatience practically vibrating through the room. “But unless you find a ledger labeled ‘How to Unlock Mysterious Gates,’ I don’t think it’s going to help us.”
With no luck on the main floor, we head upstairs, the creaky steps groaning under our weight. The hum of the library’s magic grows fainter as we ascend, replaced by the eerie quiet of the upper level. Shadows stretch and ripple across the walls, forming fleeting shapes that vanish when I try to focus on them.
