Part of me couldn’t believe I’d journeyed to the in-between andlived. The fight with the Vikkarni seemed like a lifetime ago, as did our imprisonment in that cell above the sea.
As the memories came flooding back, panic tightened my insides.
The book.
I’d been so concerned with getting Kaden back to our realm —so afraid that he might die — that I’d completely forgotten about it. I’d shoved it into the pocket of my jacket before rowing back across that horrid black sea, and then—
As if in answer to my unspoken question, a little ball of faelight flickered into existence, illuminating the lamp at my bedside. My gaze fell to the table, and my shoulders sagged with relief.
Mankara’s text was lying on the nightstand, as though Kaden knew I’d be looking for it. Its black linen cover seemed more faded and frayed than before, but otherwise it looked no worse for surviving the journey from the in-between.
Gingerly, I reached for the book, half expecting it to come alive and fling itself open the way it had in our cell. But the little tome didn’t so much as quiver as my fingers closed around the spine and pulled it toward me.
The spine groaned slightly as I cracked it open, making me question my memory of what had happened when the book had presented itself to me. I felt a slight tingle of that familiar magic, though it wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been before.
Slowly, I leafed through the text, marveling at the trailing lines of runes.
At first glance, all the symbols had looked similar, but examining the book in better light, I could see the intricacies that distinguished each one. The spidery text that accompanied the runes was so faded it was practically illegible, and yet I didn’t need to read it to know what each of the runes was for.
There were runes for healing simple ailments — headaches, chest colds, heartburn, and fevers. There were runes for mending broken objects, runes for concealing, runes for unlocking, runes for keeping meat from turning rancid, and runes to stop a floorboard from squeaking.
I intuitively understood every single one. Casting them was another matter.
I’d just gotten to a section on runes for cleaning and scouring when the bedroom door swung open. I snapped Mankara’s text shut, my body instantly on high alert.
Kaden nudged inside the room, carrying a tray of food. “You’re awake,” he said, his silvery-gray eyes roving over me with a look I could not read.
“You’re alive.” My voice sounded strangely hollow despite the relief that coursed through me.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Thanks to you.”
I sighed and brandished Mankara’s text. “Thanks to this book.”
Kaden lifted his eyebrows, crossing the room and perching on the edge of the bed. He set the tray down beside him and fixed me with a serious look. “Last I checked, that book didn’t haul my sorry ass back to our realm and force the antivenom down my throat.”
I cracked a smile at his choice of words, taking the glass of water he offered me. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was. “How long have I been asleep?”
“A couple of hours. You hungry?”
As if in reply, my stomach gave a loud gurgle. Kaden smirked and nodded toward the tray.
The food was simple — turkey sandwiches on wheat bread with lettuce and tomato and a bowl of fresh fruit.
I plucked a grape from the bowl and brought it to my mouth, pausing before it touched my lips. “Is it . . . safe to eat?”
I felt foolish for asking. Kaden had saved my life on more than one occasion, but he was still fae.
He rolled his eyes. “It’s not enchanted.”
“You can never be too careful,” I muttered, popping the grape into my mouth.
In that moment, I thought it might be the best thing I’d ever tasted. I might have believed him if he’d told me itwasenchanted.
“You look better,” I said. He no longer looked like death warmed over, anyway. He was still wearing his torn leather jacket, but the blood was gone, and most of the color had returned to his face.
“I may have freshened up a bit,” he admitted, and I remembered the way he’d magicked my ball gown away the night of Caladwyn’s party. Presumably, he could magic away blood and grime just as easily.
“I take it you can access your magic again?”
