Page 57 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Before you say anything, I swiped them from Grand Master Quail while he slept. I will return them before he wakes up.”

“Perhaps we don’t need Lucius after all,” Roderick said, elbowing Caiden in the ribs.

Caiden rolled his eyes.

Ora pushed open the heavy doors. Inside, a set of books sat behind a locked cage in the center of the room. Bookcases surrounded the cage in a circle. The ceiling reached into the heavens, and moonlight illuminated the caged books.

“Do you have a key to this?” Caiden asked Ora, who was staring in amazement at the shelves of ancient texts.

“Look at this? Look at all of this,” she exclaimed, rushing to the first shelf.

“Don’t!” Caiden cried, staying her hand before she touched anything.

“What?” She knitted her brows.

“You said wards protect this place. Anything could be a trap.”

She snapped her hand back.

“You’re right. How foolish of me. I lost myself for a moment.”

“Let’s just get the books and get out of here,” Caiden said. He carefully walked down the steps to where the cage sat, bathed inmoonlight. A plaque on the front read, “For those whose blood runs true.”

“What does that mean?” Ora asked, examining the inscription.

Caiden pulled the dagger from his back pocket.

“It means I must prove my blood is that of an original if we want to gain access to the books.” He sighed before pricking his finger. “Here goes nothing.” He pressed his thumb to the space shaped like a fingerprint.

The lock quietly unlatched.

All three let out relieved breaths.

“That was easy, Roderick said.

“Don’t speak so soon. We still have to leave here with the books, and two soldiers are standing guard outside.”

“I’ll take care of them.” Rodrick smiled coyly.

The books corresponded to each original family—seven books for seven families: Stormweavers, Sweetwords, Shadowalkers, Lightbringers, Firebreathers, Deathwards, and Greenblades. Each text carried the family’s insignia and the Zylrinth’s Weaver’s mark. These seven held the reins of the sylph long before the courts divided. As far as Caiden knew, only he and Tharan remained.

“So many lost during the war,” Roderick whispered to himself, shaking his head.

“Let us hope we do not lose anymore.” Caiden grabbed the first book and handed it to Roderick. Suspicious that this was all too easy, he looked around the room for any sort of ward, but there was nothing—no creature released or poison dart, only silence. “Ora, what protection spells are down here?”

“I am not a Grand Master. I do not know what lurks down here.”

“Then we better get out quickly.” He piled the rest of the books into Roderick’s arms. “Let’s go.”

Roderick turned to leave, but as his feet hit the stairs, a fiery ring sprung up around them. “Okay, well, this is a setback.”

“Shit,” Caiden cursed under his breath. The flames grew higher, and the three stepped back toward the cage. “Any ideas?”

“Hold these.” Roderick shifted the books to Caiden and Ora. He pulled the chain earring from his ear, and with a flick of the wrist, a whip of pure light appeared.

“Here goes nothing.” Climbing on top of the cage, he snapped his whip, looping it around one of the railings above before heaving himself over the fire and onto the other side, banging into a bookshelf and knocking countless artifacts to the ground. “It worked!” he exclaimed.

“Great, but what about us?” Caiden yelled.

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