Page 51 of Ruined Kingdom

My teeth gritted against each other. I was so tired of being met with disappointment and frustration at every turn. Every time I got close, something inevitably stepped in the way.

“I don't know how to read it, but I believe that's written in Taltarune… The language of the Fae.” Sharra pecked at the page with her fingers as she carved out the symbols with her nails. “I’m sure of it.”

“That’s an easy fix. I happen to know some Light Fae we could ask,” I said, the words flying out of me with a relieving breath.

The only issue was I had no idea how to get in touch with any of them.

Come to think of it, it had been a long while since I last saw any of them—other than Andromeda, who’d begrudgingly helped us to reach Solanas, the Light Fae Kingdom.

I was half tempted to call out her name, but I knew I wasn't supposed to let other people know. I wasn't sure what would happen to the Fae if someone else figured out their names, but I knew it would be devastating to her. And she’d never forgive me…

Maybe I could whisper to her from my mind? There had been occasions where it’d worked.

I closed my eyes and focused all of my brain power on silently calling out to her. Andromeda… I need your help. Please.

I blinked one eye open and looked around to find that no one had appeared.

That was a stupid thing to do, I thought, feeling silly. The Light Fae wasn’t at my beck and call. What was I thinking?

I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling, only to see a silvery, glimmering orb floating down. “Holy Gods, I can’t believe that worked.”

I was so astounded. I felt the need to stand up from my chair.

The orb disappeared and morphed into the body of Andromeda.

“You called me?” she said, the disdain in her voice and her eyes unmistakable.

“I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help translating this language. I was told you might be able to read it.” I flipped the book around so that she could see the first page.

“Oh, I can read it all right, but this is some ancient stuff you're messing with.” She raised an eyebrow at me as she looked up from the book. “Are you sure you're ready for it?”

“Whether I'm ready or not, it's important that I know.”

She stared at me for a long moment before sighing and giving me a nod. “All right then. Let me take a look. I'm rusty at this since we haven't used this language in a few thousand years.”

“Take your time. No pressure. I appreciate your help,” I blurted out in quick succession, not wanting her to hate me more than she already did.

“Relax, kid. You don't have to try so hard.” She seemed to crack a smile and let out a small laugh before she sat down and began reading.

All I could do was stare at her. Did Andromeda really smile and laugh just now?

As if she noticed my lingering attention, she sighed without looking up from the page. “Sophia, I’m going to need some space. Deciphering this might take some time.”

Lexi, Sharra, and I spent the next few hours pacing around nervously as Andromeda wrote down the important information that she was able to translate from the book.

As much as I wanted to peek over at her work, I didn't want to be breathing over her shoulder. I tried to distract myself with another book, but the Library refused to give me anything else. I ended up having to pull my own book off of the shelf.

The Library was right, though, because I couldn't even bring myself to read a single word.

I just kept flipping through the pages mindlessly until I heard Andromeda close the book, and I quickly turned to face her expectantly.

“This is all I could glean from the texts. I hope it helps.” She moved around the pieces of paper she’d written out for me.

“Oh, more than you know. I really appreciate you coming. Thank you so much,” I said as I gathered the papers up and held them to my chest.

She gave me a stern nod before she floated off of the table and headed toward the ceiling again. She stopped midway in thought before looking down at me.

My throat tightened, anticipating the worst.

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