We look out for each other. We protected each other from the Lady as much as we could then, and we always will. We won’t be victims ever again.

As we make our way through the halls, I begin to wish that I’d woken Maeve after all. She could’ve helped us, and if she wakes and I’m gone, she might be worried. But we’re almost up to the top tier of the library, so we may as well finish what we’ve begun.

Our legs begin to tire and our clasped hands have become sweaty, but we don’t let go. Panic boils over inside my chest, and I let my talent roam freely, desperate to locate any sign of her. While I don’t find Euna, this time I find someone else. Ida is awake, and I can sense her curious, calculating mind on the same tier as us. Her thoughts make me think she may be at our worktable, shuffling through the books we left behind this afternoon.

They claim they’re looking for Wren, but maybe there’s something more here about Lady Aisling…

Ida’s interest in Lady Aisling—evident from the first time we met—is unsettling at best. She’s much too eager to investigate her particular research topic for my liking. It makes how she regards us all the more troubling.

I swallow hard and hurry Sebastian up to the next floor. Euna must be here somewhere. She can’t have just disappeared; that’s impossible without a spot hopper, and as far as I know, there isn’t one anywhere near the Archives. The only talented person here besides us is Rachel, and her book binding magic can’t account for disappearances. So far we’ve only encountered a couple of librarians burning the midnight candles, like Ida, and many, many dreaming minds.

Until we reach the second-to-last floor of the fortress. An angry mind makes me halt in my tracks, and Sebastian stumbles into me.

Foolish good-for-nothings. They never understand the importance of my research.

Connor. The researcher from Zinnia. I yank my talent back.

What is it? Sebastian thinks.

Connor. He’s nearby, and he’s not happy.

You don’t think he’d do anything to Euna, do you? Moonlight slips in through the slanted windows of the stairwell, making Sebastian’s eyes shine.

I bite my lip. I hope not. He seems harmless enough, just grumpy.

Neither Sebastian nor I like Connor, and the feeling is mutual. He’s been nothing but rude to us since we arrived.

Let’s keep out of sight, I think. We duck into the nearest room. The shadowed silhouettes of row after row of books on shelves greet us as we wait for Connor to storm by.

He sweeps past our door, angrily muttering to himself about his own importance and that of his work.

When he’s gone, we tiptoe back into the hall and continue our upward trek, my talent grazing over the rooms we pass for any hint of Euna. Finally, we reach the last level. We scour the entire loop, every room, even every closet. Dread wells up inside me, making me dizzy. I send my magic out in as wide a net as I can, hoping against hope that I pick up something, anything, that feels like Euna.