“Too much time has already been wasted,” Porphura said, her purple tail flicking as she retook Layla’s hand.
Aarna pulled her sister into a swift, tight embrace. Then, with a final glance, Layla and Porphura swept out of the room.
“We should prepare also.” Alexandros drifted up from his throne. “We will see you on the other side, cousin.” His expression was grave as he inclined his chin toward Finn before turning to leave with Damon.
46
Aranare
Mom pulled a leather-bound tome from her satchel and dropped it on the table in front of me. I was sitting hunched over other texts in the bookstore’s dim back room.
Leaning back in my chair, I surveyed her. “Venice went well, then?”
“My contact at the Marciana National Library uncovered a recent shipment of books from a secluded monastery on the island once known as Cythera.”
I opened the tome she had placed before me, gently examining its worn parchment pages, which were inscribed with the Runes of the Ocean.
“Translating this could take weeks. Are we sure that whatever’s in here will be useful?”
Mom shut the title, wrapping her knuckles against the insignia scratched into the leather. “See this?”
“Aye, it’s the Insignia of the Ocean.” I rubbed a hand down my face.
“Look closer,” she urged, tucking a strand of gray hair behind her ear, her eyes alight with excitement.
I examined the insignia again, noting a Siren, sea beast, seal, and a mermaid.
“There’s no Drowned!”
“Precisely.” My mother observed me with folded arms. “This is the story of the four eldest gods, before the God of the Drowned was made. We must understand each god’s role and how they once upheld the balance of the seas, because that knowledge might be the key to preserving peace.”
I drew the tome to me, standing to rifle through the shelves until I found our rune key, then returning with it to the table.
“Let me know what you find. I’m going to see your father,” my mother said, closing the door and leaving me alone with the ancient book. Its scent was a mix of old paper and aged leather.
I ran my palms over its cover. We hadn’t had much luck with our research so far, so I didn’t have high hopes for this text. I expelled a weary breath as I turned to the first page, and soon, I was lost in a world of gods and fables.
I hadn’t slept.
The rune key lay open beside me, the ancient tome spread wide. Papers, sketches, and books I’d drawn for reference littered the table in front of me. I stretched back in my chair, raking both hands through my hair. What time was it? I wasn’t sure.
I lifted my coffee cup. It was stained, cold, and empty.
Damn it.
How many had I drunk?
My notepad was filled with frantic scrawls, story after story I’d copiedfrom the tome and pressed into paper. From these, a larger tale was beginning to unfold...
“You look like shite.” Mom appeared in the doorway, chuckling as she surveyed the chaos. “Have you been here all night?”
I nodded, a weary grin tugging at my lips as I raised my eyes to hers.
“From the Port House.” She held out a large takeaway coffee, and I accepted it gratefully.
She leaned over, rifling through my notes and drawings, then pulled one out and examined it—charcoal sketches of the planets. “What is this?”
“The tome held the story of creation—the Siren’s creation.Mycreation.” My eyes glowed with excitement.
