Page 61 of A Legacy of Poison and Lies

There was so much weight to her words, but Zylah didn’t press her for more. It wasn’t her story to tell, and Zylah respected that. She tapped a finger to the map, tracing the journey she and Holt had made together. Maelissa’s court didn’t exist, but that didn’t surprise Zylah. It had belonged to someone else, been located somewhere else, once. “Why did Imala have a court here?”

“This was her second home, but after the first uprising, the members of the court fled here for their safety.” Her head tipped to one side, steady eyes assessing. “I know Holt’s reason for fighting this cause. Why he won’t stand back and let this be someone else’s problem. So tell me. What’s your reason for being here?” She flared in and out of the shadows as she spoke, as if staying in the light was beginning to grate on her, even if the glimpses of her face gave nothing away.

Zylah swallowed. “Marcus needs to be stopped. No matter what it takes. This affects everyone now: humans, Fae. All of us. There are no sides anymore.”

Shadows consumed the Fae, and Zylah could have sworn she heard a soft sigh. As if Nye was replenished by them. At the corner of her vision, a shadow of a bushy tail swept across the stone floor.A fox of sorts, Nye had said when Zylah had asked her if she could shift. One that didn’t seem to be entirely whole.

Zylah turned another page, and a sketch made her pause, a quiet breath of surprise leaving her.

“What is it?” Nye asked, appearing right beside her, fully corporeal.

“These symbols.” They were the same as the ones in the book Okwata had given her. The same as the ones in the book he had asked of, the one that had been in Raif’s library.Marcus is looking for that book.

Zylah bit her lip, hesitating. Nye stared back at her, searching her face. Malok might not be trustworthy, but something told Zylah the Fae before her was.

She explained about the books, that Marcus was looking for them. If there was anything that could help them stop him, or anything they could do to stop him from causing more chaos, they had to take every opportunity.

“You have one of them here with you?” Nye asked.

Zylah held out a hand, sucked in a breath as she thought of the book in her room. It appeared in her palm a heartbeat later, and the corner of Nye’s mouth twisted up in another of her almost smiles. Zylah handed her the book, watching Nye’s eyes flick back and forth over the pages.

“This is an old dialect,” Nye murmured.

“Can you read it?”

“I can read the words. But without the key, it’s nonsense. Can’t you do your thing and bring it here?”

“I’m…” Zylah cleared her throat, turning her hand over and examining it. “…new to this. Holt has been helping me. I know he doesn’t necessarily need to know where an item is to summon it, but I do. I’ve only been successful with a handful of items so far.”

“And Holt has tried, I take it?”

“He thinks it’s warded. When I described it to him, he couldn’t retrieve it.”

“Cocky bastard, isn’t he?”

Zylah grinned. “I can ask him to try again.”

“I’d like to study this, if you’ll permit me. We have texts here that might help us at least figure out why Marcus covets it so badly.” As if she sensed Zylah’s hesitation, she added, “I’ll keep it locked in the restricted section. No one will be able to access it but me and Serrula, who I’m fairly certain lives between the rows of books somewhere.”

“You have a restricted section?”

“It wouldn’t be a very impressive library without one, would it?” Nye’s half-smile became a grin, and Zylah couldn’t help but match it. For the first time since learning vampires existed, she allowed herself a moment to believe there might be an end to all of this mess.

Hope bloomed in Zylah’s chest as they left the library, Nye’s promises lodging themselves firmly beneath her ribs.

Chapter Twenty-One

Zylah’sstepswouldhavefelt a little lighter the next morning as she accompanied Nye to training, had it not been for the pain simmering beneath her skin. She’d avoided Holt the day before because she knew he’d have taken one look at her and known. Instead, she’d added some of the baylock leaves to her morning tea, but alone, the relief it provided was minimal. Enough that she could move without stumbling, but inside,gods. She was on fire. And she welcomed it.

She’d had plenty of time to think, the pain keeping her awake throughout the night. Just taking out Marcus was no longer an option, not with everything he’d created. Whatever vampires and thralls remained needed to be stopped, along with the vanquicite mine. At least he was posing as a human, ruling as one of them. Zylah didn’t dwell on how badly things would go for the future of both humans and Fae if Marcus revealed he was one of them.Whenhe revealed it.

Nye was halfway through inviting Zylah to dinner that evening as they reached the doors to the training balcony, the sound of whoops and cheers carrying through them. The Fae rolled her eyes. “Kej,” she muttered, but not unkindly, pushing open the doors to the frigid air.

A large group of soldiers had gathered in a circle, blocking whoever was fighting from view.

But Zylah knew.

Could feel the way the air changed,thickenedwherever he went, as if his magic fed on the atmosphere around him.Holt.She hadn’t properly caught up with him since he and Malok had intervened with the three Fae. Since Zylah had stopped Malok from being poisoned. She hadn’t filled him in about Nye researching the book, either.

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