Page 62 of Fractured Souls
Wonderful. That sounded easy…
Not.
CHAPTER21
Desmond
I usedto love the library, but right now I was beyond annoyed, mostly because I could sense the frustration radiating off my flame. My beautiful Lorcan, who was sorting through a pile of books with me, their topics ranging from ancient civilizations to great world wars, some of which were in languages neither of us natively understood.
Luckily, this library had a bit of a hack. Something you wouldn’t normally understand, something you couldn’t normally read, could be understood within these walls. I didn’t know how to describe it except that the text itself seemed to change before your very eyes. I thought at first I was losing my mind until Lorcan brought it up to me, restoring at least some of my sanity.
Unfortunately, we hadn’t yet figured out the hack to get the place to spill its secrets on the Darklace family—the encyclopedia of the threats their family had faced through time and how they’d handled them.
Only some of my sanity had been restored, though, because I had long accepted that with Lorcan I would never fully be sane again. The woman brought out in me a side that I hadn’t even known existed, and today was no different. This entire experience, especially being in a place that was so different from the Earth realm, had left me feeling territorial and possessive over her. Which was why she was with me right now and not the large group of others, socializing and researching alongside her friend’s mates. I was a possessive bastard and needed some time alone with her, even if it was on a carpeted floor as we sorted through books.
“Desi?” Lorcan’s voice drew my gaze up. I’d been studying her lips, which were pressed together slightly as if frustrated.
“Yeah?” I smoothed my hand through her hair, making her shiver and move closer to me.
“I think we’re on the right track. I think that if we keep looking, we’re going to find what we need. I can feel it. I’m already coming across more information about sirens than before, and more importantly, some mention their art forms.”
My gaze moved down to the text in her hand, both of us reading about different skill sets that sirens as well as other ‘extinct’ species exhibited. I honestly had no idea how long we sat there, but something suddenly caught my eye.
“…the sirens were skilled at creating compositions of music, art, and beauty that could eradicate threats to their kind. This skillset was passed from generation to generation, family knowledge on their magic acting as the key factor to the success of these compositions…”
“Too bad none of my family is alive right now,” Lorcan murmured dejectedly. “Sounds like that would help a ton.”
“You said that in your dream your mother and father had passed, but what about your grandmother? Beryl Darklace?”
“I mean, I assumed she had died too.” Lorcan frowned. “All she said was that we were going to our cousins’ house, where my grandfather was. I mean, if she wasn’t dead, why would she have left Cormac and me?”
Why indeed.
“While we try to figure out the elements to this composition, I think we also should try to find any possible trace of where she would have been seen last. Maybe ask Jeanie and Nelson? I think we need to exhaust all avenues.”
“That is going to be fun,” she grumbled. “I want Cormac there when we do that.”
I didn’t disagree.
“We still need to figure out how to put the composition together, specifically one powerful enough. Zander?” Lorcan called out. The man appeared, and I briefly explained what we’d found.
His eyes darkened in thought. “I know most sirens that are alive, and the Darklace family line was supposedly done with Beryl. But—they were able to hide two generations from the world, so it’s possible she’s still alive,” Zander agreed. “I’ll put feelers out once we’re out of the realm. For now I think we should keep looking for anything to aid in the composition. I have experience creating music, but not to the extent I’ve had with art, and I don’t have a family line, only my own experience.”
One thing I liked about Zander was his ability to easily admit to not knowing shit.
“Okay.” Lorcan nodded and leaned back into me. “I wish I could just say something out loud and it would appear.”
“Maybe you can,” I mused. Something occurred to Zander and he stood, walking towards one of the aisles.
Lorcan laughed, looking up at me and nodding astutely. “You’re right—let me try.Oh mystical library, please hand me the book I need with all the important siren ass-kicking powers of composition.Please.”
I chuckled, unable to help it as she flashed me another smile and shrugged. “I’m shocked it didn’t work.”
“Guess we’ll just have to keep looking.” I sighed and kissed the top of her head. “Unless you’d rather rest or eat, neither of which you’ve really done.”
“I ate more, literally right over there.” She motioned towards the table she had started at. There were a few snacks laid out, but I wanted her to eat more, and I knew that it was making a few of the others nervous too. Lorcan’s health was a massive priority.
“Let’s go get more.” I scooped her up and carried her towards the table before plopping her down. She grumbled, but when I handed her another book, she flipped it open, no longer seeming nervous about research. I grabbed a seat nearby, hoping that being near food would encourage her to eat, but Nova joined her only moments later.
