Page 143 of Brimstone

A tiny silver butterfly was stamped in foil on the front cover.

Other than that, there were no gilded edges. No fancy woven tassel.

It was a plain bound book with no extraordinary embellishments . . . and it landed on the floor at my feet with athump.

Holy gods.

I held my breath as I picked it up. The spine creaked as I drew back the hardcover, as if it were any old book that simply hadn’t been opened in a long time.

For you, gods blessed.

Thank you for loving my boy.

—E

A single droplet of blood marked the page below the writing. Bright red, it was still fresh.Mine.The stargazer had cut me because it had wanted to test my blood. To make sure I was who it thought I was—who it had been waiting over a millennium for.

That first stargazer had nicked me, too. But I had backed out of the library, and . . . the stargazers could not exist outside of their sanctuary. It had lost its magic before it could confirm who I was . . .

Holy.

Fucking.

Gods.

Edina’s book. It had been here, all along, waiting to find me . . .

“Saeris?”

I spun around, pulse flying. Kingfisher stepped out of the shadows, and without thinking, I quickly tucked the book behind my back.

His cheeks were red, his hair ruffled, as if he’d been outside in the cold. A small smile played over his lips as he saw me and stopped, leaning against the wooden bay of shelves next to him, tucking his thumbs into the belt at his waist. “Everything okay? I heard you cursing like a pirate back here.”

“Yes, everything’s fine. I—”

Find it. But donottell him about it. I mean it. It’s important. He can’t know about the book. Only you. Do you understand?

Edina’s voice echoed through my mind. Memories of her, cloudy-eyed and desperate as she’d spoken through Everlayne back in the bedroom back in Cahlish. She hadn’t just asked me not to tell Fisher about the book. She hadcommandedme not to.

I looked upon my mate’s face now and saw the tired shadows beneath his eyes. He had just gone through hell and back for me. Yes, we badly needed the silver he and Carrion had broughtback from Zilvaren, but that hadn’t been theonlyreason he’d gone back to my city. He had gone forme, so that he could bring Hayden here. He would go back there again, even though he hated it—I wouldn’t even have to ask.

And that was as far as I got.

I produced the book from behind my back and held it out to him. “Your mother told me about a book,” I said. “Back in Cahlish, when she told me I had to seal my runes. She told me I needed to find it, and that once I did, I shouldn’t tell you about it, but . . .” I shook my head, holding it out to him. “That doesn’t feel right. Here. I found it. This is the book.”

Fisher’s smile slowly faded, but it didn’t disappear altogether. It took on a sad edge as he pushed away from the bookshelves and slowly came toward me. Pensively, he took the book and opened it. Turning past the first page with the note to me and my droplet of blood, his eyes skipped quickly over the text there, before he set his jaw, letting go of a long, deep breath. His eyes shone bright as mirrors when he closed the book and handed it back to me. The next thing I knew, he was cradling the back of my head in his hand and pressing a kiss against my forehead.

“The book is foryou, Saeris,” he whispered. “But thank you for sharing it with me.” He drew back, not even bothering to hide that his eyes were filling with tears.

I looked down at the book, brushing my fingers over the foiled silver butterfly stamped onto the front cover. “But . . . don’t you want to read it?” It made no sense. If there was a whole book full of my mother’s handwriting, I didn’t know what kind of crimes I would commit if it meant I got to read it. This was a message from the grave. A hand, reaching out from the dark. And Fisher didn’t want to take it?

That heavy, sad smile reappeared again. “No,” he said softly. “This is what she wanted. I trust her. And I trustyou, LittleOsha. Whatever revelations might be in that book, they’re for you and you alone. You’ll know what you need to do with them.”

33

NO REGRETS

KINGFISHER