Chapter 168: A Secret... under the Castle
"Why?" Annalise found herself asking but Valerius only shook his head in response as he spoke, "I have no idea but that’s what he said to me right before we were leaving the palace. You can decide if you want to go or not."
"I will. It’s a summon from the King, I’m in no place to deny it. Besides, I want to know why he wants to meet me of all people." Annalise responded in a determined tone as she looked straight into Valerius’ icy orbs.
The first dark lord nodded his head in both understanding and acceptance of her decision. "If that’s what you want. I will personally escort you to the Palace tomorrow noon." He offered and Annalise happily accepted it with a nod of her head.
"What’s next?" She asked, making sure that he won’t be changing his mind about sharing the other things that he had on his mind because she was pretty sure that those were the important ones to be paid attention to.
Valerius shook his head as a smile bloomed on his lips. He returned his attention to her, his eyes carrying the usual warmth in them as he confessed, "I came here looking for two things - first, the spell that your familiar asked you to find to get its former memories, and second, some information about the Wish Jewels and the Guardian bloodlines."
"Didn’t you strengthen the ward? Do you still have to put aside your health to find these answers? Don’t we have time..." Annalise bombarded him with questions and stopped when he started shaking his head, not clearly understanding exactly what he meant by that.
"There’s another secret I want you to know." He spoke in such a serious voice that Annalise couldn’t help but think of the worst. Did he fail to strengthen the ward? Or was it something else but still somehow related to it?
"What is it?" She asked and was surprised when Valerius suddenly stood up and offered his open palm to her in an invitation that she immediately found herself accepting as she placed her hand in his.
The man led her toward the doorway and out of the library before they made their way downstairs. She was surprised when she found them heading inside the basement as her head started filling with pure confusion and questions. Still, she followed him in silence and waited patiently to get the answers.
Instead of the two halls that she previously noticed, Valerius pulled her in the direction of the farthest corner of the parlor where long black drapes were covering the wall. With a single flick of his wrist, the drapes moved aside, allowing them access to the wall that was built of some sort of volcanic rocks that were buzzing with powerful spells.