I shake my head once, the movement small. “I don’t know.”
Nolan hesitates, then reaches out, hand brushing my fingers just below the mark. Warm, steady contact.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” he says quietly. “But...if you want...I meant it. I can help. I’ve already started looking.”
I blink at him. “You have?”
His mouth quirks, sheepish. “I...might have recognized part of it. The mark. It’s old. Rare. I don’t know everything. Yet. But the library?—”
“The library,” I echo, like the word just caught me. I grab onto it. “Yes. Please.”
Nolan’s grin flashes quick. “Come on.”
The library sitsin the east wing, two floors below the main halls. It isn’t like any library I’ve seen before. The arched doorway alone pulses with wards—etched silver runes coiling through the dark wood. The air shifts the second we step inside.
Cooler. Heavier. Every breath tastes faintly of old parchment, worn leather, and magic.
The ceiling vaults high above rows of stacked shelves, spiraling metal walkways curl up through three levels, books packed into every crammed corner. Floating globes of rune-lit light drift overhead, casting long shadows across the carved stone floor.
Nolan leads me toward a quieter section near the back. A few students sit at scattered tables, noses buried in ancient tomes. The entire place feels like it’s holding its breath. Near one corner, a slender figure stacks books almost as tall as she is, a dark braid trailing down her back and glasses slipping down her nose.
Nolan brightens. “Mira.”
The girl turns, blinking owlishly up at us. Big brown eyes. Heart-shaped face. Maybe a year younger than me, if that.
“Mira Cade,” Nolan says quickly in introduction, glancing at me. “Brilliant. Sweet. Possibly knows every book in here.”
Mira flushes pink. “I—I don’t. But...hi.” She gives me a shy little wave. “You’re...new.”
I manage a faint smile. “Lindsay.”
Nolan lowers his voice. “We’re looking for anything on Veil-touched marks.”
Mira’s eyes go wide behind her glasses. “Oh.” Her gaze flicks to my exposed fingers, then back to my face, nervous but kind.
“That’s...um...really deep in the archives.” She bites her lip. “Most students don’t go there. But...I can show you.”
A knot loosens in my chest. “That would be great.”
She ducks her head, grabbing a small rune-lit lantern from the shelf. “Follow me.”
Nolan winks at me. “Told you she’s brilliant.”
I shake my head, but a smile tugs at my mouth anyway. Mira moves ahead of us, hugging the little lantern to her chest.
We follow her through the main stacks—past thick old tomes bound in cracked leather, scrolls sealed with wax, glass cases holding things that definitely don’t belong in a normal library. The farther we go, the thinner the air feels. Not in a physical way, just...weightier. The kind of magic that sinks into your skin.
Nolan stays close, fingers brushing the edge of my cloak once when the path narrows. A quiet reminder that I’m not alone. Mira stops in front of an arched alcove near the back wall that’s nearly hidden behind a shelf packed with grimoires.
A small plaque above the entrance reads:Restricted Reference: Veil Studies & Ancient Phenomena.
The iron gate is covered in faintly glowing wards. Mira reaches up and taps a series of sigils on the side panel with practiced ease. The gate shudders, then creaks open an inch.
“Um...technically this is upper-level access.” Mira glances back at us, cheeks pink. “But, well...I’m allowed. And you’re with me.”
Nolan grins. “Mira’s top of her year in Arcane Theory. She’s got more clearance than half the staff.”
Mira blushes deeper but ducks through the narrow gap, motioning us in.
