Of Spellbooks and Thieves by Robin Winckler

Author:Robin Winckler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robin Winckler

15

A Promise of Protection

A few days passed with the same routine: Tobias drifted in and out of sleep, only awoken whenever Aviva came in to check on him or when someone brought food to him. Sometimes, Arayna would come and sit beside Kase’s bed, but she never said a word. At one point, Aviva’s snake familiar, Iila, kept watch over Kase and Tobias. Its narrowed eyes never left him. He didn’t sleep much that day and instead often found himself staring back at the snake to show he wasn’t intimated. He could only entertain himself that way for so many minutes, though.

For the most part, he found himself constantly replaying Eira’s attack, analyzing it from every angle. Some days, he gripped the key to his house so hard that his hands began to hurt, but he desperately clung to the reminder of home. If he left now, he would never have to deal with Eira and her magic again.

And yet, the more he thought about it, the more he was drawn to the panicked fear in her expression. There was real desperation in her voice when she claimed that someone else had ordered her to kill Kase.

“Do you intend to sulk forever?” the memory of Talia asked once again.

He still had no response.

Finally, Aviva dismissed him from bed. His wound had completely healed, leaving behind only a faint scar as proof that it had ever been there at all. When he rose to his feet, he stood easily on his own. He turned to Aviva. “I can’t thank you enough,” he said, dipping his head in a slight bow to her. “I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble.”

Aviva chuckled, a sheepish smile finding its way to her face. “It was no trouble at all. Truthfully, I should be the one thanking you. The others would never have been able to get here without you. I heard from Maven that she had to use you to unlock the barrier, but there’s a bit more to it.”

Puzzled, Tobias sank back onto the bed. “There is?”

She nodded. “No matter how much anyone searched, they would never have been able to make it here without you.”

“Right.” His heart sank a little, and he clasped his hands together in his lap. “Because of the book.”

“Because of you.” Before he could argue anymore, she turned away to check on Kase. “The world of magic is complicated. Try not to let yourself get too worked up over it.”

She was no longer looking at him, but he nodded intently anyway. “Of course,” he murmured as he made his way toward the door. “Thank you.”

He cast a passing glance at Kase as he came to the door. Same as ever, Kase slept soundly, his expression wrapped in an eerie sense of peace. Throughout the whole time Tobias was recovering, Kase had only woken once or twice, but he was hardly even awake then. It was more like sleepwalking, only he never left his bed. He would shoot upright, muttering to himself about nothing in particular.

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