Page 120 of Love Bites

“I remember,” she laughed. “Just take it one thing at a time. No need to worry about the fae, that’s all just history now.”

“What happened to them?” I asked, grabbing another book off the floor and feeling relieved when it didn’t tingle.

“The fae had incredibly powerful magic, but they weren’t always nice in the ways they used it,” Nina said, placing the book on the shelf and taking the one I was holding out. “It’s probably not much of a shock, but humans don’t like it when another race is more powerful. A group of powerful warlocks formed an order to get rid of them.”

“And it worked,” I guessed, picking up another book.

“In a way,” she said. “The Order of the Blade pushed the Raven King’s people back across the veil. But before they could destroy them, the king disappeared, sealing off the veil permanently.”

“Disappeared?” I asked.

“That’s what they say,” she said, shrugging. “Could be that they killed him, or that he’s safe on the other side. But both possibilities seem unlikely.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because the veil is sealed,” she said. “If the Raven King were on the other side, he would have opened it again to destroy the order.”

“And if he’s dead?” I asked.

“If he’s dead, then it would stand to reason that there would be no magic on this side at all.”

“Why not?” I asked, my head swimming with all of the new information.

“According to the legend, he’s the original source of our magic,” she said. “There are people who say he’ll come back one day and restore original magic to the witches, while wreaking havoc on the order that banished him. But that’s just what I’ve read in the books I have access to. It was all so long ago. And who knows how much of it is even real?”

“So there might not be fae, or a… veil?” I asked. More confused than ever.

“Oh no, that part is definitely real,” she told me. “The library is located on this mountain because the veil is thin in this area. The magic that seeps across the barrier is enough to sustain the volumes here, even though there aren’t enough witches to tend to them individually.”

“Does it make it easier to do magic around here?” I asked, thinking back to the vines across the mouth of the cave last night.

“Yes,” she said. “You noticed that, huh?”

I nodded.

“Well, I’m sure there are all kinds of books in the library about the Raven King and the magic near the thin part of the veil,” Nina said fondly. “When I’m an upperclassman, I’ll read them all.”

“Where would they keep books like that?” I asked.

“They would be super old,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “That means they’re in the vault.”

“Where’s the vault?” I asked.

Nina nodded toward the giant oak.

“Behind the tree?” I asked.

She just stared at me for a moment until she realized I was serious.

“The tree is the vault,” she explained. “It grew from a seed brought over from Faerie, so it’s brimming with magic. That’s why it’s always green, even in winter. The most valuable books are kept inside it.”

Inside it?

Before I could ask any more questions, there was a gasp and a loud crash from behind us.

“Oh no,” Anya moaned from her place on a ladder near the top of the high shelves as a cascade of books fell all around her.

“You got the order wrong,” Nina scolded.

“I got the order wrong,” Anya agreed as she climbed down. “Can you help me?”

The two of them scrambled to pick up the books as I turned the idea of the Raven King over in my mind.

Maybe there was still a way to help my brother, even if I didn’t get to stay at the school.

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