“Nope, we’re not going there.”

I give Jace my best glare, but the asshole's smirk grows under my hand. Suddenly I feel his tongue brush up my fingers and back down to my palm.

I pull my hand back.

“Right…” He smirks.

“We’ve already been there.” A look of pure carnal lust spreads across Jace’s face as he looks toward me. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks, among other areas.

A sudden loud bang rings out around the building, pulling us from our thoughts.

Tremors from the blast shake the building, causing the Library to moan and creak from the attack. Loud rumbles ring out around the area as continued blasts are fired.

They become louder and harder, testing the limits of the Autariums barrier.

Isaac rushes into the Library from the hallway, breathless as he pushes out, “The Interitus are attacking.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Screams and cries for help ring out throughout the Library as people scatter behind bookshelves and tables for cover.

The barrier created by the Autarium shakes and rattles with the force of the ongoing attacks, testing the Autariums strength.

Static pours down the barrier, the Autariums way of reinforcing its shield against the persistent barrage. A shimmer flows over the barrier with each attack, rolling back and forth like turbulent waves during a storm. The barrier vibrates from the force but never bends to it.

I look around the Library, the room growing silent as the groups listen to the attack.

Their faces ashen with fear, their limbs trembling as they hide behind tables and bookshelves, their eyes tightly closed and heads shaking with each blast that rings out. Only small whimpers leave their horrified lips as they cover their ears and hide.

We hear loud voices shouting and chanting from outside the Library.

I go to the windows, checking the deep gravelly noises from the outside as they become louder.

A dark fog covers the area, almost as if pulled from the darkened oceans itself to haunt the grounds.

I flinch as I watch five large dark cloaked figures stand eerily in a crescent formation around the building, surrounded by multiple men and creatures.

Creatures as grotesque and monstrous as Gregori after his transformation.

They stand guard around the five figures as they chant an unknown language loudly. Their eyes consumed wholly by a black darkness, their faces gaunt and elongated, and their skin as pallid and gray as the shadows surrounding them.

The image sent goosebumps prickling down my skin.

Black smoke begins to bellow from the dark fog and toward the Library, as if wanting to consume it whole. It climbs the walls, spreading and stretching in every direction to every door, window, and crack.

The Autariums barrier sparks to life again, another layer of static magic pouring down the Library's walls, fighting for dominance with this unknown threat.

The smoke covers my view as it spreads to the windows.

No longer able to see the shadowy figures surrounding the Library, I head back toward the group.