Page 60 of Forged Flight

Behind me, Micah shifts anxiously. “Lucan…”

“Almost got it,” I mutter through clenched teeth.

Then, with one final twist of my wrist, the lock gives with a satisfying click.

I pull the pick free.

Micah sucks in a startled breath. “You actually did it.”

I flash him a grin and push open the door. “Come on.”

I step inside, pulling Micah gently along with me, and quietly close the door behind us.

The king’s office smells faintly of leather, parchment, and burning candlewax. Orange moonlight spills through tall windows, illuminating an enormous wooden desk at the center of the room.

Shelves line the walls, packed with books and scrolls. A large map of the kingdom hangs behind the desk, the illustrated mountain speckled with tiny colored pins.

Micah moves toward it, his lips parted. He lifts a hand and brushes his fingers tentatively across the paper.

“Oh, goddess…”

I tear my gaze away from the map and turn toward the king’s desk.

“Let’s see what else he’s hiding. There’s gotta be something damning in here somewhere,” I mutter.

I pull open the top drawer and shift through its contents, finding a pile of parchment and letters embossed with the royal seal. At the bottom, my fingers skim across a scroll tied together with black ribbon.

I grab it.

“Lucan,” Micah whispers.

“Give me a minute, Doc.”

I move to the next drawer and yank it open. Inside, a glass corked vial full of an blue powder rests inside. The fine particles cling to the sides of the glass, their vivid hue almost glowing beneath the dim light.

My brow furrows.

“What is that?” Micah asks, peering over my shoulder.