Page 31 of The Misplaced Warrior

For instance, she didn’t know that as Founders, they would be immortalized and allowed to watch over the House of Fourteen. It made Gen happy to know that her father and her sister were still with her, even if she could never see them again. It didn’t make her sad at all to know that she wasn’t given the opportunity to be immortalized because Gen was always meant to be a dragonrider, not a warrior.

The strange symbols glowed and danced in the air when Gen reached out and touched the wall. The Founders’ language warmed under her fingertips, making her smile slightly. When she pulled her hand away, Jack was giving her a sensitive expression.

“Do you miss them?” he asked, apparently reading the sentimentality on her face.

“My family?” she questioned.

“Well, your family, friends, home or just your time in general, I guess,” he replied.

She shook her head. Then she corrected the movement, toggling her chin back and forth. “Of course I do. But also, this is my time. Papa Creola confirmed that.”

Jack flashed her a clever smile. “I’ve met that guy, thanks to you.”

She chuckled. “I miss my father, obviously all the time. He was my best friend.” Gen paused for a moment, thinking. “It’s weird, because most would have thought that my twin sister, Elizabeth, would have been closer to me than anyone else. However, we were different. She was so…good.” Gen shrugged looking up at Jack. “Anyway, I miss them all the time, but then I’m reminded that they aren’t gone. It’s just that we can only have one-way conversations.”

He laughed when she did, both of them finding this notion perplexing and humorous at the same time.

“It must be weird to know that they are watching you,” Jack related. “Do you think they are always watching…you know, like all the time?”

Gen thought about this for a moment, looking over the walls of symbols, understanding them with ease. The language was very complicated in order to keep it from being translated easily. Finally, Gen shook her head. “No, the Founders’ language here says that their attention is only drawn to events and people pertinent to their roles governing the magical organizations. I’m guessing that a spell was used related to events and their frequencies.” She grinned at him. “So, they don’t watch you sleep or pick your nose.”

He scoffed. “As if. I don’t sleep.”

She laughed easily.

“So there’s a language here?” Jack asked, indicating to the wall.

Gen nodded. “Yes, but you can’t see it. Only Royals can. And only I can read it.”

“Wow,” he mused, looking over the wall lit by firelight from nearby torches. “That’s crazy. It still baffles me that you’re a Founder for the House of Fourteen. Like what was that like, creating…well, this?” He motioned around to the area all around them.

“It was easier than I think you might realize,” she answered. “Back then, everything was so new. It was obvious to my father and me that we needed a way to govern the world of magic. I’ve thought of this often and I believe it was less complicated then. Nothing was established. We simply built a house on a piece of land and created laws. Things are much more complicated now that there are so many people and organizations.”

“That makes sense,” he replied. “It’s like before electricity was invented. When that spark happened, things were simple. But now that we have electricity, all the crazy options of what to do with it are overwhelming. It goes into everything, but it all started with that little spark.”

She smiled at him. “That’s a good way to explain it. And yes, we simply set up the foundation—albeit a very complicated one. But it’s nice to know that all these centuries later, it’s still standing.”

“That’s because you did it right,” he commended, a twinkle in his eyes.

For a long moment, she couldn’t pull her gaze away from his. She didn’t want to. Finally, she was able to pull her eyes off him, although it wasn’t easy—like she’d been locked on him for eternity and years had passed.

Clearing her throat, Gen shook off the heat in her chest. “Are you ready to go find your sword?”

Seeming similarly flustered, he nodded. “Yes, lead the way. I’ll follow you, wherever you go.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

WORMHOLE OF WISDOM

Library, House of Fourteen, Santa Monica, California, United States

As Gen stepped into the library, her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening at the sight of the cavernous expanse that stretched out before her. Towering shelves of gleaming, leather-bound volumes rose up like massive trees. It seemed like the branches reached towards a ceiling that was painted with a starry, enchanted sky.

The air hummed with a palpable energy. Everywhere she looked, the library pulsed with a life of its own. The very walls seemed to breathe.

Winding staircases spiraled up into the darkness. Their steps were worn smooth by the passage of countless people, searching for books. Narrow bridges spanned dizzying openings, connecting the complicated levels in a web of intricate, ever-changing pathways.

Gen’s heart raced as she tried to make sense of the chaos before her, the sheer vastness of the library threatening to overwhelm her senses. Shadows danced at the edge of her vision, and she swore she could hear the faint whisper of voices. It reminded Gen of the warning that Liv had given her about the confusing aspects of the library. One had to remain focused or they’d risk getting lost by the magic of the place.

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