Silver at Midnight: A Paranormal Romance Urban Fantasy (The Keepers of Knowledge Series Book 5) Bridgette O'Hare (ebook offline .txt) 📖

how something is said. There is a great deal of power in words. Spells are cast or cursed based on the sway of their words. A single word can win or lose a war.” A sense of sorrow diluted his tone.

Instinctively, I laced my fingers over his. “That is the most profound thing I’ve heard ya say.”

He winked. “More where that came from if ya stick around.”

“Aye, I’ll keep that in mind,” I retorted, releasing my hold on his hand.

“So, anything else?” he asked.

“From the Lunar goddess, ya mean?”

“Aye.”

“The only other thing I remember was somethin’ about findin’ my soul’s reflection. It didn’t make sense. I mean, how is one s’pose to see the reflection of their soul?”

Cian eyed my strangely.

“What? Do ya know somethin’ about that?” I questioned.

“I’m goin’ t’ let this one slide because you’ve had a lot to handle and process today. I’m truly quite impressed at how well ya retain information. For a mortal, and all,” he teased.

I narrowed my eyes. “Funny. So, what’d I miss?”

“Soul bonds.”

I tried to think back to what he had told me. “Oh. What ya said about them bein’ a reflection of each other. Ya think that’s what she meant?”

“We did hold a telepathic conversation, Aish.”

He wasn’t wrong, but wrapping my mind around being bonded on such a level with someone who was . . . well . . . immortal—it was a lot to take in. When I glanced up, a goofy grin stared back at me. “What?”

“I think ya already know. Ya just haven’t admitted it to yourself.” His grin widened.

“We need to figure out the rest of this riddle and get our hands on the Kanna Stone,” I said changing the subject.

I heard him snickering as I refocused on the inscription.

“Yes. Focus. We’ll reflect back on this later.” He snickered again.

I rolled my eyes and read the full message aloud to let it really sink in.

“Two brothers stood together until envy broke the bond.

The scale now sits unbalanced, what was right has become wrong.

The pure in heart can equalize. The pure in soul can heal.

The two in one together reveal what evil has concealed.

The stone you seek is covered yet hidden within sight.

Look inside to find it, the pure in heart will hold the light.”

“So . . . I just don’t get the first half, we’ll come back t’ that. But this last part . . . that’s what we need t’ unravel. The stone you seek is covered yet hidden in sight. What d’ya think that means?”

Cian rubbed a hand over his stubbled mouth and thought. “Sounds t’ me like it’s hidden in plain sight. So, let’s look around an’ see if anything seems out of place.” I’ll take the outer wall, you take this.” He motioned to the circular pillar bench with the writing and glyphs.

We got to our feet and began our search. I saw nothing that seemed hidden in sight. “Ya findin’ anything?” I called over to Cian who had stopped and was concentrating on something in the dim light.

“Bring that flashlight over here.”

I complied, but we could immediately see that what he’d found was just a crack in the stone and nothing more. I went back to the bench and began my inspection once more. The glyphs seemed to be randomized on individual stones. There was no rhyme or reason—or so it seemed. The third time I went around the pillar, a thought struck me.

“Hey, Cian. C’mere a minute.” As he made the ten paces over to me, I asked him to stand on the opposite side of the pillar from me. He complied. “I’m goin’ to describe a glyph. I want you to tell me if you see one on that side. I think these mirror each other.”

“Oh? Ya mean like a reflection?” He leaned and smirked at me from his station on the opposite side.

I squinted hard at him and pressed my mouth tightly to one side then ignored his comment. “Ya ready? I’m goin’ to start with the top right and move across like I’m readin’ a book.”

“Yup. Go.”

“Top right . . . looks kind o’ like a deer with antlers.”

“Check.”

“Spiral.”

“Check.”

We went through several more glyphs until we were about halfway through.

“Fishin’ hook.”

“Check.”

“Half a star with two dots.”

“Check.”

“Two crossed swords.”

“Umm . . .”

I waited but no confirmation came.

“Nope. Don’t see that,” Cian declared.

“Hmph. You’re sure?”

“I know what swords look like, Aish. I’m a guy and I’ve used them,” he quipped.

I held the Moon Orb closer to the stones, examining the crossed swords. Something about the glow that emanated from the swords seemed off. It wasn’t noticeable from a distance, but the closer the orb, the more distinct the color change. “C’mere. This thing is changin’ colors. Ya have t’ see this.”

Cian joined me and I held the orb next to us then moved it toward the half star glyph until it was only inches away. Nothing. “Now . . . watch this.” I held the orb near us again then closed in on the crossed swords. As I did, the glow of the glyph changed from white with a silvery blue hue to white with a pale shade of red.

“Aye. That is definitely different.”

“Little cliché, don’t ya think?”

“What’s that?” Cian furrowed his brow.

I cocked my head to one side. “Umm . . . X marks the spot?”

A huge smile spread over his face, and both dimples made an appearance. “One way t’ find out.” He reached forward and pushed on the stone.

Nothing happened.

I was unable to hold back my laughter. “Did ya really think it would be that easy? Nothin’ is simple, remember?”

“Some things are simple,” he argued.

“Not this.”

“Fine. Any ideas?”

Rubbing my temples, I pulled in a deep breath. There had to be something. I scrunched back down to read over the inscription again.

“The pure in heart. The pure in soul. The two in one together reveal what evil has concealed. Ugh . . . what does that mean?” I blew out a frustrated sigh.

“That Lunar woman told me