The giant copper doors were already ajar when they arrived at the library of Silver Sands. The dogs had followed them up the rocky trail and were now lying in the shade of the entry overhang.

Bri tried not to look at Lina during breakfast and the walk up the hill, but it was an exercise in futility. Lina had picked a patterned linen dress with a slit that went up to the top of her thigh, and with every step and every flash of her leg, Bri was certain Lina had selected the dress to kill her. Gods, those thighs. She clenched her jaw so tightly the muscles ached.

She shook her head, her expression swinging from smiles to scowls and back again. Everything that was once steady in her felt like a violently swinging pendulum, giddy and aching and everything in between.

They’d fallen asleep on the terrace in the wee hours of the morning, all of them chatting until the sun threatened to rise in the sky. There was too much to catch up on. So many things had happened in the past few months that Bri continued listening even after her eyes grew too heavy to keep open. It was a short-lived but deep and peaceful slumber. When she woke, it was with a soft smile and not a jolt.

The group poured into the library, surveying the dusty stacks that ran in neat lines across the main floor. The air was stale and heavy with the scent of old books. Spiraling staircases framed the side walls, leading to the upper floors. The ceiling vaulted in the center up toward the copper roof that had faded to a shade of sea-foam green from years of exposure to the elements.

“What are we looking for, exactly?” Neelo asked, tracing their finger down the dusty spines of a book. Something ignited in their gaze as they scanned the books. This must have been the most sacred of any temple to Neelo—a library filled with books they hadn’t yet read.

“Anything about the violet witches,” Cole replied, adjusting his spectacles. “Or anything about poisons.”

Bern guffawed. “In a library filled with witches’ books . . . I think a great many will mention poisons.”

“I’m looking specifically for poisons that can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin,” Cole said, eyeing the five of them. “Between all of us we should be able to do it.” He turned toward Lina. “You said we had until your coronation. I think we’ll need every minute.”

She nodded. “I’ll start on the third floor of the western wing, work my way down.”

“I’ll take the east,” Neelo said, staring up at the ceiling.