I faded in and out of their conversation while I read, searching the old documents and notes for any details that could help. It still surprised me how easily Aern had fit into Emily’s life, how central he’d become so quickly. She’d kept to herself more often than not, and it knew it wasn’t simply the prophecy or their bond that connected them. Emily had a way of making people trust her. What I didn’t know, was if she could be so comfortable with Logan because Aern had faith in him, or if he shared his life-long friend’s talent as well. Because Aern also had that ability to make people trust him.
I remembered the first day I’d met him, when he’d come for me the way my mother had said he would. He’d been fully prepared to have to convince me, to take me with him by any means necessary. But it didn’t come to that, because I knew. I didn’t let on to Aern or the Division, not everything at least, but I had known I’d no other choice. The visions had gotten stronger, warning me.
I’d had to leave Emily, give her every chance I could to keep her out of Morgan’s hands. Even Aern didn’t know about her then, because there was only one chain of events that wouldn’t end badly. I placed a hand absently at the scar on my stomach. Well, not too badly, I thought. But that hadn’t been his fault. That was Morgan. Aern had taken great care to keep me safe. And whether I’d had the visions or not, I would have trusted him. I was almost sure of it.
When I realized the room had fallen silent, I glanced over at Emily and Logan to find them watching me, both wearing some mixture of concern and curiosity. I dropped the hand I’d been holding to my midriff instantly. Aern walked into the room at the same moment and I cringed, hating that they were going to ask about my injury with him in earshot.
But the buzz of Logan’s cell phone saved me.
“That would be Brendan,” Aern said. “He’s already called me.” Aern shared a look with Logan before his eyes came to mine. “He seems to think you’re being reckless with our Brianna.”
Emily shifted, and I knew if Brendan were here, she’d give him a piece of her mind.
“He’d like to have her back at Southmont,” Aern continued. “Under his protection.”
Emily glanced at Logan. “Well, I guess you’re doing something right.”
“Brendan isn’t that hard to hide from,” he said after a pause. “It’s easy to deceive a man who thinks he’s above it.”
Logan’s gaze didn’t travel back to Aern’s, and I could see that there was some unspoken message between them, something purposefully left out. It only took a moment to realize what it was—if Logan didn’t have me at one of the Division properties and Council wasn’t yet prepared, then where were we?
When my eyes came back to Aern, he changed the subject. “So, any luck?”
I had all but forgotten the book beneath my fingers. “No,” I said. “Not yet.”
He nodded. “There were a few things we found among Morgan’s belongings. You’re welcome to look at those as well.”
“That would be great,” I answered.
Emily slid her chair back to stand. “I’ll take her now.” She glanced at Aern. “If it’s safe.”
“Yes,” he said, barely managing to mask his relief that she was finally verifying her safety before making a move. But I had a pretty good idea she’d been checking for me, not her. As far as Emily was concerned, chosen or no, she was still my protector.
Chapter Ten
Discovery
I followed Emily into a small office off the main library. The library was different than the archive, not only in its reading material, but in its openness and warmth. The room was flooded with sunlight from three large windows, the bookshelves only shaded by a pair of bright patterned curtains on either end. The furniture was pastel and, by all appearances, soft, scattered with an eclectic but somehow balanced collection of pillows that made me want to curl up there for the rest of the afternoon. So, I was a bit snow-blind when she closed the door on the tiny, dark room where Morgan’s things were stored.
She moved two large boxes from the floor onto the polished black desk. “Most of it got thrown out, but there were a few things we thought might be of some importance,” Emily explained.
I stepped forward, shifting a couple of notebooks on top of the pile aside. “You’ve already looked through it, then?”
“Not really,” she said. “Aern and I pulled this stuff from Morgan’s office and the other box was gathered from his private rooms.” She waved vaguely at the box in question before sliding the chair out of her way to stand beside me. “We didn’t take much time examining it. It was pretty creepy, all in all.”
I flipped open a hardcover journal, feeling a spasm of revolt that nearly had me throwing it back down at the words scribbled in Morgan’s hand.
Emily leaned over my shoulder, peering at the text that spelled out our own names in hurried, uncontrolled script. “Yep. Like that.”
I forced myself to continue through the pages, seemingly random notes and numbers interposed with quotes from the prophecy, all in more than a few different languages. And the word Dragon. Over and over.
“Blood of the Dragon,” I mumbled in Latin, not entirely meaning to, and Emily ran a hand over her bare arm.