Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Kierse glanced down at her marked wrists. She hadn’t realized then how close she was to death. Only how desperate she’d been to escape. “So the marks…”
“Probably are here to stay.”
“Just what a thief needs,” she grumbled. “A tell.”
Graves glanced up from the much larger black tome he was currently invested in. “Of course that’s your concern.”
“Hey, I’m good at what I do!”
“We’ll invest in some covert bracelets,” Graves suggested with a shake of his head.
Niamh traced the strange language again, but her eyes were on Kierse’s. “I texted him, you know? After we went upstairs last night.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
Lorcan. She meant Lorcan. At some point, Kierse had felt him disappear. So he’d figured out somehow, and it hadn’t been her. Everything had been so precarious and then this morning…
She didn’t want to have to check in with him. She was glad for his part in her rescue, but it didn’t make it any less complicated.
“Good,” she finally said. “Thank you.”
Niamh nodded, releasing her. “I don’t know about you, but I could sleep about ten extra hours today.”
“Long night?” Kierse asked with a smirk.
“My magic is low from saving your ass,” Niamh said.
“Uh huh. And where is Gen?”
Graves tilted his head, putting his finger in the book he was reading. “Yes, where is Genesis?”
“Checking on Walter.” Niamh pulled her phone out with another yawn.
The library door opened then, and Bram entered in a fresh pair of jeans, a flannel, and a dark-blue corduroy jacket. He had an arm slung under Walter’s shoulders with Gen on the other side doing minimal work.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Graves demanded as Bram settled Walter into his normal chair. A sheen of sweat was on his brow, and he looked a little green.
“Got the group chat notification,” Walter said around a groan.
“You should be resting,” Niamh said. “I told you not to get out of bed.”
“He threatened to walk himself,” Gen said.
“I heard them arguing and thought I’d keep him from falling down a flight of stairs,” Bram said.
“Thank you,” Niamh said. “Both of you.”
Gen took the seat next to Niamh, all but collapsing as well. She had dark rings under her eyes and yawned dramatically. Anne Boleyn jumped up and cuddled into her side. “Hello, Anne.”
“I wasn’t going to miss the meeting,” Walter said.
Graves looked around at his merry men and sighed, going back to his book. Kierse could practically read him from across the room. How had he ended up with a team like this?
“Good to see you up and about, lass,” Bram said.
Kierse gave him a hug, letting his strength reach through her. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Not my first night dealing aid to someone in pain,” Bram said, tipping his head to Walter. “But at least we killed the Fae Killer. All worth it in the end.”
Kierse and Graves exchanged a look. That Amberdash was in fact the Fae Killer wasn’t something they were ready to share with the group, but they needed to know. She opened her mouth to explain when the library door pushed in again, and Laz and Schwartz swept into the room with Ethan between them. A problem for another day.
Lyra strode in after them, holding up a card. “I got my pass for security. We’re all set.”
Graves shut his book and looked at his ragtag band. “I have a pass as well. Unfortunately, Walter, Kierse, Niamh, and Gen are out of commission.”
“Wait,” Kierse said, “I am not out of commission.”
His eyes went straight to her wrists. “That’s not a discussion for right now.”
“Bigger news, boss,” Laz said. “We were all fired.”
Graves blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Yep,” Ethan said. “And I was just shaping up the rose garden, too. You should have seen what I’d done to the bushes.”
Schwartz cleared his throat. “As exciting as that is, they’re onto us. I was given the boot from the security team as well.”
Walter coughed and cleared his throat. “Just logged in and saw my access was revoked. I can’t even touch the library network. I’ve been fully blocked.”
“I still have my job,” Gen said on another yawn. “They didn’t cut Covenant. Not that I think any healing is in my cards. Walking hurts right now.”
Graves looked between them one at a time. All of his careful plans over the last couple weeks disintegrated before his eyes.
“We’ll have to do it another time, Graves,” Niamh said solemnly. “Everyone’s magic is flattened, and we have no one on the inside except an actress.”
“Hey!”
“Apologies,” Niamh said conciliatorily. “I saw your last play. It was fantastic.”
Lyra shrugged. “I find that acceptable.”
“Is there another way?” Kierse asked. “I could go steal a bunch of shit this morning. I could be usable still.”
Graves was silent a long, solemn moment before shaking his head. “Niamh is right. This is my team now, and I refuse to risk everyone on a whim.”