Page 19 of Lore of the Wilds

Both boys nodded again, and with the slightest tilt of their curly heads, they disappeared down the corridor. The little one walked on his tippy toes, just like Milo.

Lore frowned. She doubted they would be successful in all but the quill and ink, but she’d had to try.

The guard, Asher, sat on the floor on the opposite side of the library entrance. It seemed he wasn’t going to take his chances with the cursed library, either.

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Lore placed her hands on her hips. She felt emboldened by him sitting across the corridor while she was close to the forbidden library.

Asher gazed up at her. “I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Get to work. I’ve been ordered to let them know if you appear to be wasting time.”

Lore made an irritated noise and turned on her heel.

Stepping through the library doors, Lore was met again by the damp, musty smell of decaying parchment and ancient dust. She decided to brush off the dismissive guard and focus on the task at hand. Goddess knew she had plenty to keep her busy.

But the smell was strong, and some fresh air would do wonders for the place. If she could climb onto a shelf, she may be able to unlatch and open one of the windows lining the tops of the shelves on the far back wall. It looked to be a bright, warm day outside, which would be perfect for airing out an old, damp—possibly haunted—library.

She was irritated by the guard outside, but she had to admit it was nice to know thatsomeonewould notice if she was suddenly killed by a disgruntled spirit.

She pushed a wooden ladder up against the back shelves. It had been worn smooth from the hands and feet of long-dead scholars and scribes. The first rung groaned under her weight, but when she bounced a little bit on it, testing if it could hold her weight,it held. She began a slow, cautious climb. When she reached the top, she pulled herself up onto the stone shelf to kneel before one of the large windows.

She gasped at the view. Towering trees with vines twisted together like braids danced in the breeze. There was a large pond with a stream that disappeared into the grounds. Sunlight glinted on the dappled mosaics and bushes with purple berry–lined paths of red brick. One young couple was picnicking in the shade of a tree as red and gold leaves tumbled in the breeze around them.

A small fox lounged on a thick branch in a tree to Lore’s right, lulled to sleep by the serenity of the garden. Its paw twitched in its sleep, no doubt dreaming of chasing a plump rabbit.

As had been the case with the city, nothing was amiss here. How much progress had the masons made back home by now? Even one magic-gifted fae who was willing to help could do so much good. How much damage had the fires caused before being put out? How many families were now without homes and any source of coin?

How many lives had been lost?

Lore’s stomach turned at the thought that she wasn’t there to help. She wanted to be with her family and her community, helping to rebuild the only home she’d ever known. Instead, she was in a castle, filled with creatures who viewed her entire species as dirt beneath their feet.

But shewashelping her people. Or trying to, at least. And that meant she had to do her job in this dusty library.

Lore reached out to a window and tried to lift it. It didn’t budge. She climbed farther onto the ledge to try another window. She gritted her teeth and heaved again, knuckles turning pale, but the window remained shut.

The first three windows she tried were stuck firm with dirt, grime, and thick vines, but the fourth opened with a groan, letting in the aroma of ripe berries and freshly turned earth. Sheinhaled, sipping the air and filling her lungs up with its sweetness. She managed to open two more windows before climbing down the creaky ladder.

While Lore surveyed the library once more, trying to find a sensible place to start, she thought of home. She’d never gone this long without tracking the stars. She couldn’t believe that just a few days ago she’d been hoping to look through the skyglass and now she was leagues away from it.

Lore had had the honor of looking throughZiara, the great skyglass, for the first time on her eighth nameday. She’d been terrified as she slipped out of the pew and walked the dimly lit and seemingly endless path up to the front of the open-air church.

She’d held her breath with every step and hadn’t let it out until she’d closed one eye—just like she’d practiced all the previous week—and looked through the eyepiece with a relieved giggle. So afraid that she wouldn’t see anything or that, somehow, the eyepiece would black out for her, as if she wasn’t worthy of the light of the stars.

But her giggle had been swallowed by a gasp because what she’d beheld was like nothing she’d ever seen before. Countless stars lit up her view and swirling trails of stardust glowed before her, winking a greeting that was surely meant just for her.

She had felt like she could almost hear the stars welcoming her on her honorable nameday. Lore’s eyes had glistened as she stepped back, tearing her gaze from the heavens in order to complete the ritual that all children in Duskmere completed on their eighth nameday. Though her eyes had glistened and her heart had beat loudly in her ears, she had tilted her chin up and belted the words for all to hear.

I, LoreAlemeyu, vow to always keep my gaze to the heavens. I will search and search so that I might be the one to lead my people home toShahassa, where we belong.

Lore’s grin had broken across her face as the sounds of clapping and cheering reached her ears.

Her parents had been the loudest of them all.

***

Lore decided to start in the library’s atrium.

There weren’t any books in the atrium. Instead, there were just a few scrolls that had somehow managed to find themselves far from their home, smaller boxed shelves, already bogged down by rolls of parchment. The scrolls were heavier than she thought they should be for their size, yellowed with age and tied with different colored ribbons.

She would sort them by color for now and decide later if the ribbons indicated a labeling system or not. The colors had faded, but not as much as she would have expected.

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