Silver at Midnight: A Paranormal Romance Urban Fantasy (The Keepers of Knowledge Series Book 5) Bridgette O'Hare (ebook offline .txt) đ
- Author: Bridgette O'Hare
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âArrow says itâs . . . in there.â He pointed into the darknessâthe entry to the cavern.
âI hope ya brought a flashlight,â I quipped.
âWeâll do the best we can. Arrow canât be wrong, and if thatâs the way to the Kanna Stone, then thatâs where we are going.â He pulled his phone from his pocket, tapped on the flashlight, and we started into the obscurity of the cavern.
âThat âtis a sad flashlight,â I teased. But I meant it. We had no way of knowing if there was a drop off at the next step that would lead to broken bodies or worse. However, a few steps into the black void things got a little brighter. Literally.
âUmm . . . Why are ya glowing?â Cian asked.
I looked down and sure enough, it was me. More specifically, the Moon Orb in my pocket. âBecause Iâm a beacon of light anâ hope?â I reached in and brought the orb into view, half-draped in its velvet protective shield and still bright enough that it lit the cavern for as far as we could see. Jagged rock formations pierced down from above us. The light of the orb reflected on the water trickling down as it dripped into an iridescent pool beneath. âNow . . . thatâs a flashlight.â
Cian chuckled, shutting his phone down and returning it to his pocket. âI like it. Letâs keep going.â
Iâd been counting the number of turns and noting direction, but when weâd turned down our third corridor of rock the question hit me. âSo . . . is this arrow goinâ tâ lead us back out of here? Because I havenât been leavinâ breadcrumbs.â
âBut youâve been counting the turns.â
âHowâd ya know that?â
âI heard ya.â
âCian, I didnât count out loud.â
He glanced over his shoulder at me with one eye squinted and his brow furrowed. âAre ya sure?â
My head bounced up and down rapidly. âPositive. Youâre in my head againâ
âInteresting.â
âYa keep sayinâ that. Whyâs it so interesting?â
Cian stopped and turned to face me; his tone took on an authoritative quality. âBecause unless two beings are both of pure heavenly blood, this type of connection only happens when two souls bondâwhen they are a reflection of each other. And right now, you donât trust me, much less want a soul bond with me. Itâs not enough that Iâm all in, well . . . it shouldnât be. So, itâs a bit on the odd side that we can communicate that way.â
I didnât know what to say. I wanted to trust Cian. I wanted more, but he had lied to me. âWhy didnât you just tell me the truth about Kage from the start?â I asked bluntly.
His shoulders fell. âI couldnât. My mission had very specific boundaries. Ya were a bit of a wild card, Aish. And as much as I knew from the moment we met that I could trust ya with that information, I had orders and an objective I had tâ follow. Telling ya was an unknown factor. I need ya tâ understand. I never knew of Kageâs plan tâ kidnap ya until it was already done. I think he wanted tâ gauge my reaction and see where my loyalties were. Iâm sorry I wasnât there when ya needed me.â He stepped closer to me and his warmth began to curve around me. âIf ya allow me the chance, it wonât happen again.â
Every fiber of my being wanted to give in to him . . . except that one stubborn fiber that told me to trust no one. But then he leaned in and pressed his lips softly on my forehead. And thatâs when the vision struck me again. This time, the hand gripping the Tartaros Blade stood out. My body jerked back at the visual assault; I squeezed the orb tightly as my footing faltered. Cian wrapped his free arm around my waist and steadied me.
âYa aâight, lass?â
I gave one bob of my head.
âYa sure have been losinâ your balance a bit today,â he teased.
âYeah, well, isnât that what our objective here is? Restore the balance?â
âTouchĂ©. I much prefer your version of doinâ so. But really . . . what happened jusâ now?â
âMaybe I jusâ got a little swoony.â Not entirely false, but not completely forthcoming either. I tried to rationalize not telling Cian everything; it really wasnât much different than him lying to me. Only, I wasnât on a mission from a higher authority. So, who was I to fault him for following orders? Iâd have done the same thing in his position. âNo. Thatâs not entirely true.â
He held his stare on me, waiting for me to finish.
âIt was the vision again. Of the blade . . . and you.â
âAh. Are ya okay?â he asked.
âIâll be better if we can get our hands on this stone and the blade and put an end tâ this nonsense.â
âWe will.â
âWell, we arenât goinâ tâ make it happen standinâ here.â I pushed past him before I remembered he was the one with the magical little arrow in his hand and I stopped. âGot a litâl carried away.â I waved my hand for him to go.
He snickered and took the lead.
Several minutes later, we emerged into a large open space with a catacomb of tunnels leading in different directions. At the center of the space stood a circular stone pillar with a bench-like ledge around the bottom. It was easily as wide as Cian was tall. Chiseled into the pillar were more of the glyphs I had seen on the altar and scattered throughout the ruins. After taking in the surroundings for a moment, I realized Cian was simply walking in circles around the room.
âWhatâs goinâ on? Ya seem perplexed.â
âThe arrow is just spinninâ. It wonât stop and give me a direction. So, I donât know which tunnel tâ take.â He raked a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.
I started to step away from our entry point but then I considered how
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