“Glad you like it, because you need to live here now that all of London thinks you’re dead. I have no idea how you’d get along back there.”
“That’s fine with me.” She looked down at her hands, her brow furrowed as if she expected to see something there. “I just wish I knew if I had magic.”
“You do,” Mac said. “You turned into a raven, for fates’ sake.”
“That could have been Carrow,” Beatrix said.
“Nah.” Mac shook her head. “Her magic did something to you when you died, that’s for sure. But I doubt it turned you into a raven.”
I nodded. “That’s my bet, too.”
Seraphia appeared from the back of the library, her hair a bit messy from whatever she’d been getting into. “Ready?”
I cut my eyes to Grey, who nodded. “Looks like it.”
“Good.” She gestured for us to follow, then turned around. “You’re going to want to be as quick as possible. The longer you stay, the more dangerous it will be. And whatever you do, don’t lose that book.”
I nodde
d, clutching it tightly. The Fae seamstress had sewn a special pocket into my heavy skirts for it, and I tucked it in, buttoning the pocket closed. I also had Rasla’s seal, though I had no idea what to do with it.
The library grew darker and quieter the deeper back we went, until finally, we stood in front of the empty aisle. The air sparkled with pale golden light, beckoning.
“Be careful,” Beatrix said. “Being dead sucks.”
I cracked a smile and looked at Grey.
He held out a hand.
I took it, unable to help the faint shiver that ran up my arm, filling me with heat. Together, we stepped toward the light. Magic pulled at me, sparking against my skin. Nerves fluttered in my stomach, my breath growing short.
The magic tugged harder the deeper we went. I pulled the book from my pocket, hoping that the portal could tell where we wanted to go.
“Open the book,” Seraphia said from behind us.
Carefully, I flipped it open with one hand, choosing a page at random. I couldn’t read any of the pages, so I figured it didn’t matter which one I opened to.
The lights around us glowed more brightly, the magic pulsing. It yanked at me, pulling me into the ether and spinning me through space. I gripped Grey’s hand tightly, terrified of losing him.
My head whirled and my stomach pitched as we traveled, my vision going dark. Finally, hard ground appeared beneath my feet, and I stumbled. Grey caught me, pulling me against him.
Panting, I opened my eyes.
We stood in the library. It was even darker than it had been before, the golden light faint.
“Did it work?” I whispered.
“I think so.”
We left the aisle, moving silently. What would the librarian think if she saw us? Would she know we’d come from another time?
The main part of the library wasn’t quite as empty as it was in our era. Several patrons strolled through the aisles, their clothing ornate and heavy-looking, just like ours.
I looked up at Grey, noticing that he had put his hat on and tilted his head down. He needed to remain unnoticed until we’d taken care of his past self. Two Devils of Darkvale walking around town would be problematic.
We ducked back into the aisle, and I reached into my bag, pulling out one of the face-altering potions Eve had given us. It wouldn’t change our looks much, and it wouldn’t work for long, but it would make him slightly unrecognizable as the Devil if one were to only glance at him. We hadn’t wanted to use it unless necessary, but the library was busy at this hour.
I handed it to him, and he drank it. His face shifted only slightly—becoming slightly broader and his hair paler—but it was enough that he’d probably go unrecognized.