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

I wouldn’t have to explain why I was feeling the way I was to him . . . or myself. Curse my personal angel and devil—so much for being upfront.

“Honestly, I’m not quite at a point I want t’ talk about how I’m feelin’. I’m still tryin’ t’ make sense of everything that’s occurred. A lot has been thrown at me in a very short time. But I don’t want t’ keep anything from you. I need for you t’ know what happened. I want t’ be completely open and upfront with you, Cian.”

Solemn eyes held steady on me, and I tried to summon the courage and the right words to tell Cian what Darek had said, and what had happened.

“Very well,” Cian acknowledged. “I’m listening.”

Band-aids are best ripped off, right? Even though it’s never a pleasant experience.

“Darek came here to find out if there was a chance we could pick up where we left off,” I explained and then held a long pause, not really wanting to divulge the next part but knowing it needed to be out in the open. “And . . . he kissed me.”

A blank stare covered his face. After a moment, Cian bobbed his head up and down slowly, pressing his lips tightly together. Then he asked, “And you’re not ready t’ talk about this? Or just not how you feel about this?” I knew, deep down, he meant the kiss, but I didn’t think either of us wanted to say it.

“Honestly, I’m not sure I’d be able t’ discuss any of it intelligently at the moment. He said a few things that have my head spinning more than I expected.”

“I see. Well, a’ight then. I guess we’ll hit the books and talk about it when you’re ready t’.”

My brows knotted together. “That’s it?” I hadn’t been involved in many relationships over the course of my adult life, but I’d had a few. And that was by far some seriously mature behavior. Or he was a psycho, and I just hadn’t seen him snap yet. I was praying for the maturity.

“Aye. That’s it. Now, if ya happen t’ be wonderin’ if I like any of this . . . I don’t. At all. But I have no claim here, Aish. I’m trusting my gut. I meant what I said last night. I believe we are stronger together—you and me. Stronger than either of us might realize. Stronger than Darek’s presence. I told ya I don’t believe in coincidence. So, if you’re askin’ me, this connection between us . . . it’s no coincidence. There’s a higher power at work and believing everything happens for a reason means trusting that what’s meant to happen will happen. I know what I feel. I believe you feel it too.”

Ugh. Why had they both said that to me? How could they know what I was feeling? I didn’t even know what I was feeling. Scratch that. I was feeling like I had too many pieces to a puzzle, and I didn’t have a clue where any of them fit—or which ones didn’t fit at all.

I sat there, staring at Cian’s hand wrapped around mine, basking in the comfort radiating from his touch. As uncertain as I felt, I had never felt calmer than in that moment.

“I want to believe that everything happens as it should,” I finally admitted, my voice an uncertain half whisper.

“You will in time.” He smiled, and I almost believed him. “Now, how about we clean this up and get to those books? We have a big day planned tomorrow. Let’s knock this out so we can get a decent night’s sleep.”

We were deep into the research session when Cian received a call from Uncle Lachlan. I was reading through my translation and putting the phrases together. While there was nothing overtly disturbing in the translation, the phrases sent an unsettling concern through my core—almost making me a little nauseous, though I couldn’t explain why. When Cian put Uncle Lachlan on speaker, I pushed the feeling aside and focused my attention on the conversation.

“Is Aisling with ye?” the Keeper asked Cian.

“She is,” Cian replied.

“Right here, Uncle Lach.” In order to hear better, I scooted to the other end of the couch, closer to Cian. Of course, it also meant being subjected to the warmth of his magic reaching out to mine. All at once, the nausea dissipated.

“Good! I need t’ speak with the both of ye. I jus’ finished a call with one of Nira’s contacts in Cairo. I managed to get some rather interesting information regarding the whereabouts of the Kanna Stone. When I spoke with the liaison from the Tribe earlier this afternoon, she sent me on a bit of a wild goose chase. However, after some convincing, and a little bribery, to be honest, I was able to get an audience with the elder of the tribe. She offered information that led me to a prominent Werewolf pack in South America. After some negotiation, I was finally offered the information I needed in exchange for an update and a small token from the location once we have concluded our search.”

“What kind of update do they want?” Cian inquired.

“They want t’ know the artifact has been secured in one manner or another. So, locked away in the Keeper archives or destroyed.”

“Well then . . . sounds like you have been busy,” I exclaimed.

“Aye, m’dear. That I have. But I have the location in which the Minoan Pack is said t’ have, and I quote, ‘disposed of the Orb of Evil.’”

I swear a shiver ran down my spine. Going after something called the Orb of Evil wasn’t super high on my bucket list. But neither was fighting in a war between races.

“So, what’s the location?” Cian asked.

“The Lunar Ruins,” Uncle Lachlan replied.

“Where’s that?” I questioned, expecting some exotic location like a Brazilian rainforest or an Aztec temple in South America.

“Deep within the White Mountains. The site of the ruins is