The Midnight Bride
It was a thick volume with ornate gold lettering on the spine: Magic of the Four Kingdoms.
Magic.
Cerus.
I pulled it free, the leather smooth and cool against my palm.
Something in my chest soured. It felt as if I was a child again, hiding from my mother to avoid her retort. I looked toward the doors, blowing out a stream of air, when I noticed that the guards were standing outside.
Flipping the book open, I scanned the pages, my heartbeat quickening. Images of wolves, dragons, bats, and eagles filled the pages, each drawn alongside men who stood in the same positions.