Page 72 of Ancient Magic

A buzzing in the air that prickled over her skin. Like electricity. Or standing in a thunderstorm.

“Yes, magic,” Micha murmured and Skye glanced back to discover his gaze locked on her with unnerving intensity.

She sent him a rueful smile. “I’m starting to understand why you never wanted to leave here.”

“Maybe I didn’t realize what I was missing,” he admitted, strolling to stand directly in front of her.

She studied his elegant features, wanting nothing more than to step forward and wrap her arms around his hard body. When she was this close to him it didn’t feel as if anything bad could happen.

Unfortunately, her vision had been a warning that she couldn’t ignore.

“There are some wonderful things. And some not so wonderful things,” she said. “But I would miss it if it was gone.”

He stroked his finger over a bouncy curl. “It’s not going to be gone.”

She smiled wryly. “More bold promises.”

His hand cupped her cheek. “Eventually I intend to make them come true.”

“A vision?” she teased.

“A hope.” His fingers tightened, as if he was battling the urge to kiss her. Then, with a small shake of his head, he dropped his hand and stepped back. “I’ll start my search in the main library. If you need me, just give a shout.”

She watched him leave with a pang. Just because her brain understood they couldn’t be distracted until the threat had been eliminated didn’t mean that her body had gotten the memo. It sulked like a petulant child denied a cookie.

And what a cookie...

With a click of her tongue, she shoved away the erotic image of nibbling Micha from head to toe and forced herself to focus on her surroundings. Closest to her were glass cabinets filled with a variety of items. As she moved toward them she could see that each of them glowed with power. Some were hexed, others held curses, and a few were bespelled with traps intended to harm whoever was foolish enough to pick them up.

She moved to the next cabinet. Inside were a dozen vessels. A few were ceramic, others were glass, and some were molded out of pewter. She assumed that each of them held a potion, but she wasn’t going to check. At least not on this visit.

She had high hopes she was going to be invited back for a more thorough inspection of the collection.

Reaching the shelves at the back, she hesitated. There were nearly a hundred leather-bound books that appeared to be arranged by age, from oldest to newest, and honestly she didn’t know where to start.

Probably because she didn’t have a clue what sort of magic had been protecting the sword. It wasn’t fey, or goblin, or mage. Unless the hex was so old that it’d transformed into something completely new and different. Peri had discovered the dangers of ancient magic entombed too long in the depths of the earth.

And there was something different about the magic that smoldered in this Gyre. It might have altered the original spell.

With impeccable timing, the smell of lilacs swirled through the air, and one of the books from the top shelf toppled forward to land on the floor. Skye released a small squeak as she instinctively danced back. She loved books, but these were filled with magic. There was a real possibility that they contained spells, curses, hexes, and other nasty surprises. There was also a real possibility that the mysterious spirit was trying to drive her away.

There was a blast of icy air before Micha rushed into the room. Obviously he’d heard her tiny squeak. A reminder that this male possessed super-duper senses. It would be impossible to hide anything from him. Including her habit of singing off-key in the shower and eating copious amounts of chocolate when she was stressed.

His smoldering gaze swept around the room, his fangs fully exposed. “What’s happening?”

The words had barely left his lips when the book flipped open and a ball of mist rose to hover in midair.

“Either this is the start of a horror show, or the book was triggered with a spell,” she muttered, touching the charms on her bracelet as she prepared to try to contain the magic the spirit had unleashed.

Micha hissed, his power thumping through the room. “Are we in danger?”

Skye’s fear eased to curiosity as the mist expanded until it was taller than her and twice as wide. It didn’t feel threatening. There was nothing tangible about the fog as it began to thin and fade. In fact, it was remarkably familiar.

“I don’t think so,” she finally decided. “This feels like a vision...” She struggled to pinpoint exactly what was happening as an image slowly formed in the center of the mist. It was like a doorway had been opened and they were peering inside. “But different,” she lamely finished.

“Is it the future?”

She shook her head, studying the cavern that was being revealed. For a second, Skye thought it might be Micha’s lair, but then she noticed the mosaic tiled floor and fluted columns that held up a ceiling embedded with precious gems. In the very center of the floor was a heavy white pedestal that appeared to be carved from white marble threaded with gold.

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