The steps behind her had turned into a stampede, and they were closing in. A few more seconds, and they would have her surrounded.
The ocean made another move against the palace, raging. She expected, this close to the exterior, to feel the hit in her bones, the sea colliding directly against the stone in front of her.
But as she braced herself for the impact, the wave hit—and the rock in front of her did not shake nearly as much as it should have.
Which meant there was something else behind this wall.
Just as the guards rounded the corner, Isla slipped on Celeste’s gloves as quickly as she could and pressed against the bricks.
The stones began turning, a puzzle undoing itself, unlocking a door.
It opened. And she pushed herself through, then slammed it closed, hoping it would seal behind her.
The guards were a flurry of sounds on the other side, alerting more of their crew. Thelegion,perhaps.
“Intruder!” she heard. “In the library!”
She was trapped inside. Cornered.
But at least now she knew for certain she had found it.
Isla turned to find a frozen library. Perfect. As if she wasn’t already cold enough. Every book was trapped in walls of ice. Slab after slab formed rows, an entire room of parchment and frost.
She should have suspected that Cleo would have made theentirelibrary restricted, instead of a specific section.
Bangs sounded outside as the guards tried to break the wall down.
No time to waste.She took off, running through the icy rows, nearly slipping on the frosted-over marble floor. Her feet skated as she rounded the corner—
And came face-to-face with a monstrous wave. It hit the set of glass doors with a force that seemed to shake the castle to its foundations. Ifit wasn’t for her last-minute gripping of an ice-coated shelf, she would have fallen to the floor.
The doors led to a curling white balcony now flooded with sea-foam like a rabid mouth, the aftermath of the sea as it retreated, gathering its strength to strike once more. It was a wonder the glass doors hadn’t shattered. They must have been reinforced with enchantment somehow.
Enchantment.
Where were the relics? All she saw were books.
“She’s inside!”
“Get the ruler!”
Ruler?Isla swallowed. Cleo was supposed to be sleeping in the Mainland castle. It was tradition to spend the most time there, especially during the first twenty-five days.
She had to hurry. Her eyes strained to take in every inch of the library. It only had one floor.
Nothing. Only books contained in ice, for as far as she could see.
She must have missed something.
Isla whipped around, ready to take a closer look at the front shelves, when another crushing wave sent her tumbling forward.
This time, she hit the floor.
There was a terrible cracking sound as her head smacked against it.
For a moment, there was just blinding white. She blinked, willing her vision to come back, telling her body there was no time to waste, no time to give in to pain.
Her cheek had nearly stuck to the ground. Her mind spun as she lifted it, and the world tripped before righting itself.
