Pandora's Academy by Skye MacKinnon

Pandora's Academy by Skye MacKinnon

Author:Skye MacKinnon [MacKinnon, Skye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peryton Press


We joined the guard and let him guide us back into the Library.

“Please accompany us downstairs,” Seamus commanded as soon as we’d stepped inside.

The guard stared at us. “I’m not sure if…”

Seamus’s smile disappeared. “Do you know who we are? Do you know what happens if you displease a distinguished member of the Royal family?”

The poor guard blanched. “Of course, of course. Please, follow me.”

He led us into the big entrance hall, still as busy as before, but then turned right into a small room filled with wooden crates, half-finished stone statues, and stacks of papyrus and parchment. A storage room that seemed to be used for whatever people needed to find a space for. There was no door leading away from here, nor stairs, and only a small window letting in a trace of sunlight, but the guard walked undeterred to the other end of the room.

Exchanging a confused look, we followed him, pretending we knew exactly where we were going. Only when we stepped around a pile of crates did I see what we were doing in this room. The back wall was an illusion. There was an opening on the right, just wide enough to let a man squeeze through. The wall behind it was painted slightly brighter than the main wall, but with the shadows falling upon it, it seemed like part of the main wall. Clever.

The guard motioned for me to go first. I squared my shoulders, pretending I’d been here many times before. It was a tight squeeze and I didn’t envy Seamus. He wasn’t a big guy, but his shoulders were definitely much broader than my own. A narrow space between the two walls led to another opening to my right, revealing a steep staircase disappearing into darkness.

We didn’t have a torch and there was no window in this tiny room, so I kept one hand on the wall and slowly made my way down, hoping that the stairs were all about the same size. I really didn’t want to fall and break a limb. Time travel while injured hurt. A lot.

The two men followed behind, both of them descending just as carefully.

At the end of the stairs, a large wooden door awaited us. The guard pulled a key from his pocket and opened it for us.

“I’ll wait here,” he muttered and stood straight, as if he was guarding us from whoever might follow.

Exchanging another look, Seamus and I stepped through the door and into a dimly lit corridor. The walls were rough, nowhere near as smooth and polished as the ones above. The air was thick with the scent of dust and earth. A torch halfway along the passageway illuminated the uneven floor just enough to let us walk without stumbling.

Who’d even lit this torch? No sounds could be heard down here, but that didn’t mean we were alone. What would they do if they caught us down here and realised we weren’t actually Royals? As long as they didn’t force us to take off our cuffs, we’d be fine.



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