Page 11 of A Dusk Of Stars

Whatever it was that happened in the Lexarcanum… Should I tell anyone?

I imagine myself approaching Serra to tell her I’ve finished the task, but popped into the Lexarcanum in the process. Would she even give me the chance to mention what happened with thebook and what I saw when I touched it? Or would she just fire me right then and there?

Goddamn it, I think with a pissed-off sigh. Did I really need this?

There’s the Opening Ceremony to think of, so I have to make a decision, stat.

I know I only have two options. To say something or to keep my mouth shut. But neither is sitting right with me.

If I tell someone — anyone, I might be taking my win away from myself. It would be well within the rights of the faculty to actually fire me. Even if they let me keep working as a Librarian…

My version of the events sounds too much like I’m saying I got picked by a book in the Lexarcanum, and we all know there’s no instance of that ever happening to a human.

So instead of just being ‘the filthy Scion’, I might end up being ‘the Scion with delusions of grandeur’.

I really want the Archivist job and Ireallydon’t want to spend the rest of my days being seen as some stupid narcissist.

But…

If I choose to keep my mouth shut, will the truth still find a way to bite me in the ass, somewhere down the road?

Or more importantly, will I be fucking something up without even knowing it? The Lexarcanum magic is Divine Magic. Unlike Nature, Element and Mind Magic, it eludes explanations and is highly unpredictable even in its simplest forms.

Fuck. I literally can’t see a solution that wouldn’t either rob me of my dreams or make me a potential culprit in something larger than myself.

I still feel so disoriented and exposed, but if I don’t start movingnow...

I push myself off the stairs and rush down to Level Minus Two. I start hearing the usual murmur coming from the Dining Hall even before I step onto the hallway with the faculty entrance.

What was I thinking? I haven’t made my decision yet.

I spot Professor Byrne stopping in front of the door with some man I’ve never seen before.

I keep walking, wondering if Serra’s already inside.

Byrne is telling something to the man as he leads him inside, but just as he’s about to walk in, the man’s gaze darts to mine and he stops midstep, his hand on the doorknob.

I only register the eyes as they lock with mine — deep but burning brown, sucking me in and lingering.

For one beat, two.

I almost stop walking. Suddenly, I’m hot in my skin and my knees are wobbly.

Frowning, I force myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I sense the man’s gaze linger on me as I pass him by, prolonging the torture.

It’s only then that I realize I’ve just walked past the faculty entrance instead of going inside.

For crying out loud, Anna, I tell myself, get your shit together. For no other reason than to save face, I keep walking down the hallway, unable to shake off the image of those eyes — the sharp shape of them and that unusually striking color.

I throw a glance over my shoulder and see the man is gone. I breathe a sigh of relief. Just as I decide to stop and go back, I spot Serra walking towards me.

I give her a faint smile and the next thing I know, we’re standing in the middle of the hallway and she’s saying something, but her words are drifting to me as if through water.

Because there’s something inside me that wasn’t there before.

A presence.

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