Page 38 of The Court of Secrets
“You should be there.”
I sucked in deep breaths as I climbed the steps to her. I rested my hands on my knees, attempting to catch my breath. “I will, but first, we must talk. It’s about the necromancer.”
She swallowed thickly. She nodded, then ushered me up the steps to her tower room.
Not much had changed, apart from the shelves. I noticed the slanted ones had been fixed. The mixed aroma of heather and lavender filled the circular room. Bookshelves housed the same dusty books, and orange hues, kissing the sky in dusk, arrowed through the small arched windows. I gripped my staff, then uttered the spell to protect us from anyone listening. Although this part of the castle was quiet, I couldn’t risk it. Not anymore.
“I met him,” I told her as she placed the items she’d been carrying on her already-overcrowded desk. “He came to me when I was asleep. He lingered there, between my conscious and subconscious right before I woke up.”
Slowly turning, her orb-like eyes regarded me. “What did he say?”
“He warned me to stop taking the potion to suppress him. He said you don’t have enough to last, and soon he will have control.” My gaze flicked to the windows. “He will use you to hurt people I care about if I don’t obey.”
I didn’t want to admit how small that list was.
“He’s testing you.” She hurried to the bookshelves and ran her long fingers along the well-creased spines. Tears swam in her eyes, although she tried to blink them away.
I closed the distance between us. The smell of leather pinched my nostrils. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she flinched. “You’re in pain.”
“Yes.” She didn’t try to deny it. I noticed her staff was gathering dust, leaned against the wall. “There isn’t enough potion.”
“What do we do?”
She pulled out a heavy-looking book. “I will continue to research. What you said about him being able to access your mind between awake and asleep reminded me of something I read before. Like how the fae can dream-walk, necromancers can stay between realms. When we sleep, Winter, they say our soul leaves to another place.”
My eyebrows knitted together. “You think he’s living somewhere between realms?”
“Yes.”
“If we know where he is, then we can kill him.” My voice charged with hope.
“No.”
My hope fizzled. “How does it help then?”
“It’s a start. We must gather as much knowledge as possible. You know the benefits of knowing.”
I nodded in understanding. “I know what we need. Banned books. All of them. I’m queen now.”
“About that.” She placed her hands on my shoulders. “Be careful with your power. My foresight has been… fuzzy… since the necromancer took hold. I’ve been trying to close him out, but I’m close to breaking.”
The revelation knocked me backward. I steadied myself. “He will be in control if you do.”
“Which is why you must lock me away, Winter. I have been wanting to come to you, but I wanted to ready myself first. I haven’t been using magic. I don’t want to give him any more power than he already has. Neither should you.”
“I barely use magic these days. Every need is taken care of.” I fondly recalled the days when I had the freedom to practice with Morgana. “I’m not locking you away.”
“If I am not in control, I could hurt. Even kill. He’s bloodthirsty. He requires death. I feel it in every fiber of my being.”
“I know.” I bit on my bottom lip, then rubbed the back of my neck. “If you change, I will lock you away.”
She cast her eyes downward, her expression unreadable. “Good. As I said, be careful. The lords, Vahaga… they all want to see you fall. I’ve seen them, heard the whispers, and I can’t help you. They’re desperate, and desperation makes people do dangerous things.”
I placed my hands on hers. “I will heed your warning.”
She turned her back toward me and rummaged through her desk until she found a familiar bottle. “More potion. It should last you a couple of weeks.”
Uneasiness settled in my stomach. “Is there really no more?”
