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“Did you read it?”

“I can’t. It’s all written in the old tongue.”

Ambrose looked far happier than I’d possibly ever seen him. “Well, of course it is.”

“Is this one of your grandmother’s journals then?”

He nodded. “I should have guessed she’d do something like this. It’s elegant, really.”

I waited, expecting him to continue but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled the book toward him and started flipping through the pages.

“Well, don’t leave us in suspense,” Scion barked. “What’s so fucking elegant?”

Ambrose didn’t look up from the book as he answered. “Clearly Grandmother left this here knowing we’d be here to find it, which means she was having visions beyond her own death. I didn’t think it was possible, but it’s the only explanation. We’ve been through every other journal in her office and the one we needed was being kept by the only person in this city you would go to for help? It’s beyond coincidence.”

I stifled a yawn. “I hope you’re right.”

I knew I should be more excited about the book. It was impressive if Celia had managed to leave it here for us years before she died. And more importantly. I was sure that Ambrose was right and the journal would hold some information about the curse or Aisling’s heir–possibly both.

There was absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t be leaping at the chance to pour over the book, yet for some reason I couldn’t find the energy. Since the moment we’d arrived–the moment we escaped the mob–I’d felt like I was walking in a fog. Like I wasso tired, that everything happening was barely penetrating my mind.

“Have more tea,” Ciara barked, eying me warily. “You still look like death.”

I stifled another yawn and reached for the half empty kettle. That small movement alone made the muscles in my arms scream, and I gritted my teeth. “Perhaps we should go find an inn or something and discuss this more in the morning. I don’t know why, but I can barely seem to focus. I can’t recall feeling this drained since the first hunt. I can barely lift my arms.”

“I’m sorry,” Scion said dully.

I glanced over at him, and found that he looked nearly as exhausted as I felt. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed and head tipped back. His eyes were closed and if I hadn’t just heard him speak I would have thought he was sleeping.

“Why are you sorry?” I asked.

Scion cracked one silver eye open. “It’s my fault you’re so tired.”

I looked around the table blankly, feeling like I was missing something. “I don’t understand.”

Without warning, Ciara stepped up behind me and cracked a wooden spoon across the back of my skull. “Wake up, girl. You’re smarter than this.”

I lurched forward, yelping in surprise and pain. In the same instant, all three of the Everlasts had leapt up from their chairs, and were glaring at Ciara with murder in their eyes.

“Wait!” I put both hands up, trying to halt the impending violence even as my eyes watered. “I’m fine. Don’t hurt her.”

“Of course you’re fine,” Ciara griped, not seeming the least bit concerned over the three enormous Fae males, poised to rip her head from her body.

“Don’t touch her again,” Bael snapped, sitting back down with a threatening glare.

“Yes, yes,” Ciara said with a roll of her eyes. “I understand. Any harm comes to your precious queen and I’ll die a painful death.”

I turned my entire body around in my chair to look at Ciara, rubbing the back of my head. “Yes, you will, but they won’t have to do anything. Do that again and I’ll kill you myself.”

The old woman just shrugged. “Don’t be so dramatic. Sometimes children forget to use their brains and they need the smarts beat back into them.”

I scowled harder. I was starting to wonder if we’d made a mistake in coming here.

I glanced across the table at Ambrose again to find him already looking at me, his black eyes full of meaning. I bit back a sigh. Evidently we had a larger reason for being here and my skull would simply have to pay the price.

“Would you care to explain what you’re talking about?” I ground out. “What’s so obvious that I need to have the knowledgebeat back into me.”

“That one is your mate, is he not?” Ciara jerked her head at Scion.