Page 125 of Revenge of the Forgotten

Vega watched as more Solum workers surrounded the docks with their fists over their hearts—it was a sign from a long time ago that meant, We are with you. Arlet was the first to move, her hand mimicking Solum’s people.

Vega joined her.

“See, I didn’t come to you prematurely. Solum’s people knew of the arrangement before I met with you. I wouldn’t offer up their lives without first asking if they were willing to give them.” Urban, who was once so feeble and shy, was now a man willing to die for a cause not many would.

Khort finally placed his fist over his heart.

Urban spoke again. “This is why I asked you to come here, so you could see for yourself that Solum is ready to fight. Fifty-five years of slavery is enough for one lifetime. And the letter I sent to Vega, well, it seems it’s no longer a secret why you’re here. You told me to keep quiet, so I planned to have you scurry off with Colette before Khort arrived today.” His eyes met Vega’s. “I guess silence on the matter is no longer needed.”

Vega shook her head, letting her hand fall from her chest. “No.” The people of Solum one by one dropped their hands and got back to work, loading crates and boxes to far-off territories. The seas were easier to navigate these days than the roadways that had become littered with Tolevarre’s army. “I can’t leave the only people who have ever fought for me in the dark anymore.” She’d done that too many times before. “And we only have one boat right now, so…”

Urban chuckled softly. “We have plenty of boats, which means you now have plenty as well.” His eyes wandered over the three of them. “Your friendship always made me a little jealous. The way you had each other to lean on. You should consider yourselves lucky to have one another still. A lot of us have been left alone.”

“You’re not alone anymore,” Arlet told him, touching his arm gently.

“Thank you. Now, Vega, you better get going. Colette doesn’t have a huge window to sneak you in and out of the archives, and you’re already behind schedule.” Urban hurried them along.

Khort stepped forward, blocking Vega’s path. “I’m going with you.”

She shook her head. “No, Arlet is. You need to stay here and load the boat with food for Castra. Take some time to spend with the people we’ll be fighting beside, who will be fighting under you. We aren’t deviating from our plans today. We’ll be quick.”

“What if this is a trap?” he said to Arlet and Vega, his voice low.

“I know this is supposed to be a private conversation, but I will be honest about the risks.” Colette butted in. “I can promise I won’t tell a soul.” Her voice was buttery sweet. “But I can’t make that promise for the others of Littera.”

The small woman was much younger than the rest of them—Vega could see it in the way her eyes sparkled with youth, and the bounce in her step still looked full of hopeful wonder.

The world hadn’t broken her yet.

“We’ll deal with that when it comes. For now, I need tomes, journals, everything and anything you can get me on curses.”

Colette smiled. “You’re in luck. That’s my department.”

Vega couldn’t remember the last time she rode horseback for over an hour. Her legs felt stuck in a bowed position when she dismounted her black mare. She griped, stretching out her legs while Arlet did the same.

It was hard to tell that they’d grown up with the best horses and stables in all of Aeris with how they hobbled behind Colette.

Vega leaned into Arlet, whispering close to her ear. “Hopefully we won’t be fighting this war from the backs of horses.”

Colette held her finger over her lips, turning only long enough to shush the girls as they walked into the main room of the oldest library in Tolevarre—the Minerva Archives. The building was spelled long ago to block the use of powers inside, a way to protect the history of their world and the one that came before it.

As they crossed through the door, Vega couldn’t rely on anything other than her wits and physical skills to keep her safe. The buzz of her power simmered to nothing, bringing back memories of the nights she spent underground in her sister’s dungeons.

As if Arlet knew where Vega’s thoughts went, she slipped her hand into hers as they entered the main room and pulled their hoods over their heads for an added layer of camouflage.

The back entrance opened to a high ceiling with painted pictures of the dead gods. It rounded in the center, small windows illuminating the paintings on every ebony wooden wall. Any free inch of space was lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves. Vega took a deep breath, inhaling the glorious scent of old and loved books.

She used to love coming here for visits with her parents as a kid.

Colette shuffled them quickly through the main room and dipped off into a hallway that made Vega feel claustrophobic after the room they’d just left. The space was too small for the girls to walk side by side. Arlet fell back, keeping watch behind Vega, and Vega’s head stayed on a swivel. They’d be ready for a fight if one came.

They walked down more halls, descending into the belly of the archives where not many got to go. It was darker down here too, the chemical breakdown of the ancient bindings creating a musty book smell that wasn’t present up above.

Colette smiled as they passed another Littera-born, his eyes sweeping over Vega and Arlet with unease.

Arlet took a few large strides to get beside Vega when the hall widened a bit. “We get what we need, and we get out. We might not see them, but they see us.”

Vega knew she was right—she could feel people watching at every corner.

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