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

that. It was impressive when I thought about it. Infuriating, but impressive. Was Darek in on it too? Yet another unanswered question.

“We have until the full moon on the thirty-first,” Kage retorted.

I turned my head to him. “If this doesn’t have t’ be found right now, then why are we here today? Could this not have waited? Maybe you could have talked t’ me about it, reasoned with me, tried t’ persuade me over a nice dinner and a drink before ya jus’ knocked me out with toxic magic?” Irritation mingled with my words.

I glared at Kage standing just beyond Cian, and then caught Cian lowering his head and trying to fight back a snicker. And it pissed me off. “And you . . .” I directed my rage at Cian, and my words grew low and rigid. “You lied t’ me. I don’t even have words for the likes of ya right now,” I said through gritted teeth. We locked eyes, but what I saw was not what I expected. I expected the amusement of someone who didn’t care about the feelings of just another pawn in their game. Instead, I stared into a sea of blue regret pleading for forgiveness. But he had fooled me once. Not again. I jerked my eyes back to Kage. “Where is this translation I need t’ get started on?”

Cian moved toward me to grab the Silver Scroll, pausing and looking me in the eyes as he reached for it. I looked away.

“You’re goin’ t’ need this,” Cian said softly, placing the scroll in front of me and opening it. He pushed it flat and settled a stone on both the top and bottom to hold it in place. It spanned from one side of the slab to the other.

Still avoiding eye contact, I stared down at the scroll. “And jus’ what part am I t’ be translatin’?”

“The third section from the bottom,” Kage informed. “I need it in Latin, but I would love to know what it says as well.”

I glanced at the scroll and immediately recognized the language as the one Ruman had showed me. The one that combines the two dead languages of Aramaic and Hebrew.

“Here,” Cian stepped closer, pressing against me, and pointed to the section unnecessarily. Our gazes collided this time. It was another attempt to beg forgiveness without actually saying it. When his hand brushed mine, the familiar sensation surged through me—his magic intwining with mine. Instantly, my energy soared. With a flash, I heard his voice whisper, “I’m sorry.” Only, like the Lunar goddess, his lips never moved. I jerked my hand away and stepped back. Eyes frozen on him.

“Aisling?” Kage’s voice slithered through the air. “Aisling? Can you translate it?”

My stare still trained on Cian, uncertain if I had actually heard him or imagined it, I nodded. “Aye. I can translate it.”

Cian moved aside to allow me to return to the scroll, but he kept his focus on me. He was far enough away that the effects of our energies maintained a faint buzz in the air without overloading my senses, but it was enough to make me realize that being near Cian—and more specifically physical contact with him—was restoring what The Sorek Shackles had stripped away. Something in the way he continued to look at me led me to think he might know that.

I tried to focus. I still needed a distraction so I could get over to the fountain once more and gauge how much time remained before the peak of the Silver Moon. As I read over the first line of the selected text, I wondered how two supposed immortals had lived a literal eternity yet could not manage to learn this language or Latin. I read through the remainder of the text before moving ahead to be sure that I didn’t inadvertently give them exactly what it was they wanted . . . the full invocation.

“I’m going t’ need something t’ write with and on,” I announced. “Have any paper in that backpack?” I angled my head in Kage’s direction.

He quickly pulled both from the pack and handed them over, and I went to work jotting down words but leaving others out. Cian eased closer, charging the air between us, as he went through the Kanna journal next to me, only he held up one side as he opened it and left it up as he flipped the pages up, tucking them under a thumb. Then he did something unexpected. In a smooth motion, he slipped his hand to the side of the journal, floated it over the top of my pendant, and then it was gone. A moment later, he managed to slip the Tartaros Blade journal into a resting place inside the Kanna journal without drawing attention to himself. Within moments, he was tracking my pendant slowly across the pages of the journal, exposing words that hadn’t appeared to exist before. He was succeeding at what wouldn’t work for Kage, and I didn’t understand why.

As I worked on the translations, I caught myself glancing over to what was happening next to me. After double-checking the phrases and making certain they made sense, even if they weren’t completely on point, I glanced over to Cian who had begun reading what I had written down with narrowed eyes. His focus darted back and forth between my translations and the scroll as if he were comparing the two and then a smug smirk played on one corner of his lips, exposing one of those disarming dimples. He caught me watching him and his smile spread until his eyes crinkled. That’s when his hand slipped around mine. I started to nonverbally protest by snatching my hand away, until I felt the cool metal against my skin, a stark contrast to the heat of his hand and the tingling it brought.

My pendant.

Instantly, I met his stare.

“Don’t give up on me, Aish.” His words rang through my mind.

“What is with this place an’ the