Immortal Consequences(88)

“I’m—” Don’t cry, Emilio. Pull yourself together. “I’m going to do some last-minute research.”

“Well, let me go with you.”

Emilio dropped the remaining petals on the floor. “Shouldn’t you go meet up with Scarlett? The ball is set to start soon.”

Olivier sighed.

“Scarlett can wait. Either way, she only asked me to go with her so she could make her ex-boyfriend jealous.”

Emilio stilled.

“Is that the only reason why?”

Olivier hesitated, eyes roaming over Emilio’s face.

“I can’t speak for Scarlett,” he whispered, his voice slightly hoarse. “But I can confidently say, without a shred of doubt, that there is nothing else from my end.” He stepped closer, his face deeply serious. “Nothing.”

Emilio felt the knot in his stomach loosen. The pressure in his chest deflate.

“All right, well…” He cleared his throat. “I’m actually about to sneak into the Library. It will only take a minute.”

“Emilio…” Olivier whispered his name with a conspiratorial glint. “I’ve corrupted you.”

“It’s for research.”

“Care to elaborate?”

Emilio chuckled. “How much time do you have?”

“For you?” Olivier sighed. “An eternity.”

* * *

They crossed through the evening fog, approaching the steps of the Library. Neither of them said much during the walk over. A strange tension seemed to permeate the air between them, an unspoken friction.

Olivier had taken about three steps toward the main Library doors when Emilio grabbed him by the collar and snatched him backward.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Emilio hissed.

“I thought you said we were going to the Library—”

“We are, but we can’t just waltz in there when it’s closed. There are protective wards surrounding the main entrance. Not to mention Ascended on guard.” He grabbed Olivier’s head and angled his gaze toward the doors. “See? Two of them.” There were two Ascended standing side by side, a boy Emilio vaguely recognized, with orange hair and freckled skin, and a girl by the name of Dylan Blatheson. Notoriously smart and astute. Nominated for the Decennial in her fifth year.

Their iridescent eyes glowed in the darkness, making the two look like a pair of predators ready to strike.

“We have to go around,” Emilio whispered. He guided Olivier toward the side of the building.

They walked pressed against the towering ivy-draped walls, avoiding the pockets of lavender light funneling through the trees. “Either way…we’re not going to the main part of the Library,” Emilio continued. “They don’t keep the texts I need there. We have to access the Housemasters’ section.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

Emilio revealed the iron key dangling at his waistband. “I’ve got my resources.”

Olivier raised his brow in surprise. “Emilio Córdova. I have to say…I’m very impressed.”

A searing heat crept up Emilio’s neck as they approached the familiar arched door carved into the side of the building.

Olivier inspected the surface with a scowl. “There’s no keyhole,” he muttered, hands pressed against the door. “Are you sure this is the right entrance?”

Emilio rolled his eyes. “Move.”

He grabbed the key and pressed it flat against the surface of the door. The second the outline of the key made contact with the wood, shards of golden light pooled around the key in a swirling pattern, spreading over the door like shooting stars. Olivier made a noise of surprise behind Emilio as the golden light exploded into microscopic sparks and the door slowly swung open, creaking at the hinges.

“All right,” Olivier sighed. “Now I’m actually impressed.”

Emilio bit back a smile. “Follow me.”

From the outside, the Housemasters’ section of the Library was enchanted to appear rather small, but as they entered, the space grew in the blink of an eye. The dark wooden walls seemed to stretch up toward the heavens infinitely, lined floor to ceiling with ancient textbooks and scrolls. A large orb hovered at the center of the Library, emanating a greenish glow that blanketed the floor around them in an eerie sheen. The air was redolent with the warm scent of old books and damp earth.

“Wow.” Olivier blanched as he took his first steps inside. “This place is huge. I mean…it looks like it goes on forever.”

“I have a theory that it does,” Emilio replied. “The towering walls are probably only an illusion, but my theory is that this space is an eternal source of knowledge. There’s no quantifiable number of books within the Housemasters’ section of the Library. It’s like a never-ending well of…” His voice trailed away. Olivier was watching him with a peculiar smirk on his lips.

“What?”

Olivier chuckled. “It was just an expression, Emilio.”

“Oh.” Emilio cleared his throat. “I knew that.”

Ignoring the unwelcome flush creeping onto his cheeks, Emilio charged toward the orb at the center of the room, waving Olivier over.

“How are we possibly going to find the book you need?” Olivier asked, bewildered. “It could take ages.”