“Is this why I’m here? So you can give me my Tome?”
He shook his head, closed the index, and it blinked out of sight. Behind me, I heard what sounded like a drawer opening, so I whipped my head around. Behind us, in the back corner, was a file box—not like the silver ones I was used to seeing; this one was made of wood.
“That back there is where all the indexes are held. The details of the spells and chants or the lives of those listed aren’t in there, but I have their names so that I know where to look.” His gaze moved back to mine. “You’re a Dreamwalker. As I told you before, your tether will have what you need.”
“But my gran,” I protest. “She’s a tether. Won’t her?—”
The quick shake of his head cut me off. “No, Kingston. Your grandmother’s line is still alive. Through her. At some point, she may choose a successor for her Grimoire. If not, when she passes on to the next life, it will find its resting place here.”
Trying to connect the dots as fast as I could, I nodded. “Okay, so you’ll be what? Magicking up a Tome or whatever for Sky? Is that how it works?”
Malcolm’s green orbs bore into mine, but there was sympathy there, too. A compassion I didn’t understand. He cleared his throat. “His family has their own Grimoire. The knowledge his line needs is written as it's obtained.”
Now I was confused. No one in Sky’s family had magic. Sky knew nothing about spirits and spells or any of this before his best friend moved here. I looked around again. “So where is it? You’re saying it magically fills itself in? How can he access it? Use it?”
Malcolm licks his lips. “It’s not here.”
“Why wouldn’t it…” I trailed off at the implication of what he was not saying. If it wasn’t here, then it hadn’t been thought that his line had died out. And if he wasn’t the first, then somewhere out there… “Someone in Sky’s family has his Grimoire?”
He nodded. “Indeed, they do.”
“But how? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It is not the Lorewarden’s job to solve these mysteries.” He gripped my shoulder tighter. “Even when he’s the one in charge of The Vault.”
Lore what?“What’s that? The job you said…Lore whatever?”
“Lorewarden,” he enunciated, “is the keeper of magical knowledge.”
Okay, that seemed like a lot. Not wanting to get lost in unnecessary details right now, I pushed for what I was most concerned about. “So you can’t help Skylar?”
He shook his head. “Nor can you, Lorewarden.”
My eyes opened. “Lore…why are you calling me that? I’m a Dreamwalker, not a Lorewarden.”
“Oh, but you are, Kingston Porter. You’ve been my Lorewarden in training for years.”
The fuck?
Chapter 11
Sky
Call me a big dork,but going to town with Kingston was one of my favorite things. He moved through life so quietly, like he was scared to take up too much space, but the way he stayed close to my side, a hand at the center of my back, I felt safe—protected. And right now, I needed that. There was so much to learn—so much to do—and we’d failed someone. That couldn’t happen again. I wondered if King was worrying about that, too. His silence was normal but the furrow between his eyebrows had me concerned.
As we reached the Daily Knead to purchase a fresh loaf of French bread to go with the cheese tortellinis we decided to have for dinner since they’d make an easy but delicious meal, King reached around me and opened the door, moving his hand up to let me duck underneath as I entered.Swoon.
“Thank you, kind sir.”
His cheeks went a little rosy, and he dipped his head. “You’re welcome.”
Inside, Craig and Theo stood before the register while Sonny bustled around behind the counter gathering their order.
“Look, Craig. The city boy is back,” Theo teased playfully.
Craig crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. “I thought you were going to give us some business. We haven’t heard from you.” He blew a large bubble with his gum and popped it. “I knew you were full of it.”
Theo side-eyed his friend. “You could just invite us out to Willowhope Manor. I’m?—”
