But Naida is staring at me, her blue eyes wide, her hand still reaching for the book. Not reassuring. “It has to be a magical book. Someone was taking it to that library of monsters and lost it on the way. Are you sure you didn’t see who it was?”
“A woman,” I whisper. “That’s all I saw. I didn’t see her face. She was wearing a hood.”
“Who could it have been?” Naida turns to look at Eiras, who’s still sitting at the table with the apple forgotten in his hand, but her gaze is distant. “Why would she have a satchel with the stamp of the Areon?”
Good question.
Eiras gets up from his chair and approaches us to lean against the wall by my pallet, his brow knitted. “A magical book, huh?”
I shrug.
The silence stretches. It’s quiet in the house, apart from the crackling of the fire. A pigeon coos on the roof.
But then Brogan’s deep voice breaks the spell. “A magical book in our house? Aline has to take it to the Library of Areon. It can’t stay here.”
He’s frowning at us from his bed, propped up on his pillows, muscular arms folded over his chest. His smooth cheeks—since the fae don’t grow beards, which saves them all the shaving—make him look younger than he is, but his blond hair is liberally streaked with white. Since the fae magic thinned, the fae began to age faster. A side effect of the change, some have argued.
Never as fast as humans, though.
“Have you lost your mind, husband?” Naida now turns to glare at him. “She’s just a girl. A human girl. It’s a long anddangerous trek there. And even if she made it, what then? Did you think you can just drop a book off and go home?”
“How else?” he asks mildly. “I thought the real danger was the librarians who chase after you if you damage even a corner of a book.”
“You…” Naida fights a smile. She can never stay angry with her husband for too long. “Weren’t you listening? It’s not a normal library.”
“How would I know anything about it? What do I have to do with books or libraries?” he huffs. “And why would a magical librarian be any different from a normal one? It’s the principle that counts, isn’t it?”
Naida snorts.
How did a construction worker who can’t read and has only a passing interest in stories fall in love with a storyteller? One of the great mysteries of the world.
“What’s so terrible about the Areon?” I ask. “I mean, the magical books are chained, as you said. Spells keep them locked up. So what’s the danger to me if I go there?”
“Pay attention. It’s not called the Library of Monsters for nothing,” Eiras says.
I ignore him. “Naida? What’s wrong with dropping the book off and leaving? Why wouldn’t that be all right?”
“Daughter…” She shakes her head. “It’s a library carved in the black mountains, and some say it’s as big as a city. It’s warded with strong magic to keep the monsters inside and once every generation, a warrior guardian is sent to replace the previous one, to keep the library safe and locked up for a hundred years.” She sighs. “Nobody knows how book magic really works. It’s different from any other. Some say certain books are gates, opening into other worlds, while others say they are divine and nobody has the capacity to explain how one can enter them, or how their stories can spill into this reality. Suchbooks are hunted down and carried to the Library of Areon, close to the world’s rim, and bound for everyone’s protection.”
“You’ve told me all this already, but… Wait. Inside the library, there are monsters loose? Why doesn’t the library guardian return them to their books? That’s their job, isn’t it?”
“The occasional monster does escape, which is why warrior librarians are necessary.” Her eyes are shadowed. “It’s a dangerous place, honey. Nobody can keep a monster confined indefinitely.”
I frown. “But that’s?—”
“You’re right, Naida,” Brogan says, his frown as dark as his wife’s. “Aline won’t be taking the book anywhere. It stays here until we find someone else to carry it to that awful library.”
“Good,” Eiras says. “I agree with Father.”
“Then it’s settled,” Brogan says. “We wait.”
“Fine,” I say. “Let’s wait.”
But we all reckoned without the book.
CHAPTER TWO
THE VOICE
