Shadow Beast left as quickly as he’d arrived, and I was ushered into my room by Inky, all the while trying to figure out what the fuck was happening.
To say I was confused would be a major understatement.
Confused had been back in Torma trying to figure out how the Shadow Beast himself had blessed a union between me and that self-centered motherfucker of a future alpha. I mean, what the hell had I done wrong in my last life to end up mated to Torin?
Truthfully, after meeting the Beast himself, I had the sneaking suspicion that true mate bonds were not his domain. Definitely not the cupid type… not at all.
But yeah, that was my usual level of confusion—the alpha-mate thing was my normal life shit pile, and I was okay with it. But this… this! This was almost beyond belief, my brain unable to comprehend what was happening to me. He’d given me two options, but it looked like he’d chosen anyway. Option two: prisoner of the Shadow Beast.
The motherfucking Shadow Beast.
Not only that, but I was also existing on some magical plane—a Solaris System?—that had rooms leading to new worlds. And the libraries. Two stunning, priceless libraries filled with all the knowledge of the universe. Too much. Too fucking much.
This might have been a bit of a delayed reaction, but who could blame me? Anyone in this situation would need some time to truly comprehend it all.
Not to mention the Shadow Beast and his brilliant new plan.
If I’d had to guess what being kidnapped by him would be like, there would have been torture and pain involved. Maybe a ritualistic eating of my heart or something equally as fucked-up.
Knowing my luck, psycho gods were probably into collecting fingernails or eyeballs.
Weird bastards.
But nope, instead, he was keeping me so we could go hunting shadow creatures together.
It didn’t make sense. There was more going on here that I wasn’t aware of, and no way in hell was I letting my guard down around that fallen-angel-looking psychopath.
If anything, I was only going to double down on figuring out his weakness. Everyone had one, and when I figured out Shadow’s, I would use it to crumble his world to its foundation. Dust. Atoms. Micro-organisms.
I’d be the harbinger of death to fire eyes, square cut jaws, and a mop of curls.
Then I’d laugh all the way to my freedom.
Popping to my feet, feeling a little better with my new game plan, I looked around my prison. Truth be told, prison was a little harsh; it was a large room with a half-decent-looking bed at the far end. Ten steps up from the crappy bedroom I’d had back home.
Opening the antique armoire with gold and silver inlaid detailing across the curved top, I blinked at the decent array of clothing inside. Rifling through, it was clear that everything in there was my size and style. Jeans, shorts, tanks, and a few comfy sweaters. The Room of Need did more than just provide; it appeared to read minds and memories to make sure everything was as you’d choose yourself.
Super fucking creepy. But helpful.
And right now, helpful was all I could ask for.
There was a small bathroom attached to the bedroom, and in the drawers I found toiletries and makeup. High-end Earth brands, the sort I’d drool over in magazines but would never have been able to afford on my own.
The perks would be amazing if they didn’t come with a megalomaniac jailer.
Since Shadow had made his usual dramatic exit, I decided to take a quick shower and get myself cleaned up. Shedding the ragged shirt, I sighed as the hot water beat against my tense muscles, and for a moment, I allowed myself to fall apart.
Just a moment.
My shoulder slammed against the tiles as my head dropped forward and I clenched my hands tightly. I can do this. I can survive this. After Torma, I can survive anything.
From the ashes, the phoenix will rise.
A mantra was all a chick needed to make it through life. Right?
Once I was clean, dressed in underwear with zero holes—whaattt?—jeans and a simple white shirt, I felt like I was ready to figure out my place in this strange world. My new tennis shoes were silent as I headed toward the door, my hand settling on the ancient black handle, expecting it would be locked when I tried to press the lever. Except it clicked open, and I stepped out to find Inky chilling there, like the creepy version of Casper the Ghost.
“Wow, fancy meeting you here,” I said with fake enthusiasm. “I missed you in the hour we were apart, Inky. Don’t ever leave me again.”
It swirled higher, sliding around my new clothes, like it was trying to figure out what I was wearing. “This is how I normally look when I’m not half-naked,” I said with a smirk.
The black shadow swelled to double its size and seemed to almost… jiggle. I was going to call that its laughing move because anything else was too terrifying to contemplate.
The larger it grew, the more definition I could see inside of what I’d previously thought of as just swirls of shadowy smoke. It looked like a huge brain, with electrical pulses shooting between synapses. Human brains were not my specialty or anything, but it did make me wonder if Inky was way more sentient than I’d originally thought.
There was no way it was just an offshoot of the Shadow Beast… Inky was definitely its own special brand of supernatural creature.
“What are you?” I asked, my curiosity had those words bursting from me. “You’re like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
Fuck knows why I did the next thing, but sometimes my brain is slow. There’s no other explanation for why I voluntarily touched the black smoke. As my fingertips glided through the darkness, an icy chill shot up my arm before I was knocked back onto my ass like someone had punted me halfway across the room.
“Shit!” I gasped, trying to shake the chill off as I awkwardly got to my feet. “I legit did not expect that.” Inky had touched me before, but apparently, it wasn’t a two-way street. Or maybe that was just my first and only warning not to venture where I wasn’t invited.
Inky shrank smaller but was definitely still jiggling. Smug bastard, just like Shadow.
Deciding I’d wasted enough time procrastinating, I made my way past the smoke entity and into the Library of Knowledge. When I stepped through the veil, a goblin was waiting for me right on the other side.
“Gah.” I jumped back, almost tumbling into Shadow’s lair again. “Don’t stand so close, Gaster.”
He bowed low. “My apologies, Miss Mera. I’ve been waiting for your return so that I can continue the tour and outline your duties.”
It felt a lot like I was about to be inducted for my first day of work, but if it led to more knowledge and a chance to find a way to separate myself from the dick of all deities, then I’d take whatever he threw at me. If this library held the knowledge of the world… there had to be something in here that defined the Shadow Bastard’s weaknesses.
“Lead the way!” I said with enthusiasm. Gaster blinked at me, those odd eyes capturing my attention as a sheen of green coated the black before it vanished.
“Finally someone as excited as me to learn,” he said, and I wondered if that flash of green was his happiness shining through.
“Totally,” I chimed in, ready to butter this goblin up so that I could have one powerful ally for future issues. I mean, maybe he wasn’t powerful in a physical sense, but someone who had the role of “concierge of the Library of Knowledge” had to be a useful friend to have.
Truth be told, I kind of liked him. People with his level of enthusiasm and child-like excitement for life were few and far between in my world. Shifters were more about being badass and snarky; even our pups were sassy little shits.
As we moved back through the many bookshelves, I noted that the multitude of beings I’d seen before were all gone, and in their place new ones perused the shelves, stacking books up in their arms and leaving again through their world’s door.
“So none of these beings from the worlds work here?” I asked.
Gaster turned back to look at me, that damn smile still in place. “No one really works here, but there are a few dozen of us demi-fey who keep it running. The Library of Knowledge is a powerful entity, and if it fell into the wrong hands…” For once, that thought did not make him smile.
“Where do all the shelves go when it packs up for the night?” I asked, thinking of my first empty trip through these halls.
He offered me a blank sort of stare. “They go nowhere. The shelves remain as they are right now. Nothing has changed in the Solaris System and Library of Knowledge since I started here a thousand years ago.”
Okay, ignoring the fact that he was at least a thousand years old, I focused on the rest of what he’d said.
“That can’t be right,” I murmured. “When I walked through this building with Shadow, yesterday or whenever, this hall was empty. All I could see were windows and the doors, but no shelves or books at all.”
Gaster took a second to answer, like he was weighing up his thoughts. “The master would have been deciding your fate,” he finally said, his voice lower and less animated than usual. “Until that was decided, you would not have been privy to the gift of knowledge that is contained here.”
Oh. Right. “Shadow probably was planning on killing me at that point,” I said. “So it makes sense.”
Gaster threw both hands up, looking panicked. “Oh, no, I’m sure he wasn’t. He’s just cautious with strangers.” Yeah, that was it.
We were in the center of the library now, surrounded by a mass of tables and chairs and some plump beanbags that looked super inviting. Unfortunately, there was no time for me to dive into their depths with a great book, because I was at “work.”
“Feels weird to be the only one working here who isn’t demi-fey,” I said.
Gaster nodded. “I know, but you won’t feel alone. As I said, many others are always here to gather knowledge. It’s the highest honor to be chosen to peruse the library.”
“Exactly how many worlds are there in this Solaris System?”
He’d mentioned a few, of course, but my need for more knowledge was increasing with every hour I remained here. The unnamed doors called to me, demanding I learn about them.
His eyes widened, black orbs shimmering in the twinkling lights above us. “Oh, you are in for a real treat. Follow me.”
So I did.
