One thing gave him pause, however: She still didn’t know what was wrong with Dageus, and there was a newly blossomed bit of fear in her heart.

He understood that well. When a heart realized it loved was also, paradoxically, when a heart learned to fear most deeply. She wanted to know what was wrong with Dageus, yet she didn’t want to hear aught that might spoil their joy, and Silvan suspected she’d have a bit of a battle with herself before she finally got around to asking.

When Dageus handed Chloe the fifth Book of Manannán, the senior MacKeltar decided he was besotted with her. She handled the tome with utter reverence, touching naught but the barest tips of the edges of the thick pages, staring with huge wondering eyes.

And sputtering. “B-b-but this isn’t s-supposed to even exist and—oh, God, it was written using the early L-Latin alphabet! Do you think I could trade one of my relics for this?” she breathed, turning a gaze on Dageus that Silvan himself would have been hard-pressed to deny.

Och, aye, the lass could happily pass hours as he himself was wont to do, puzzling over the ancient texts, delighting in the stories therein. Nerd, indeed. And Dageus, well, Dageus seemed fair frozen by the prospect of denying her aught. He rescued his son swiftly. “I’m afraid it has to stay here, m’dear. There are reasons certain tomes have ne’er been made available to the world.”

“Oh, but you must at least let me read it!” she exclaimed.

Silvan assured her she could, then focused his attention on Dageus. The discovery of the chamber library had invigorated him, made him feel a score of years younger and given him a whole new sense of what it meant to be a Keltar. And in that chamber, surely there were answers to their problems. He could scarce wait to show it to his son. Enjoying the moment, he said with studied nonchalance, “I’m assuming I’m no’ the only one that wasn’t aware of the chamber library beneath the study?”

Dageus made a choking noise and his startled gaze flew to Silvan’s. “Beneath the study?”

“Aye.”

Dageus grabbed Chloe’s hand, tugged her from the chair, fought a little battle with her as she tried to hang onto the text, plucked it from her hands and firmly deposited it on the table, then dragged her along as they hastened after Silvan.