“Gods above,” he whispered, eyes filled with tears. Happy tears, as he kissed my palm, and then just held it, cradling his face with it.
I was so glad I’d told him. I’d just made him unreasonably happy. I leaned in to kiss him, lingering, because I wanted to bask in this moment. He kissed me back, but mostly held me close. I could tell he needed a moment to absorb. I certainly did. It was a bit much to take in all at once. I had a feeling I’d be thinking about the information for years to come.
James finally found words again. “I somehow knew that. That you’ve loved me in all of our lives. But it makes me happy to think that in each life, I’ve managed to find you.”
“It makes me very, very happy as well. I also now understand better why I fell in love with you so quickly. That’s really not in my nature, but my soul clearly remembered you. I just wish I could remember those previous lives better.”
“I don’t doubt we’ll have our full memories, of all of our lives together, once we attain Paradise.”
Oh, now, that would be very nice indeed. I wondered if I could get that wish confirmed, somehow? I was nosy and wanted to know everything, it was a failing of mine.
James’s eyes searched mine. “Was that all she came to say to you?”
“Not quite. She also wanted to pass along information we need. I was shown a particular book.” My hands lifted to outline it in the air, as if trying to describe what was shown. “It’s in the palace library, and I know approximately where. It’s very, very old and written in the Old Tongue, but inside is a vital spell we’ll need to vanquish the Demon King.”
James jolted upright, all tears forgotten. “Wait, wait,vanquish? I thought the Demon King couldn’t be killed!”
“No, not killed. I think in this context, it’s more a permanent sealing away forhiminstead of sealing the portal between our planes. That’s the feeling I got.”
“Ahh. So this information wasn’t known the last time he was driven back, then?”
“No, it wasn’t. The book has been sitting in the library for so long, unread, no one living knows about it. I mean, of course the librarian knows where it is, but no one’s read the book in ages.”
“Why tell us this now?”
“The angel said Nimus and the other gods are nervous about events repeating. No one wants you dying in battle again, so this is a tool to help prevent that future. But considering gods are at play? It wouldn’t surprise me if they have a hidden agenda or there were restrictions during the first life prohibiting them from telling us.”
James sat back and ruminated. “I’m…incredibly grateful but at the same time alarmed.”
I could see his alarm. Also his dismay. In fact, he sat there, his gaze on his hands, as if he were reliving that battle in his mind. I could see his frustration, because he’d thought this problem resolved already, but also a growing fear. He didn’t want to fight that battle again.
I certainly didn’t want him fighting the demon king again.
I think James feared not only for his country and for himself, but mostly for me. I’d died on the battlefield, even when Ishouldn’t have been in immediate danger. I grasped his hands with my own, and he locked on tightly enough it threatened circulation.
When he spoke, it was with a raspy voice, heavy with emotion. His expression was one of a man pained. “I sealed the Demon King away with my own life’s blood—hard to find magic more powerful than that, a willing sacrifice. I’d made such a sacrifice without blinking, as I hadn’t wanted to keep living at that point anyway. Now, though, I very much want to keep living.”
I would not sacrifice my husband, not for any cause, no matter how noble. So I was glad to hear he had no intention of going that route again. “Apparently, the gods agree I should live a very long life with you.”
James’s brow furrowed deeper. “If the angel told you of this book, then does this mean my attempt to keep the Demon King sealed during my reign is going to fail? That fighting him is part of my Task no matter what precautions I take?”
“Sadly, that’s the obvious conclusion. The mages found the cause of the river drought, but the blockage has proven very difficult to dismantle, and the elemental water powering the seal is at an all-time low.”
“Shidteus’s balls, I forgot with everything else going on.” James thought another moment before tacking on, “Do we need to send them more manpower?”
“I’ve already dispatched more people, they’ll be on the road tomorrow.”
“Of course you have.” Shaking his head, he kissed my forehead. “Thank you for saving my brain. Now, do you think there’s something in the book that will help us track demonic energy? Or tell us how to properly redo the seal?”
“It might? I’m not sure that’s why my god pointed me in this direction, but if not, surely some other book written in the same era would have the knowledge. Let’s look for it.” Urgency droveme up to my feet and out of the bed. “We must find the book at once. If it’s really in the Old Tongue, we’ll need time to decipher it, and right now, I don’t know how much time we actually have.”
“My concern as well,” he admitted, also standing and then heading for the bathroom. “I’d love to take the book with us to our morning meeting.”
“It’s a grand thought, if we can make that work.” I also had a thought to pull my sister into the meeting, so I’d need to send her a message too.
We went about eating breakfast, which our new maids delivered, and then got dressed for the day. I did send off two quick notes, one to my sister, the other to the palace library letting them know we would be there shortly. Random, spontaneous visits from royalty tended to alarm the staff, so I would try to give a heads-up.
Only, upon exiting our rooms, I came face-to-face with a very grumpy set of knights. “Sir Seymour, Sir Collins, is something the matter?”
