“Not rumblings,” Rickard said—and he was starting to smile. The sight put a knot in Daniel’s gut.
Across the room, still huddled in the corner, Olivia slumped lower. She shook her head, opening her mouth. Will clapped a hand over it, hissing something in her ear, and she subsided again.
Rickard gestured toward Daniel, walking over to stand alongside Madis. “I did what I promised,” he said. “Indira did not lie. We had an opportunity—and now, we have access to Alexandria.”
Madis’s gaze turned to Daniel. His blood chilled. Something in the way that man looked at him. Calculating. Cold. But underneath the surface, there was a raw, burning interest laid bare that couldn’t be brushed aside.
He glanced to Indira, though, narrowing his eyes. “This is true?”
Indira was still seated on the ground, not trying to rise just yet. She too glanced to Daniel—and while it seemed like moments ago her expression had been regretful, now all he could see was excitement. “Yes,” she said. “It’s all right there. Like I said.”
“As soon as we crack its shell open,” Rickard muttered.
It was a tiny comment, but Madis turned back to him, his face hardening. “There have been issues.”
“I wouldn’t say issues, precisely, but-”
“I have not instructed you to be vague,” Madis interrupted.
Rickard nodded, biting off his protests. “Yes,” he said. “We’ve found our way inside, but...his defenses are strong. And the building itself seems to move at his beck and call. We haven’t been able to find our way to the core of the place that others have spoken of.”
“Ah,” Madis said. “The Library aids him, you say?” He glanced back to Indira. “Have you taken ownership? I believe my heir stated that was your goal, yes?”
Her cheeks flushed. She shook her head. “I haven’t- I’m afraid I’m not sure how to-”
“We haven’t been able to find his focus,” Rickard said with a sigh. “We searched him before transport, but...we found nothing.” His expression brightened again. “Perhaps- Madis, while we were fighting, before he was captured, he appeared to call on the old powers. Perhaps his focus is simply too different, too-”
“Yes, yes,” Madis said, nodding. “I see. Well, boy. Let’s have a look at you, eh?”
Daniel flinched as Madis looked at him, that hunger burning stronger in his gaze than ever. With two great strides, the man crossed to him, sliding a hand under his chin to lift his head.
His skin prickled as the Madis’s fingers explored the crook of his neck, dipping under his shirt collar.
“Ah- We searched him already, Madis,” Rickard said. “We didn’t find him wearing anything that might be a focus.”
“Quite right,” Madis said. “I merely wanted to check. I do so hate to cause distress if unnecessary.”
Rickard blinked. “W-What?”
Whatever his response was, Daniel didn’t hear it. Madis’s hands closed around his throat in the next instant, his thumbs squeezing his windpipe shut. He twitched, kicking out instinctively, but Madis might as well have been a brick wall. His lungs burned. His head pounded.
Somewhere, someone was screaming. A woman. Olivia. The man throttling him seemed wholly unbothered. If anything, he clamped down harder.
Again, Daniel kicked, trying to twist free, but there was nowhere to go. Someone had him by the shoulders, pinning him down, and the manic racing of his pulse beat faster and faster. The sound of her screams was going tinny, fading around the edges, and-
All at once the pressure let up, and Daniel slumped forward, spluttering. His own ragged breathing resounded in his ears, panicked and terrified. His lungs seared with fire, and his throat- Well, his throat felt about as good as if a grown man had been using it as a stress ball.
Something clinked—and his hair rustled as something brushed past it.
“There, see?” Madis said. “The Library is an overprotective hen.”
Daniel cracked his eyes open in time to see him lean back, Daniel’s Librarian pendant dangling from his fist. “W-Wait,” he croaked. His skin prickled, as though a part of him had been cut away. “Don’t-”
“I don’t understand,” Rickard said. “What happened? And...how did you know? How did-”
“She will not show her face, normally,” Madis said, peering down at the golden book. He nodded, apparently satisfied, and gestured for Indira to approach. “She does not have to. She is the oldest, after all, and her magic operates by different rules.”
“T-The oldest? She? But- w-what are you-”
“But, when succession is threatened, she will show her face, so that she may be passed to a new Librarian.” He reached out, holding the necklace in front of Indira. “Sometimes she merely needs...reminding, of such matters. Of her place.”
Indira held her cupped hands up, eyes round, and Madis let the necklace fall into her palms.
Daniel just...stared. Nausea roiled in his gut, and his skin was still shivering, like he’d suddenly broken into a cold sweat. Nothing could quite quell the feeling of betrayal stirring within him, though.
Alexandria was...she was his. She couldn’t be taken away from him so easily. It wasn’t...It wasn’t right. And it was just a necklace, besides.
Wasn’t it?
“Do not look so upset, Librarian.” Madis’s words brought Daniel back to reality, and he looked up. Madis was looking at him, a tiny smile on his lips. “We have an opportunity. Now, we might finally undo the wrongs committed so long ago. I will admit, I did not expect for this to be the outcome, but...my heir has once again surprised me.”
Rickard didn’t respond. He was still staring at Madis, confusion plain in his eyes—alongside a healthy dose of what looked like hurt. Distrust? Betrayal?
“Nevertheless,” Madis continued. He stepped forward, nodding to someone behind Daniel. “I think you’ll find that once the head has been lopped off, the rest of the body will tumble after. Let us return, and finish this. Janik?”
A figure flitted at the edge of Daniel’s vision. That dark-haired man. The one with the vials. He hurried closer, muttering to himself.
The whole situation was devolving. He’d thought he was holding his own, keeping
