Page 38

A giant carpet, thick and luxurious, spilled across the floor, sitting beneath velvet brocade chairs. The cushions were plush and inviting, with matching ottomans to hold your feet.

The hand-carved bookshelves, stained a deep mahogany color, ran floor-to-ceiling, many of them were still empty, but a few were filled with books.

I drifted toward one of the shelves, each step weightless as if I were walking in a strange dream.

My fingers skimmed the spines, the leather-bound covers cool to my touch.

Adventure novels.

Tales of pirates, explorers, and adventurers. Magical quests. My throat ached, and the air trapped in my chest had started to burn.

Along the wall and facing a window overlooking the cliffs stood a writing desk. Stacked on top were empty notebooks. Pots of ink and a box full of quills sat next to a crystal jar filled to the brim with sea glass.

All of it waiting.

Gavin’s voice tumbled into my mind.

Marin Nichols—author. I like the sound of that.

This library was exactly the way I’d described it three years ago on a rope bridge crossing a deep cavern on the hunt for Incantus.

My numb fingers curled against my chest, pressing hard as if they could keep the flood of emotions trapped inside. But it wasn’t possible. They spilled through me like a wave filling a tidepool. My vision blurred. I reached blindly for the desk, bracing myself against it.

Annie twirled in a circle of sunlight. “Uncle Gavin calls this room his Library—of the Sea.”

“What?” My voice was hoarse. A soft scrape asking a question I already knew the answer to.

Of the sea.

The origins of my name.

Gavin had built my library. He'd built it knowing I’d never see it. Not as a weapon. Not out of guilt.

The guilty don’t give refuge to someone’s dreams. They try to forget they ever existed.

Gavin could have dragged me here, thrown it in my face as proof. But he didn’t.

I swallowed hard. The room was quiet, but it spoke to me. Loud enough to crest the wall I’d reinforced inside my chest and echo over it.

This wasn’t a game.

Cass was right. I haven’t been paying attention.

“We should go before we get caught,” I said, needing space and time to process what this room meant. Why this quest suddenly felt like more than just saving something. More than righting a past mistake. Like I might be able to claim my future.

Annie nodded and reached for my hand, slipping her gloved fingers through mine.

“Good idea. Besides, my father sent me to find you. He wants to see you before you leave.”

I blinked. “Your father? Why would he want to see me?”

Annie rolled her eyes, tugging me through the arched double doors as we shut them behind us.

“Because you’re part of the best treasure-hunting crew he ever led! And we have a gift for you.”

My feet tripped over themselves. “Wait. Bowen McKenzie is your father? But you’re too old. I thought…”

“I’m adopted. Both my brother, Will, and I.”

And the hits keep coming.

Gavin hadn’t found his family. He’d been teaching tricks of the trade to Bowen’s kid. Telling her my stories.

Oh, no. I had put a knife to his throat in the alcove. When Gavin found out I knew the whole truth, he was going to be insufferable. My lips curled, warmth unfurling inside my chest. Then again, what else was new?

We walked onto the terrace, where I found Bowen talking to Gavin. The two of them had their heads hunched together, speaking quietly. Gavin had already changed his clothes, and his hair was damp.

I cleared my throat. Bowen looked up, a wide smile cracking his features. I almost didn’t recognize him. He had scars running down the side of his face. They were brutal and made him look almost savage. Anger twisted in my gut at whoever had done this to him, but I pushed it down .

That smile was pure Bowen.

“Marin!” He opened his arms, and I raced into them. Bowen swung me in the air, spinning us in a tight circle before dropping me back to my feet. His hands closed over my shoulders. “It is so good to see you. You have been missed.”

“I missed you, too.”

Gavin shifted his weight against the rail, his grip flexing once, then tightening on the edge like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay or walk away. His head dropped to his chin, but not before I saw the flicker of something, almost like envy, in his eyes.

“I hear you’ve been busy.” Bowen cocked his head toward Gavin. His smile stretched a scar across his face. “Next time you shackle our friend here, make sure it’s to something unbreakable.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Lessons were learned.”

Gavin grumbled under his breath, “I thought we agreed not to give her any more weapons against me.”

He still wore the iron cuff on his wrist. It dangled against his side as if he’d forgotten it was there.

I squeezed Bowen’s arms. “I met Annie. She’s wonderful and very clever. Congratulations. I know how much you wanted a family someday. A whole brood to follow in your treasure-hunting footsteps.”

Gavin kicked the rail with his boot.

Bowen’s chest filled with a breath steeped in pride. “When you get back, I want you to meet my wife, Liana. You’ll love her. She changed my life when I was at my lowest.”

My gaze found Gavin’s over Bowen’s shoulder, and something expanded inside my chest.

“I’m happy for you.” But my eyes were still on Gavin, my voice softening. “You were always the most sentimental one out of all of us.”

A muscle ticked in Gavin’s jaw. Then he pushed off the rail and stretched like he’d woken from a long nap.

“Touching. Truly. But we have a vine to climb.”

Annie approached and tugged on her father’s sleeve. “Give Marin our gift.”

“What gift?” I asked as Bowen removed a scroll from inside his jacket.

“A map to the shard.”

Bowen ruffled the top of Annie’s head, and she squirmed. “You’re messing up my braids. Let me give it to her!”

She plucked the scroll from his hands and presented it to me like it was a chest of the finest silk.

“The map isn’t as detailed as I would have liked, but my father wouldn’t let me attune properly.”

I frowned. “Attune?”

Gavin smirked at Annie. “The misfit here has a rare talent. She can channel magic into a map that leads to whatever a person wants most. All she needs is skin contact. Just a touch and she’ll map out your deepest desire. She used me to create this one.”

His tone was flippant, yet the implication wasn’t. I glanced at Gavin, but he pretended not to notice as he flicked invisible dust off his tunic. My grip on the scroll tightened.

“Unfortunately, her magic comes at a risk,” Bowen added, nudging Annie on the shoulder.

“She hasn’t mastered it yet, which is why she wears gloves.

If the magic overwhelms her, it turns her into a beacon for anyone who would exploit her power.

Which is why any map-making is strictly supervised by either me or Liana.

” He muttered the last part like a warning in case Annie had other ideas.

“But we both agree that helping you is worth the small risk.”

Annie made a face, then wriggled her fingers. “ Ugh. I already told you. I won’t get kidnapped again! I’ve been practicing. And I’m getting better.”

Bowen grumbled, “Have children, they said. It will be fun, they said.”

I held back a grin and pressed the map against my heart. “Thank you, Annie. This is a very special gift.”

Annie preened, running her hand along the back of her braids. “You’re welcome. Oh, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the story.”

“What story?”

“The lov—”

“All right!” Bowen clapped Annie on the shoulder as Gavin coughed into his fist. “Enough talk. Let’s let Uncle Gavin and Marin start their quest.” He pulled me into another quick hug. “Be safe, Marin. And welcome back.”

I nodded, watching as an unspoken conversation passed between Bowen and Gavin. Then Gavin scooped up his pack and mine, leaving me with nothing to do but follow.