I grab him by his collar, pulling him toward me, aware my knuckles were brushing against the cuts on his neck. He winces at the contact. Good.

“I’m in no mood for your bullshit Ilyric. I’ve put up with enough today.”

I put a little weight into my hands, pushing my knuckles further into his cut as he hisses.

“So, either you tell me what happened…or you shut the fuck up with your stupid accusations.” I make sure to pour all my anger and frustration that I felt from today into the glare I give him.

He flinches, his face slightly blanching as he continues to stare at my face.

“You really didn’t know?” he asks, finally removing some of the hate from his gaze.

“Ilyric,” I growl out.

His shoulders drop slightly, his brows pinched as he slowly looks around the room. His eyes wander to each deformed shifter corpse, the broken wreck that was now my Library, and the large gaping hole at the entrance from my little power outburst.

“They weren’t after the Records…they wanted the Autarium,” he says, his voice limp and weak, as he stares at the floor.

“And they took it.”

I slowly release him, his words sinking in.

He turns to me, his eyes cold and dark as he continues. “He was with them the whole time. That's why I thought…” With this, he looks at me, a small bit of regret seeping into his eyes.

“Who was with them?” grits out Cole, his features quickly darkening.

I should have been more careful when I moved the group down to the Vault, I should have been more cautious, and I should have never let my guard down.

“So?!” Jace pushes.

Ilyric turns to me, a dark look in his eyes. “It was Isaac.”

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

I had to have heard wrong. He couldn’t have said Isaac’s name.

But the look on Ilyric's face, the firm and cold glare in his eyes, tells me it’s not a joke. I turn to the faces around me, hoping maybe I misheard, but am met with expressions of shock and confusion that quickly turn to anger. They look toward me with slight sadness and pity in their eyes.

I shake my head. “No. That doesn’t even make any sense—” But I’m cut off mid-sentence.

“These are from the fight I had with him on the second floor.” Ilyric’s face contorts with the memory as he gestures toward the wound on his side and another on his leg.

“After I killed the two deformed shifters that had escaped, I heard movement on the floor above me.” He narrows his eyes, his features turning dark. “When I went to check if it was another shifter or a group member…I found Isaac.”

“When I called out to him, he began acting strangely, and then I noticed it. He was holding the Autarium artifact in his hand.” His eyes cloud over with the memory, his brows pinching together as he clenches his jaw.