“I think I found something,” Cat announced with impeccable timing.
Everyone crowded around her to look at the storybook. The design of the pages suggested it was old, as were most of the books in Vincula. They rarely received new ones.
Kit knew it was more likely they’d find information in the storybooks than anywhere else. There were no history books dating back to the beginning, but many of the old storybooks were retellings of earlier events. The books were doused in a preservation potion periodically to keep them intact.
Cat pointed at a picture of a large figure shrouded in black shadows that sparkled. “Listen to this. This guy Aemas,” she pointed to the glittery shadow man, “created the realms for his wife, Lora.”There was a picture of a woman who appeared to be dipped in gold. “It says she wanted stars, but I think it’s a metaphor for something, because the next part doesn’t match that.”
“I don’t understand,” Bellina interjected.
Cat glared. “Will you wait? It’s right here.” Her excitement returned. “Aemas wanted to prove his love by giving her golden stars, and with his darkness, he created two realms.
“Lora marveled at the power of his love as she stood in the realms, watching the stars, but the shadows left no light.” Cat thumped the book. “See? No sense. Starsarelight. Anyway, it goes on to say that she called on the suns, spreading their energy to each of the realms, but to remind her of her husband’s love, one realm was dark, and the other was light. Like them.”
Cat stopped reading, and they stared at her. She huffed. “Don’t you see? It’s the creation. Our realms werecreatedby the shadows and powered by the light. The dark realm is Vincula, and the light realm is Erdikoa.”
Kit turned the information over in her mind, and Bellina clapped excitedly. “The king’s shadow power! He controls what created the realms!”
“And it says his darkness is more powerful than Lora’s light.” Cat scanned the page again and pointed. “Here.”
“Then he should be able to change the realm,” Kit remarked. “Or rearrange the barrier to let him through.”
Cat nodded, and her dark curls bounced with the movement. “Yes!”
Standing, Bellina rounded the table. “We need to tell him. The sooner he knows, the sooner he can try to bust out of here.”
Lenora leaned forward and hugged Cat with a tender smile. “I am proud of you.” She looked at the other two girls. “I am proud of all of you and what you’re doing.”
“Come on,” Bellina said. “Bring the book.”
Cat reached for the page to fold it over, and Kit slapped her hand. “Don’t you dare dog ear that page. Hold on.” She hurried to the desk, grabbed a bookmark, and made her way back. “You twostay here and keep looking. Focus on memory magic. Lenora and I will take this to the king.”
Bellina and Cat murmured their agreement and returned to the books scattered around them.
Lauren entered Caius’office and stepped aside as Lenora and Kit walked inside.
When Caius registered who arrived, he stood, almost knocking his chair over. “You found something.”
Kit grinned from ear to ear. “We think so.” She opened an old storybook and placed it on his desk. “This is a tale about creation. According to the story, the shadows created the realms, and the light powers them.”
He stared at the picture of a man with skin like a starry sky. It literally looked like his skin was jet-black with twinkling stars. A solid gold woman stood next to him. “Why is this significant?” Looking up, he was met with stares that insinuated he was an idiot.
“The shadowscreatedthe realms,” Kit repeated. “If you control the shadows, you control creation.”
“The realms are separated by magic, and magic is holding me here,” he reminded them, shaking his head. “If the light powers the realms, then it controls the magic.” He pointed to an essence light. “The magic possessed by mystics gives us power, and it stands to reason that light gives magic its power.”
Kit jabbed the page so hard that he was surprised it didn’t drill a hole. “It says darkness is stronger than light. You should be able to create something to break the magic holding you here or create a way through.”
Caius flipped the page, skimming the story. He was disappointed in himself because he already knew this information about the shadows, but he never thought he couldcreatesomething new. “I only know how to move the shadows, notcreatethings. I wouldn’t know where to begin unless there’s a book telling me how, which I doubt.”
“You need Sam,” Lauren said from behind the women, and they all turned their attention to her.
To Caius, Sam’s magic appeared to be no different from Lauren’s. “If Sam knows, then you should know, too.”
She huffed out a quiet laugh. “Sam is much older than I am. If anyone knows how it’s him.” That made sense. The way Sam spoke and held himself suggested he was older than Lauren and Caius combined.
“How old are you?” Kit blurted out, studying theAngel.
“Older than you,” Lauren quipped, and the librarian glowered back.
