Page 58 of Woven Souls

“Wait, what?” I blink up at him. “What do kings and the crown have to do with—”

“Theo’s an exiled prince of our people,” Kwil answers, with a wave of his hand. “His father was our king before our people shifted to a democracy.”

My mouth drops open as I stare at Theo, who grimaces.

“It was a long time ago.”

Yet, here he is, excommunicated from yet another facet of his life. Damn, the guy’s had it rough.

Theo returns his attention to the discussion at hand. “This Royal Diary could hold the answers we need.”

“But then what?” Viktor presses. “It’s not like we can go to our representatives in Parliament, throw this news in their faces, and expect them to believe us.”

“No, they’d kill us before we managed to get a word out,” Kwil agrees.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Theo looks at all of us. “First, we need proof of any wrongdoing, and I’m pretty sure we’ll find it if we can sneak into the archive section of the library. Unfortunately, it’s only accessible through the castle.”

A castle? Damn, Theodon was an actualprince. No wonder he’s so bossy. I try to envision his castle. Is it like the ones in children’s books or more historically accurate? Either way, it must’ve been nice growing up in a life of luxury.

“And the archive section is how big? Is it a small room of books or…?” Kwil asks, frowning.

“It’s massive.” Theo sighs. “However, I don’t know the real title to this diary or where to even look for it once we get there. Just getting down there without being seen will be challenging enough.”

Oh, is finding something going to be a problem for them? Good thing they have me then. I grin up at Theo.

“If you can get us into the castle, we don’t need a title to find it. You just need me!” My hand comes up to land in the middle of my chest. “Elite tracker, remember? I can findanything. Quick question though, the book isn’t cursed, is it? I’d rather not go throughthatagain.”

Theo blinks as his brows fly up. Kwil’s grotesque mouth pulls into a smile, and Viktor grunts, Ithinkin approval.

“Come on, I’m good for something.” I roll my eyes. “This just happens to be my specialty.”

For the first time since we met, Theo actually smiles at me.

“If you can find this book, then we stand a chance of figuring out what the Fae have done in the past and whether we can prevent disaster in the future.” He nods at me then looks to the others. “Now we just need to figure out how Viktor, Jonah, and I will get into Everlast without drawing attention to ourselves.”

The sound of metal scratching against stone pulls my attention back to Willow. She comes to her feet, a tight smile around her eyes.

“Okay, I’m going to open the Veil. Remember, please remain calm and move through the Veil with haste. I can’t keep it open forever.” She pauses to look over at us. “You guys, come here. When I open the Veil, I want to introduce you to my reaper friend.”

Kwil and I rise, and the four of us move to her side.

Walkingthroughpeople, instead of bustling past them, sends horrid chills through my body. Bumps rise on my arms, and I shiver. I’ve had this reaction in the past at random points throughout my life. I always thought the superstition was about someone walking over your future gravesite. Now I think it could have been because I’ve walked through a spirit that couldn’t be seen.

The air around us grows cold.

Just like last night, the dark mist pools around our ankles before rushing forward and creating the void that is the Veil between this realm and the Realm of the Dead. Immediately, the spirits around us surge forward. They walk through me as if I’m not even there, causing even more bumps on my skin to rise.

Okay, I’m definitely not a fan ofthissensation.

“There, do you see him?” Willow points.

I follow the direction of her finger, staring hard into the Veil. I see nothing right away. The air grows colder, wrapping around my limbs, neck, and face. I know, without checking, Willow is helping me ‘see’ further into the Veil. Blinking away the strange coldness behind my eyes, I focus again on the dark air in front of us.

There, deep in the folds of the swirling gray mist, is a figure. Shrouded in a dark cloak that blends in with the darkness around it, the person stands eerily still. Though I can’t see its face hidden within the recesses of its hood, I know the man is staring at all of us. The scythe in his hand is massive. The blade curls around behind the hood, catches the light of this realm, and glints. Twice in the same hour, I feel the floor give way beneath my feet as I gape at the figure facing us.

A grim reaper.

“That’s your… friend?” My voice breaks as I stare at him.

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