Bellina leaned over the table and flipped the page to a picture of a gargantuan man with black hair, black eyes, and skin the color of snow. Next to him was a beautiful woman with long, light blonde hair, tan skin, and bright blue eyes.
It was the same couple from the other story, but different.
They stood in front of a fairytale castle, high on a hill, overlooking a sprawling city.
The castle looked to be carved out of a light, iridescent gemstone. He squinted his eyes as he leaned closer.
“It looks like opal,” Cat said offhandedly. “I don’t think that castle ever existed here.”
“You don’t know that,” Kit argued.
Cat shot a miffed look at her friend. “Erdikoa has been charted meticulously. The detail they went through is impressive, even in the outer lands, and there is no record of a gemstone castle.”
Kit snorted. “How would you know? The only copies are in The Crown library.”
Bellina and Lenora’s eyes volleyed between the other two women as they bickered back and forth. The former’s lips were shut tight, and her brown skin pinked as she tried to hold in her laughter, causing his own to bubble to the surface.
“I’ve been there.” Cat turned to Caius. “One good thing about coming to the prison realm is I get my memories back from my visits to The Capital. The magic in those walls is a bitch.”
Bellina looked starstruck. “You’ve been to the Lux Palace?”
“No,” both Kit and Cat answered before continuing their bickering.
Bellina’s confusion was common when it came to the mysteries of The Capital. The Capital walls enclosed not only the Lux Palace but other Crown-sanctioned facilities, like The Crown library.
Caius knocked on the desk to draw their attention. When they both faced him, he pointed at the book again. “We can discuss the logistics of the magic jewelry castle later.” Both women shot him a glare. “What is the story about?”
Cat sighed and picked up her notes to point at what Caius assumed were words. “This story is modern compared to the others from the early days. It might not be reliable.”
He eyed the book in question. “They use potions to keep the books from deteriorating. Was there a publication date?”
Kit moved to stand next to Bellina and Lenora, who watched the exchange quietly. “Yes, the book isold. About four, maybe five-hundred years old, to be exact.”
“How flattering,” Caius deadpanned.
Bellina and Kit burst out laughing, Lenora tried her best not to, and Cat looked at them like they were crazy. “What?”
“Nothing.” Caius pulled her attention back to the book. “You were saying?”
Flipping the page, she pointed to another picture. “The story is modern. Look at the layout of the city.”
He pulled the book close and examined the page. She was right. The biggest tell was theMunincompound. It wasn’t built until Caius was a teenager.
“Then why take notes?” he asked, eyeing her paper.
The odds were someone who loved the creation story wrote their own using the same characters. As an avid reader since childhood, he’d come across several books like that.
Kit quickly jumped in to defend Cat. “Everything is relevant, especially when Rory’s life is on the line.”
That reminded Caius why he was here in the first place, but he owed it to the women and their hard work to listen to everything they had to say. “You’re right.”
Cat pointed at her notepad again. “Aemas and Lora lost their sun.”
Leaning forward, he attempted to read what she’d written. It was the worst penmanship he’d ever seen. “May I?” he asked, picking up the notes.
Kit smirked when he tried reading them from different angles. Up close seemed to be the best. He read what he could and dropped the pad on the table. “Aemas and Lora lost their sun to the realms and sent the night to protect it?”
He and Cat stared at each other. She looked serious, and he waited for her to say it was a joke.What did that even mean?
