How do I explain this? How do I tell them that the book wasalive? Do I even tell them that it looked like it was breathing? Do I tell them that it was warm to the touch and openly inviting, only to break my heart with blank pages before it burned itself whole?
“The book was its own being,” I settle on and take another hefty drink.
“You had no book on you when we found you though, Alex,” Cal replies, passing me his half full mug.
A small twinge of guilt hits my stomach again as I turn to look at Keane. He gives me a small nod that urges me to the truth just as Golem’s did.
“Because the book turned to ash in my hands,” I tell the table softly, handing the bird another piece of meat with trembling fingers, “when I first found it, it was warm to my touch in the freezing room,but after a while, it began to fade into itself, as if the corners were lit from a fire that wasn’t there. The ash fell into my palms from the invisible burn.”
“You need to eat, too,” Cal murmurs, pushing my dinner plate closer.
“Were you able to discern what the book was about before that happened?” Princess Clair asks, “perhaps a title or any text within?”
I drop my fork on the plate without taking a bite, truly hoping that no one would ask this question. Leave it to Clair and her cunning flames.
“The book was blank,” I whisper.
“Blank?” Princess Clair blanches, visibly astonished, “are you certain?”
“I am,” I nod in disappointment, “there was no title. No text at all. Not until the very last page...”
“So there was something?” Prince McQuoid asks, staring at me thoughtfully.
“Yes,” I affirm and then shake my head, “and no. It had to have been a jest.”
Holis reaches across the table with a basket of rolls, the gesture also reminding me to eat. I give him a small smile and grab one to placate my nervous stomach, watching as the Prince shifts in his seat.
“Why a jest, Lady Alexis?” McQuoid prompts.
I glance at the beast in front of me, recognizing again the similarities between him and the book. I reach out a hand to his chest and smile in slight disbelief, turning to reply to the Prince.
“Because the book wasalive, Your Highness. When I first noticed it in the shelf it had shed the frost from its cover, as if wanting me to find it.”
I turn back and stare at the bird in front of me, “itbreathedwith life.”
“Unnatural,” Morose shakes her head from across the table.
“Completely unnatural,” I nod earnestly, “a jest, surely. At multiple points during my time in that room I thought I was hallucinating. I was thoroughly exhausted and wondering if what I saw was even right in my mind. But I knew without opening the book that it was what I was searching for. I knew it in my core. So when I saw that the pages were blank inside, I broke down, thinking it was a cruel joke.”
“You didn’t want to return home with an empty book,” Clair nods kindly.
“No,” I whisper.
“Did you have time to read the text on that last page?” McQuoid asks, “do you remember any of it?”
“I do,” I nod, still watching the beast as he watches me, “I remember it all.”
The room goes eerily quiet again.
I sigh and hold out my hand to the bird, watching as he looks at me knowingly. He steps on my finger before I deposit him back on my shoulder, my stomach churning at the words I’m about to say.
“I believe the words will be shared with you both at some time in the upcoming days or months,” I nod to the royals, “but with respect to my King, I cannot disclose them now. Not without first discussing them with him.”
Keane shifts in his seat, as does Desmond, but I give the Prince of Pyre a sincere smile, hoping that he sees the seriousness in my eyes along with the apology.
Princess Clair places her hand on her husband’s arm, not at all bothered as she gives me a smile.
“Of course we understand the sentiment, Alexis,” she nods before looking at Keane and Desmond, “and we look forward to speaking with you all when that time does come.”
