Quickly, he whittled the hunk of wood, kneeling at the head of the bed periodically to measure the fit of the piece in a niche beneath. With rapid hands, he carved until the wood fit in the corner, behind the support for one of the bed legs. He placed the book inside and affixed it to the bottom of the bed, beside the post nearest his head. As Marrok held her hand again, Olivia managed to conjure a lock and enclosed it with a spell. If she genuinely wished to help him, that should adequately hide the blasted book. If not…He stifled the thought. She had helped him. Mayhap he should try to put the past behind him and judge Olivia on her actions, not her family.
Satisfied for now, Marrok switched his morning clothes for a T-shirt, jog pants and trainers. Now he was ready to teach the wizards to fight like men.
Within a few hours, Olivia had finished reading the book of simple spells, she’d practiced conjuring a bit more, and also managed to move a picture frame, turn on a faucet, and close a door, all with her mind. She was miserable at teleporting, so far, not moving even an inch. She tried not to be impatient; magic wouldn’t come overnight. But she wanted it to.
In a way, being magical was a relief. All her life, everyone—even her own mother—had treated her as if she were different. Turns out, she was. Now that she knew how and why, it was almost cool. Except Marrok loathed magic.
She had so many questions, especially about her heritage.
Restless, Olivia wandered downstairs. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, beyond Marrok shutting her out of Bram’s study. The fact her father had once been Mathias’s right-hand man definitely ate at her. And her mate was clearly determined to dislike her father, based on his past alone. She didn’t blame him exactly. The possibility that she might have uprooted her life to find a man capable of terrible crimes was almost too much to bear. Had his actions left scars on his soul? Likely, or he would never have ultimately chosen the right path. Didn’t everyone deserve a second chance? Yes…but Marrok had a point. She should check out all the details. And while she was at it, maybe she could find out something more about Marrok’s curse and the diary.
In the grand entry hall, she stood and looked around at the gorgeous, expansive house. Surely a place like this had a library.
“Second door on your right,” Sabelle provided helpfully from behind.
With a start, Olivia turned to face her. “How did you know—? Oh…” The truth hit her. “I thought too loud, didn’t I?”
Sabelle sent her a kind smile. “Masking your thoughts takes some getting used to. I try to keep a song in my head if I become upset in public. A very mundane one. People tune you out very quickly if you’re mentally singing the alphabet. Off-key works even faster.”
Olivia laughed at her hostess’s mischievous streak. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The witch crossed the floor and offered, “Want help with the library? I don’t have to bother with dinner for a bit, and the family collection of books is a bit imposing.”
“Sure.”
Together, the two women made their way to the open door. Once Olivia peeked inside, her jaw dropped. “Holy cow! You weren’t kidding.”
“My brother sometimes seems a bit of a cavalier playboy, but he’s actually read nearly every book here and brings new ones home all the time.”
Wow, Bram a hardcore reader? “How many books are in here?”
“I stopped counting after eight thousand.”
And why not? There had to be double that and then some. How was she ever going to find what she wanted? Uneasiness and a ticking clock in her head told her that she needed to start right away.
“Don’t panic. What do you need to find?”
Damn, Sabelle was reading her thoughts again. She started humming one of her favorite songs in her head, then wondered if it would really mask her curiosities about her father’s past, Marrok’s curse, and the diary itself.
“Not yet,” Sabelle supplied. “Your thoughts were harder to hear this time. Keep practicing. Which subject do you wish to learn about first? I can probably help you quickly with the diary. Bram has already set aside some books he intends to read soon.”
Despite the woman’s nosiness—and breathtaking beauty—Olivia liked Sabelle. She was friendly, smart, funny, and seemed genuinely nice. Easy to talk to. Olivia didn’t have many friends, so this was nice.
“That would be great.”
Sabelle crossed the room to retrieve a stack of books on an enormous table. “Curses…You want to know about Marrok’s?”
“If we get this diary open, how do we end it?”
“I’m not certain.” Sabelle plopped the books on the sofa between them. “Let’s read.”
The pair skimmed books for a good hour. Olivia was about to sigh in frustration until she found something that made her eyes pop. “Here! Here’s an account of someone who saw Morganna use the diary. She wrote in it. Which fits. Marrok talked about her writing a curse in it. This also says she could uncurse someone with a stroke of her pen.”
“Great. But she’s not here.”
“Yeah.” Olivia sighed. “That’s a problem. Unless…maybe I could do it?”
“You’re a le Fay. Perhaps so.”
Olivia read a bit further, hoping to find more information. “This says that she often set the curse with conditions, so it would be broken once her terms were met. Marrok’s is that way. He told me that his curse has an out-clause. But he has no idea what it is.”
A few minutes later, Sabelle spoke up. “A man Morganna once cursed with the diary tried to steal it. He swore it dissolved in his hands and materialized back in Morganna’s.”
“What does that mean?”
“Some objects cannot be stolen.”
“But Marrok told me that he had one of Morganna’s serving maids steal it for him.”
“Really? Morganna was known for liking men as bed partners, and disliking them in all other ways. Perhaps she blocked the book from belonging to men or performing magic for men.”
Olivia gasped. “One of my professors called it an object of feminine reverence. Do you think that’s what it means?”
“It’s possible.”
“Until we can get it open, we can’t test the theory that it responds only to women.”
“True, but if Mathias has reached the same conclusion, it explains why he wants to capture you, along with the book, so badly. You’re female and Morganna’s descendant, which would likely make the book more potent.”
That scared the hell out of her. The attack at Marrok’s just proved that Mathias was going to great lengths to get what he wanted. “But maybe any woman would do.”
“It’s possible, but from what we’ve read, no other woman has ever tested it. You’re the most likely to be able to use the book. Mathias knows that.”