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

a good story. How long did you search and where did you finally find it?” I wasn’t sure if knowing the location was even going to be helpful. But my gut said I needed to know, and—more importantly—I needed to stall. So, I maintained persistence and hoped he liked bragging as much as most villains.

He did.

Granted, it only offered me an additional five minutes, but life or death can be determined in a mere second; one would be surprised at the difference five minutes can make. When he was finished, I knew these things with certainty:

Kage was a greater threat than I had initially realized.

The Tartaros Blade had been intentionally buried in the farthest reaches possible, and for good reason.

And Kage was an immortal.

Which meant Cian was an immortal. I thought back to the conversation with Ruman. That’s what he was about to reveal to me before I was pulled from the dream realm. And while greater issues loomed, my mind fixated on the differences between us, and I wondered how Cian could possibly be convinced we were meant to be together. There was no way for us to make sense, yet with that realization my heart ached like it never had.

“You’re hung up on the fact that I’ve been around pretty much since the beginning of time, aren’t ya?” Kage’s voice pulled me from my thoughts of Cian.

“Huh? Oh . . . uh . . . aye. A bit,” I admitted, though I was more caught up on the fact that Cian had been around that long. Pieces of the puzzle swirled around my head. Bits of what had once seemed like random information began to merge. “You said that I should be concerned because we both come from a pure bloodline. What’d ya mean by that?”

His eyes tightened into a squint. “You really don’t know?”

Frustration set in. “I don’t even know what I’m not s’pose t’ know.”

“Your father hails from the purest of our bloodline, and you have no knowledge of this?”

“My question is how d’you have knowledge of this when I don’t? And does Cian know?”

“I do.” The familiar voice echoed from behind us by the steps.

I turned and locked eyes with the familiar blue gaze. Instinct thrust me toward him. In three steps I had my arms wrapped around his neck as his engulfed me, squeezing tightly.

“Are you okay?” he whispered into my ear. I nodded into his neck.

“Cian. Glad you finally made it. What took so long?” Kage questioned.

I released my grip and slowly slid away from Cian. Disbelief filled my eyes as they searched his for an answer. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw remorse. But it disappeared the moment he turned his attention to Kage.

“I had a few loose ends to tie up,” Cian admitted.

“You have the necklace?” Kage held his hand out expectantly. Cian placed my pendant in Kage’s hand.

I stumbled backward into the altar and grabbed it with both hands to maintain my balance. How had I been so wrong? How had Uncle Lachlan been so wrong? Uncle Lachlan . . . no.

I glared at Cian, waiting for him to look back at me. Rage soaked into every cell of my being. When he glanced my way, I spoke. My words were steel and hard. “Was he a loose end, Cian?” He knew who I meant; I could see it in his eyes. He blinked his focus back to Kage, ignoring my question.

“Aisling,” Kage spoke softly. “Let’s not lose focus on the task. Your uncle is of Fae descent. I’m sure he is merely . . . detained.” He shot a side-glance at Cian and then back at me. “We’ve discussed this. What we are doing here is of the utmost importance. Balance. Remember? We need to restore balance.”

I pulled my scowl from Cian and aimed it at Kage. “He is the only family I have left. If something has happened to him, balance or not, I will not rest until someone pays.”

The most sinister grin I had ever witnessed spread over his face. “See . . . now that is the fire I was expecting from you. That is the wrath I need. Channel that and help us restore what has been lost.”

I had never been one to take life. Grams had taught me that every life was precious . . . no matter how vile and spoiled. And I had held to that belief. But in that moment, if I’d had my hand wrapped around the hilt of the Tartaros Blade, I may have acted without thinking. Luckily for them, I did not. But I also had no intention of letting them get their hands on anything more, especially not the Kanna Stone. I needed a distraction. I needed to get to that fountain and see how long before the Silver Moon peaked. I needed my full strength back.

Twenty-Nine

“This isn’t working,” Kage grumbled as he held my pendant over page after page of the Kanna journal. “I know I saw it glowing in the archives when she was leaning over it.” He slammed the pendant down on the altar.

I checked to make sure he hadn’t broken it, but it remained in one piece next to the journal.

“Why don’t we start with the invocation,” Cian suggested. “Let her translate it, and we will go from there.”

I found myself watching Cian and wondering how he had managed to manipulate me so easily. I was pissed with myself and disappointed in my ability to judge without the assistance of my Soul Sight. Had he, in fact, been the one who wrote the note about the Silver Moon and finding me at midnight? Had he and Kage already known about the ruins even before Uncle Lachlan had gathered the intel from his sources? No. If they had known to look in the ruins for the Kanna Stone, they would have done so before now. I was just being played . . . like a secondhand fiddle, at