Page 57 of The Mirror of Beasts

The darkness of the library gave us only a moment’s grace to find cover before the lights snapped on.

Caitriona and I dove behind the map case, tucking ourselves behind its bulky stand. Olwen slipped behind the statue, pressing flat against the alcove’s wall.

“—just take a second—” came a man’s voice. The sounds of the party, music and laughter, flowed in behind him. His tone changed in an instant. “What the devil are you doing in here?”

Caitriona gripped my wrist, her gaze meeting mine in silent question. I shifted, risking a quick look out from behind the stand.

“What does it look like?” came Emrys’s drawl.

My heart leapt into my throat, fingers curling against the plush rug beneath us.

“Oh—Gods, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize—” Judging by his accent, the Hollower was one of the London guild members. “I didn’t recognize you there, Mr. Dye.”

He was all but bleating with deference, one terrified heartbeat away from bowing and scraping.

“Does Wyrm know you’re here?” he continued, his voice growing faint at Emrys’s cold silence. “He told me that your father hadn’t sent his regrets, so we weren’t … sure.”

Emrys stepped out from behind the shelves, his arm looped around Neve’s shoulder. She leaned her head against him, her arm wrapped around his waist. “It’s always fun to keep a bit of mystery, isn’t it?”

“Oh, well, yes,” the man said, eyeing them—Emrys dressed for a vault job, and Neve in jeans, her sweater, and a dark purple jacket, both a far cry from the black tie the invitation had clearly called for.

I just barely held in a shocked laugh; they’d mussed up their hair and clothing, as if they’d been caught midfumble in one of the library’s many dark corners. The Hollower was either too polite or too scared to comment on it.

“This is—” Emrys covered his hesitation with an adoring gaze at Neve, and suddenly, I didn’t feel like laughing. “This is Violet.”

This is what he does, I thought. Play pretend.

Neve took the moment with a cool confidence, dismissing the man’s outstretched hand with a single devastating look. “Enchanted, I’m sure.”

When the Hollower looked down to collect his thoughts, having clearly forgotten what he’d come in for, Neve shot Emrys a look. She motioned to her jacket, mouthing, Violet? Seriously? He gave her a helpless shrug.

“Shall I take you to, ah, greet our host, then?” the man said. “I’m certain he’ll be overjoyed to see you again. And he’ll want to show you the mantle, of course …”

“Fine,” Neve said, feigning irritation. “I was getting bored anyway.”

Emrys’s brows lifted as he swallowed a laugh.

“Right, then,” the Hollower said. The silver pin on the man’s tuxedo flashed as he opened the door, and Emrys startled. He drew Neve in closer to his side, his hand tightening around her shoulder.

“Some pin you’ve got there,” Emrys said, raising his voice ever so slightly. Meaningfully.

I looked again, squinting to see the pin as the man turned back toward Emrys in surprise. It was a hand holding a bare branch, cast in silver.

The breath stilled in my chest.

It was the very same one I had seen on both Emrys’s father and Septimus Yarrow in the weeks leading up to our journey to Avalon.

But the pin and my growing uneasiness were pushed to the back of my mind when Neve caught my eye over her shoulder. As the door closed behind them and they were swallowed up into the festive scene, she tilted her head with a clear message. Go.

The lights automatically shut off, throwing us back into darkness. After a beat, Caitriona leapt to her feet to go after them, but I grabbed her arm.

“Come on,” I whispered. “Now’s our chance.”

Caitriona whirled toward me, whispering furiously, “And leave her alone with them?”

“We have to,” I told her. “I don’t like it either, but she can handle it.”

Caitriona remained unmoved.

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