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“You are not welcome anywhere in Eurobis.”

Powerful magic flew from the card. A beam of light engulfed Sylvester, swallowing his body. I tucked my head into the crook of my elbow to block out the blinding glare.

When I looked up, there was no trace of the balding man. Only ashes remained, fading into the dirt of the floor.

I gaped.

“Next, please,” the Librarian chirped.

Chapter Fifteen

My eagerness to takethe final steps towards the Great Library was greatly diminished by the thought that I, too, would be vaporized if they found out I was helping a vampire.

From the friendly face that peeked out behind the bright blue hood of the junior Librarian, despite all their knowledge, that particular secret was safe.

“Name?” she asked, with all the courtesy of a hostess at one of the tea shops.

“Samara.” I didn’t dare give a false name here.

“Samara…” She trailed off expectantly.

I swallowed, forcing my tongue to work. “Samara Koisemi.” A name I hadn’t claimed in many years.

She nodded in acknowledgment, but didn’t show any particular recognition while she canted her head as if listening for something. Though I couldn’t hear anything, she nodded once more and extended an arm in invitation.

“Right this way, Samara Koisemi.”

Entering the threshold of the Great Library was no less remarkable than entering another world. The smell of parchment hit me, unmistakable and enticing. Towers of bookshelves stretched higher than should’ve been possible given the height of the building. Books floated freely between shelves up high, zipping from one spot to another without so much as a rustle of the pages. In fact, the entire space was quiet.

My guide moved ahead. I hurried my steps so as not to lose her, but I couldn’t stop my head from swiveling from side to side. She led me around the perimeter of the room—just as the stacks stretched high, a large staircase filled the center, allowing Librarians to move to lower levels. They wore varying shades of blue, from the same bright color of my guide to a dark navy.

“Do I ask you my question?” I whispered.

“No, Samara Koisemi.” It unnerved me to hear my name over and over. It was the name of a criminal, and just the sound of it felt like an accusation. “I am only an apprentice, still learning the language of the Library. You will meet one of our journeymen.”

She eventually led me to a table and sat me down. A male with a cloak two shades darker, with a slightly thickerchain holding the clasps together, sat across from me. The blue hood shrouded his face.

The journeyman.

He regarded me with only the mildest curiosity. Likely a baseline of interest the Librarians had for all things outside of books.

“What is your question?”

My question. I would only ever have one question, one chance to use the oracle magic stored in the Great Library, and not only was I giving it up for a vampire, but I was also giving it up for a myth.

No. I was giving it up for myfreedom.

I repeated the exact words Raphael had breathed in my ear, making sure to let them out at a slow measured pace so I didn’t mess up the order. The Library didn’t allow for corrections if a tongue twisted over the wrong word. “In precise terms, how can one gain possession of the Black Grimoire, as soon as reasonably possible?”

The journeyman jolted back as if I’d used an electric card on him. His hood fell away, revealing an average face, lips gaping at me like a kraken out of water.

“That question,” he breathed. “How do you know about that?Whywould you ask that?”

I frowned at his strong reaction. I’d expected the journeyman to laugh at me. His reaction said there was more truth to the stories than I realized.

“Justcurious,” I hedged.

“Choose another question.” He ground out the demand through clenched teeth.