Page 55 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Yes, the stars of the book connect to their respective stars on the ceiling.”

“But why? There must be a reason.”

“That, my dear, has been lost to time. If you’ll excuse me, I have a class to teach on ancient sylph calligraphy.”

Grand Master Quail shuffled away, muttering to himself under his breath.

“Well, that wasn’t helpful,” Ora said, shoulders slumping with disappointment.

“Yes, it was,” Caiden said. “He said most of the other books are here. I think if we line all of them up, we’ll get some answers, but we’ll have to do it later when everyone is asleep.”

“How will we get the other books if they’re locked away? I don’t have the clearance to check out books in the restricted section without a Grand Master.”

“Would a letter from a High Council Member be helpful?”

“That could work.” Her green eyes lit with excitement.

“I’ll get a letter from my father and meet you back here as soon as I have it.”

Caiden raced to his father’s office in the capitol, where aids hurried from one meeting to another. The sounds of their heels clicking on the marble floors echoed through the hallways. Tonin sat at his desk, hunched over some papers, his gray hair shining in the sunlight. Caiden wondered when his father started to age. Despite being nearly a millennium old, he looked to be around the age of a human in their fifties. He wasn’t frail, but he certainly wasn’t the fearsome commander he’d once been.

“Caiden! How goes it today?” His face brightened at the sight of his youngest son. Creases appeared around his pale blue eyes. Tonin was as close to an original as the sylph could get. Born from one of the original families, he escaped elven slavery and worked to free others.

A rebellion leader, he led the forces into battle in the Sylph and Elven Wars, only to become their captive again. He nearly died in a prison camp, but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of killing him. Every sylph born after the treaty was signed knew who Tonin Stormweaver was. A legend among his people, Caiden hoped his signature would carry enough weight to get them into the library’s restricted section.

“It goes well. I trust Amolie took the portal to Ruska safely.”

“She did.” Tonin nodded. “Terrible that she had to leave so soon after her wedding.”

“Life does not wait for us, Father. You should know that by now.”

“True.” He sighed and poured himself a glass of amber liquor. “Want one?”

Caiden waved him off. “I’m here for a favor.”

“Oho, and what is it for?”

“I need a note to get into the restricted section of the Great Library.”

“And why would you need that?”

“We… er, I may have found something to help us locate the Trinity Wells. That book you let me borrow is part of a set—a gift from the goddess Illya to the original sylph families.”

Tonin scribbled something down—signing it with big, swooped lettering. “Say no more.” Dripping wax onto the letter, he stamped it with the seal of the Stormlands and handed it to Caiden.

“Thanks, Dad,” he said with a sheepish smile as if he were receiving a note to miss his tutoring lessons.

“Of course.” He smiled back at his son. “Now, go save the world.”

Caiden turned to leave, but his father called after him, “One more thing.”

“Yes?”

“I’m proud of you.”

Caiden’s chest warmed. “I try my best to make you proud.”

Tonin nodded at his son. “I’ll see you back at the townhouse tonight. Your mother is making a hearty stew.”

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