Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 47

Liam smiled, and relief filled his eyes. He nodded and cleared his throat before he said something. "Good," he said and cleared his throat again. He sighed and moved a hand through his hair. "I thought you would say no," he admitted.

I gave him a sidelong glance before I looked away. My cheeks were still a bit red, and I knew that it was because he had hoped that I would say yes. "Well, I didn't have the heart to say no," I replied.

I started to walk in a different direction as if something was guiding me, and Liam followed me with no questions at all.

Liam shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I still thought you would," he said.

I didn't respond and shrugged. My cheeks were still red, but they were slowly getting better with each passing second. "Ummm..." I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Why would you want me to be Maid Marion, though?" I asked.

Liam shrugged, and his cheeks turned red. "Because it feels right, for some reason," he said, honestly. "It feels as if you should be the Maid Marion to my Robin Hood."

"Oh, ummm..." I cleared my throat, and my cheeks were the same color as his. "That's nice..."

"Tell me you don't feel the same way," Liam said and looked at me. He moved in front of me and stopped, and I had to stop too before I ran into him. He studied me, and I didn't meet his gaze. "Hadley," he said.

My blush grew deeper, and I still kept my eyes on the ground. My heart raced in my chest, each beat becoming faster and faster than the last one. Help me..? I asked, not knowing what to do.

Look to the bottom shelf, Adrian said. Amusement filled his voice, and that made my cheeks become a little brighter.

Which one? I asked.

Just look. I cannot tell you, remember? Pain and sadness filled his voice, and I knew that he didn't want to be silent but help me with the answers that I needed and craved.

I bit back a sigh of annoyance but did what I was told to do. I looked to the left and on the bottom shelf to see a single book sitting there.

There was nothing interesting about the outside of the book. The cover was old and brown leather that was weathered with age. Its spine was slim, and there was nothing on it that screamed, "magic."

"That's it?" I asked out loud, disappointed, and defeated, forgetting about Liam just for a moment. "That's the book?"

Liam reared back in surprise about my outburst and opened his mouth. He blinked and blinked again. "Uhhhhh," he said, confused. "What?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Nothing," I said, defeated. "I think it's a book to help me with King Arthur and such, but..." I shrugged and trailed off before I walked over to the book and picked it up, feeling deflated and left with more questions than answers.

"I don't think that book will help you with King Arthur," Liam said, walking over to me. He peeked over my shoulder and looked at the book. "It's kind of..."

"Small?" I asked, and he nodded. I pursed my lips and sighed, feeling tired and sad. "Ya, I know," I said with a soft sigh. "But it might have some information for me."

"It looks pretty old, too," Liam pointed out. "And it looks like a journal."

I studied the old book and flipped it in my hand until the back cover was facing me. "Maybe," I said, running my hand across the cover.

Magic nipped at my fingertips, and I gasped out in shock and pulled my hand away. My heart pounded in my chest, and I quickly turned the book over until it was facing the right way. I studied the cover as if it would hold answers, but it didn't.

"What happened?" Liam asked, concerned for my safety and well being. He took another step towards me until there was nothing left, but he didn't touch me. "Hadley. Are you all right?"

"Uh... ya, ya, I am fine," I said dismissively. I cleared my throat and licked my lips before I shrugged and clutched the book closer to my chest. "The book just shocked me, is all."

Liam frowned and studied me, taking a step back in the process so that he could get a good look at me. "How?" he asked and raised an eyebrow. He cocked his head and studied me further, and it felt as if he was trying to read my soul. "It's just that it is a book, so... how would it shock you?"

I frowned and gave him a hard look that had him shifting on his feet nervously. I had to come up with something quick, and I prayed that he would not question my bull shit answer. "Static electricity, duh," I said. "How else would I get shocked?"

Liam shrugged his shoulder and didn't respond to my question. "Well?" he asked after a moment's pause and changing the subject. He raised an eyebrow, and I raised one too. "Are you going to open the book?"

I bit my lip and looked at the book before I nodded. I had no idea what I was going to read, but I hoped that I'd be proven wrong and this book would answer some of my questions, especially about Richard and Adrianna.

And so, with a pounding heart and trembling hands, I opened the book and looked at the thing that was written.

And the first word that was written was one that I had seen before. It was a name that the magical book had mentioned as soon as I had drawn the male before me in it.

And that name was;

Richard.