Where would Tahti have gone, and why was she missing? She had just seen her not long ago.
“What does it say?” Seda asked as she scooted her chair closer to him, feeling the warmth of his leg brush against hers.
“All of the pages are blank,” he replied. He handed her the book, and she opened it.
“They’re not blank,” she said, reading the scribbled words scratched through each page.
“What?” Cahir looked over the book again. “What do you mean?”
“They aren’t blank.” She pointed to a page. “This one’s a spell of remaking.”
She looked up at Cahir, whose mouth hung open. He closed it and cleared his throat. “What else does it say?”
She flipped through more pages, each inscribed with a different spell. Some were gruesome, others sweet. She saw a page about a love potion and chuckled to herself.
“Well, shit, Seda. I suppose this book’s for you,” Cahir replied as he ran his hands down his face.
“We should see if anyone else can read it. It can’t be just me.”
“Who knows. A lot of crazy things seem to happen for you.” He smirked and sat back in his chair. “Let’s go to the Royal Alcove. Nothing else here seems like it’s going to help us.”
“Is that where the scrolls are kept?” Seda perked up.
“It is.”
They returned the books they had taken out to their original locations, except for the one Cahir had brought, which Seda kept, and he held out his hand for her to take. The familiar, comforting warmth of his hand reminded her of their time in Joro, of their hands entwined as they walked the dusty roads together. The memory felt like so long ago.
Cahir led her down the stairs to the main floor and stopped infront of an empty bookshelf. She looked at him with confusion and was about to ask what he was focusing on when he released some of his magic from his palms. It spread through the empty shelves, filling them like smoke through the air. The bookshelf slowly swung open like a door.
A small room came into view. Cobwebs lined the ceilings, and an unlit candle chandelier hung from the ceiling. The scent of old books drifted from the room.
“Umm…” Seda hesitantly started.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared.” Cahir looked at her with a glint in his eye. “I promise you there aren’t jars of fermented eggs in there.”
She smacked him in the arm and confidently strolled in. “There better not be, you just cleaned yourself up.”
He smirked at her, and her heart fluttered in her chest in response.
After Cahir lit the candles on the chandelier, Seda spent a few minutes examining the old shelves filled with both books and tightly bound scrolls, all covered in a thick layer of dust. There were random fingerprints on the shelves, as if Meir had forgotten to disguise his tracks. But everything appeared to be in place, with no noticeable gaps within the shelves.
Most of the items were written in a different language, so she wasn’t sure where to begin.
A small black book caught her eye. It was decorated with gold-pressed lettering on the cover. “A History of Magic,” she read aloud.
Cahir lifted his head and rolled up the scroll he was reading through. She brought the book to the table and sat down in the chair next to him.
He shifted closer to her and looked down at the gold font. “That looks promising, at least.”
She opened the book and went through the summary.
A historical account of magic’s origins and evolution over thousands of years, tracing its birth from the two high gods to its inheritance by mortals. Throughout history, magic has allowed Xyberus to flourish. In this book, we explore the early stages, from the rise of the Mother Goddess to the creation of other magical beings. These beings, both mortal and eternal, have fought wars across the land, spreading magic deeper into the world of Xyberus. Combining arcane theory and history, A History of Magic is a comprehensive guide for those seeking to learn more about the origins and development of magic.
She quickly turned to the first chapter on the Mother Goddess and read it.
“This is amazing. I had no idea anything like this existed. Do you think they have chronicles like this in the Joro library?” Seda asked Cahir excitedly.
Cahir sneered. “I highly doubt it. That place is so subservient and controlled, they probably don’t have anything on magic there at all.”
