A Heart So Fierce and Broken (The Cursebreaker Series) by Brigid Kemmerer Read Free Book Online Page B

Lilith’s. The bracelet is enchanted with her magic.
    I close my fingers around the loop of silver and close my eyes. Almost against my will, my brain imagines a wall—then just as quickly imagines me passing through it.
    The scents of the barn and the loft disappear, and the air is suddenly cool. The quiet sound of movement from the horses has been replaced with a low hum, and I open my eyes. White walls, long, tubular lights overhead, though they’re dim. Towers and towers of books stretch on forever, surrounding me. More books than I have ever seen, even in the royal library at Ironrose. This place isnothing like the castle, however. Aside from the books, everything about this room is smooth and sleek and almost unnaturally white.
    I’m not in Rillisk. I’m not in Emberfall at all. I’m in Washington, DC. Or possibly miles away, wherever Rillisk would correlate in Harper’s world.
    The bracelet still works.
    For a moment, I sit and inhale the cool air, such a relief after the weighted humidity in Emberfall. I have no idea where I am, but it’s quiet and I’m safe. Rhen can’t reach me here. Likely no one can reach me here. It’s tempting to stay.
    But where would I go? What would I do? No one on this side needs a swordsman—nor a stable hand, from what I’ve seen. The girls I used to kidnap for Rhen rarely had skills with weaponry or horses, and while I’m certain they had skills of their own that would be useful in this place, they are not skills I share.
    Something metal rattles, followed by a squeak, and I scramble to my feet. I wish for a weapon, but the only thing clenched in my hand is the silver bracelet.
    An older woman pushes some kind of cart around a corner. Her hair is long and gray and tied into a braid that hangs over one shoulder. She startles when she sees me, but her expression quickly smooths out. She gives me a kind smile. “I know the library is twenty-four hours, but students aren’t allowed to sleep here.”
    I take a breath. “Forgive me.”
    Her eyes skip down my form, taking in my clothes from Rillisk, which are nothing like the clothes from this side. When she gets to my bare feet, her lips turn downward. “Do you have somewhere else to sleep?”
    I wonder what she would do if I said no. I wonder where Iwould go—or where she would send me. She appears kind. I wonder if I could find refuge here.
    A man appears around the corner, younger and heavier than the woman, and he frowns when he sees me. He looks as startled as she was, but his eyes are more coolly assessing. He speaks low, under his breath, but I hear him anyway. “Homeless?” he whispers. “Should I call the cops?”
    She gives a tiny nod, but then she takes a step closer to me. “Are you hungry? We can get you something to eat.”
    My ears are stuck on his question. The cops . Enforcers on this side. I’ve run into them before. They mean nothing good to someone like me.
    I can find no refuge here. Not now. Not like this.
    I close my eyes. Imagine the wall. Pass through.
    Silent darkness, quick and sudden, presses against my eyelids. I’m safe. I’m back. I take a long breath and open my eyes.
    Tycho is standing right in front of me.
    Silver hell. The bracelet slips from my fingers and clatters to the wood floor.
    He’s wide-eyed and breathing like he’s being chased. “You vanished.” His eyes flick to my bed, six feet away now, then back to my face. “Then reappeared just there.”
    I say nothing. I can’t deny it.
    His eyes search mine in the darkness. “Is it you they’re looking for?”
    “You’ll seal your fate with that question.”
    Tycho swallows. “Hawk. Is it you?”
    Tension has joined us in the loft, a silent judge, trapping me in place. “Yes.”
    “What would they do if they found you?”
    “They won’t.”
    The words come out like a threat, and he flinches. It should summon sympathy in me, but it doesn’t. I’ve learned how to lock away emotion and do what is necessary. Too