Free the huntress 04 - eternal magic by Linsey Hall Page A

battle. “Though I did not realize you would bring…friends.”
    The corner of my mouth tugged upward. “They’re hardly friends. And I didn’t realize I’d be bringing them either.”
    “I suppose I did get that impression,” she said. “Would you like to come with me? I believe you have questions for us.”
    “Yes,” I said.
    We followed her through the courtyard and up the steps of one of the larger buildings.
    “How long has this place been here?” I asked.
    “Over six thousand years,” she said. “At that time, Greece was the natural place for an institution of knowledge and learning.”
    She nodded her head toward an older man sitting on a bench against the wall, his gaze absorbed in a book. His form was slightly faded and gray, as if he were from an old photograph. “That’s Cicero.”
    My brows rose appreciatively. That was pretty cool. “So, this is like an afterlife for smart people?”
    “A bit. We are an institution of knowledge and learning. We are strongest when we have the best scholars. At death, they are offered an opportunity to come here. Some do and we are fortunate for it.”
    I liked Ophelia. She was calm and straightforward, and though I couldn’t read auras, I had a feeling hers would be good.
    “This way.” She led us into a cool, brightly-lit room. Wide windows cast gleaming sunlight over the marble. We walked through elegantly decorated halls and rooms until we reached a space that was simpler, yet grander than any I’d ever seen. 
    The ceiling soared high above, covered in intricate marble carvings. They were geometric, all angles and straight lines, and they were riveting. Benches with cushions scattered the place, along with low tables set with wine and fruit. Bookshelves soared high against the walls, their contents neatly organized. 
    Individuals dressed in white robes reclined on benches, reading or eating. There were about a dozen of them, varying in age and race. Heads turned toward us as we entered. Ophelia nodded and they rose, then seated themselves at an area in the middle where eight marble benches were positioned in a circle. 
    A small pool sat in the middle, the water glittering blue. There was something riveting about it, a shimmer of magic or light that I couldn’t identify.
    “Come.” Ophelia led us to one of the benches.
    We sat, Ophelia and Aidan on either side of me.
    “Cassiopeia Clereaux and Aidan Merrick have arrived. They have questions.”
    The ten robed figures who surrounded us nodded gravely. 
    I unclasped the locket and held it out. “I was told that you could read the writing on the back of this locket.”
    Ophelia took it and studied it, then passed it around. “We can do more than read it. We helped create it. The engraving on the back is our language.”
    The charm made its way around the room, passed from scholar to scholar.
     A beautiful, dark-skinned woman looked at the charm, then met my gaze. “I am Nuria, and I enchanted this locket.”
    My heart thundered in my ears. This woman might know about my past.
    “Cassiopeia is your real first name,” she said. 
    “You mean, the one given by my parents?”
    “Yes. You may have chosen it when you had no memory, but you were drawn to it specifically. Clereaux is your chosen last name, but the one you were gifted at birth was McFane. You are the daughter of Alice and Ethan McFane.” 
    A dull noise roared in my head. “You knew my parents.”
    “Indeed.” Her dark gaze met mine. “They were members of an organization that allies with ours.”
    “Were,” I said. Past tense. My heart plummeted, a sick feeling filling my stomach. This emptiness was nothing compared to the Nullifier’s magic.
    Aidan reached for my hand. I squeezed it hard. I hadn’t really expected my parents to still be alive, but I hadn’t been able to control my hope.
    Her gaze softened. “Yes, were . I am sorry.”
    “How?”
    “That is not my story to tell,” she said.
    “Then whose is it? I want