Silver at Midnight: A Paranormal Romance Urban Fantasy (The Keepers of Knowledge Series Book 5) by Bridgette O'Hare (best large ereader .TXT) 📕

prepared for. Whoever was in charge of artifact recovery for the Hunters knew their stuff. They knew what would be helpful and powerful to their cause. We were not dealing with amateurs.

When I came across an artifact I had seen in a picture at Uncle Lachlan’s office, I glanced at the time and wondered what was keeping him.

“Hey, Cian, have ya heard from Uncle Lach? From what he said last night, I expected him t’ be here by now.”

Cian checked his phone for messages, then looked at me from across the table and shook his head back and forth. “Nay. Not a word. I'll give him a call.” Knowing any signal inside the archives room was sorely lacking for a phone conversation, Cian glanced at me and silently questioned if I'd be okay. I knew he was really asking if I’d be okay alone with Darek. I gave one short, subtle nod to assure him, and he rose and headed for the exit. When the door closed behind him, I began to reconsider the situation. I instantly returned to my research as uncomfortable silence ensued.

Within moments, I could feel Darek staring at me from the seat only a few feet away, but I didn’t dare look up from my reading.

“How long have ye known Cian?” The silence had been broken, and it would have seemed suspicious if I ignored him, you know . . . considering we were the only two in the room.

“I'm sorry, what?”

“I'm askin’ how long ye have known Cian McCallister,” Darek repeated.

“Oh. We met the day I arrived in Pyreshore. So, not long,” I offered the information casually and promptly returned to my reading. Or, at least, pretended to. I wanted to ask why he was interested in knowing, but I thought better of it. Not that it mattered. He continued his line of questioning regardless.

“How long is not long?”

I answered without looking up. “A few days.”

“Interesting. Ye two seem much more . . . familiar.”

The way he said the last word held a twinge of insinuation that my curiosity wouldn’t ignore. My attention shifted from the book I was reading to Darek. He had turned his chair to face me and was studying me, no doubt to gauge my reaction. I tried to keep it neutral. Keyword: tried.

“I’m not sure what ya mean.”

“I mean the way ya two interact, it just seems like there’s more than a casual knowledge,” he clarified.

I shrugged. “I suppose sometimes you’re just naturally comfortable around some people.”

He rolled his chair closer until he had eliminated the space between us, and he leaned on the chair arm toward me. Behind his stare was a symphony of forgotten moments being played to a tune I no longer knew how to dance to. “Aye. Ya mean like when we met,” he recalled, his voice low and resolute.

I didn’t respond. Couldn’t respond. Speaking is nearly impossible when you’re holding your breath.

“Aish, I remember everything. Every quiet moment we shared. Every stolen glance. Every embrace . . . I remember it as well as you do. I know ya know that. I could see it in yer eyes the moment I looked at ya. I wish ya had talked to me and not just disappeared.”

Forcing myself to breathe, I inhaled slowly to steady myself before responding. “Darek, ya have to understand my reasons.”

“I do. Ya thought I was the enemy.” He leaned in, his hazel eyes demanding contact with mine. “And you were fallin’ for me.”

I wanted to deny what he was saying. I wanted to insist that he had imagined it all. But that wouldn’t have been the truth. Instead, I played it down.

“I cared about ya. I won’t deny that.” The words hung heavily in the air between us for a moment, and then he smiled. It was a knowing smile, like he was certain there was more I wasn’t saying. Instinctively, I leaned back in my chair, needing to establish some distance between us.

“Ya still do,” he insisted in almost a whisper.

I swallowed hard. “It’s been a long time, Darek.”

“Six months isn’t all that long, Aish. Feelings don’t just disappear because ya tell them they shouldn’t exist. Mine haven’t.” The gravity of his stare intensified. “Admit it, ya still feel something for me.”

I opened my mouth to speak just as the door opened and Uncle Lachlan entered followed by Cian. It would be a lie if I said the sight of them was anything other than a relief.

Darek smoothly eased his chair just far enough away to not draw obvious attention from Cian. Uncle Lachlan, on the other hand, offered a glare in Darek’s direction and then his gaze dashed to meet mine. My eyes widened and returned to their normal state just briefly enough to relay an unspoken message to my uncle. I only hoped he understood that I had not been the one to create the illusion of intimacy they had interrupted.

“I was beginning to wonder about ya,” I immediately addressed the now present Keeper. “I’ve made some notes while you’ve been gone that I need t’ discuss with you. I trust your trip was productive?”

“Aye. ‘Twas. I understand ye have had a rather productive day, as well.” Uncle Lachlan placed a small leather pouch on the table along with a roll of parchment.

“Is that the artifact you retrieved?” I asked.

“This is,” he clarified as he picked up the leather pouch and emptied the contents onto the table: a five-inch-long fragment of jade-colored stone chiseled into the shape of a spearhead.

I reached out a hand, and he placed it in my palm. The warmth of its energy radiated into my skin. “Wow. It’s powerful. What is it and what does it do?”

“It’s referred to as the Seeking Spear. It points to the truth in its many forms, whatever they may be,” he replied and then held the pouch open for me to return the artifact.

I dropped it in and asked about the parchment. “So, what’s that then?”

Uncle Lachlan offered a