A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1)(39)

“Those are the misfit pieces! Don’t mix up the misfit pieces!” He pushed into the room quickly, walking as carefully through the puzzles as I had the everlass.

While he was busy, I continued a little farther down the hallway, wondering if I had the courage to try one of the other doors. Ahead, at the end of the hall, one of the double doors stood slightly ajar. I could just make out a shelf of books on the wall. My heart filled with joy, and I started that way.

“No, wait!” Hadriel jumped in front of me with his arms out. “Sorry, I can’t show you that yet. Master’s orders.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why doesn’t he want me to see the library?”

“He takes great pride in that library. There’s a system for checking out books. He wants to go over it with you.”

I rolled my eyes for show, mostly. I couldn’t honestly fault Nyfain for that. With all of the shenanigans that went on here, he’d need to have a very good system for keeping track of books.

Still, I itched to check it out, to run my fingers across the spines. There was probably so much new knowledge in there it would make my head explode. If the only viable hobby for me was to read through that library, no one would ever hear a peep of complaint from me.

However, it was yet another thing I needed to see Nyfain about. Staying away from him wasn’t looking so feasible.

After a deep breath, I clued in to Hadriel rattling off other potential hobbies.

“Knitting?” he asked. I shook my head. “What about making pots out of clay?”

“How about archery? Or sword work. Fighting in general?”

“Anyone good at that stuff was killed. Obviously. Love, have you heard nothing I’ve said? They were the first to go.”

“Hunting? Surely you all need to eat?”

“The master takes care of hunting. But…maybe? I’ll mention it. What about…” He walked us a little farther along.

“What if we just look in the library? I won’t take anything.”

He made a pouty face. “Not this time, I’m afraid. He’s not a fun one to piss off. Soon, though, I promise. I will mention your desire. He loves those books. He’ll make the time for a fellow enthusiast, I guarantee it.” He looped his arm through mine and pointed right. “How about dancing or singing? Do you fancy learning a musical instrument?”

“It just feels like I should be doing something more useful than taking a class.”

He pulled back from me, his brow furrowed. “Maybe don’t say stuff like that. Oh, goddess save us, how are we going to keep the demons from making you have an accident we don’t walk away from? Notice I said we? Yeah, because I’ll end up perishing with you.”

Fire shot through my blood and my fingers tingled, my animal making it very clear about where she stood on demons trying to kill us. I agreed wholeheartedly.

“And that, yeah.” He touched his chest while shaking his head.

“Do you not usually feel your animal?”

He slapped his hand to my mouth. “No,” he whispered, standing closer. “Damn it, I knew you didn’t know much, but I wasn’t told you knew nothing at all. We’re all still suppressed. Everyone but the master. He can occasionally pull our animals to the surface with his power, but it’s rare, and in no time at all they go back to being suppressed. I’m not sure why. How you’re doing it so much is beyond me. Whatever you have lurking in there is powerful, and she never got to make her debut like other animals. She’s probably frustrated and restless and eager to work her way out, right? She’s driving you mental?”

I swallowed and nodded.

He glanced behind him. Seeing that no one was there, he continued to whisper. “When you flex your power, I can feel her lurking. The combined—”

His eyes widened, and fear leaked into them. He reached up to his throat, fingernails scoring his skin.

Alarm rang through me. I reached for him, grabbing his shoulders as he backed against the wall. My animal scrabbled to get out. Hadriel’s face turned red, and he opened and closed his mouth like a fish. No breath could force its way out. He must’ve activated the magical gag!

“Breathe,” I said in terror. I had about five minutes until his brain would suffer. I had to act fast. “Breathe!”

I felt his throat, wondering if I could slice a hole and get him air that way. Would the magical gag cover from chin to chest?

Probably.

Everlass?

My mind shot through all the possibilities as my animal bled fire into me. She shoved her way forward, up and up through my middle until she was throbbing against my limbs. As worry and panic consumed me, I slipped in my hold of her.

She filled my body like a person pulling on a latex suit. Power roared through me, and my senses heightened, the scents and sounds I was processing so complex I couldn’t make sense of them. But she could.

It was like I was a passenger in my own body, but instead of blanking out the way I had before stabbing Nyfain, I could see all that transpired.

She picked up Hadriel like he weighed nothing, draped him over our shoulder, and went running through the hall and then down a couple sets of steps. She stopped instead of continuing on to the door we’d used to enter. Inhaling, processing those complex smells, she turned left and put on a burst of speed.

A woman who’d been walking toward us stopped in confusion.