She shook her head.
He squeezed her hand. “Hey, you didn’t know a degenerate knight would come to your rescue. Now we know we can meet here. We can plan here.”
Elloven brightened. “I might have an idea.”
Jesstin urged her to go on, though his worried gaze was stuck on the growing light.
“The roads here have signs that direct you to landmarks. Important places. I saw one that said Magna Annalis, and I’ve been traveling that way. It’s a library, I think, and I should be there tomorrow if I’m reading things right. I don’t know why I chose it, except, I thought...” She was fumbling, wasting precious time. Learning about where she’d come from, who she was, was unimportant just then, and she could explain herself later. “The realm has The Book of All Things. What if Infinita Mori has one of their own? And what if there are answers there that can help us find these... doors?”
“It’s a good plan,” Jesstin said. “Find the nearest havre to this library and stay there. When I’m closer, we can figure out the details.”
“It will be weeks before you reach it.”
The ground trembled. Dust filtered from the ceiling.
“We meet here...” Jesstin said, one hand bracing the chair, the other keeping her from falling. “Every night.”
“But neither one of us knows how to come here intentionally.” Even as she said it, she wasn’t worried. They’d find each other. She believed that.
Jesstin threw himself over her when a chunk of stone fell from the ceiling. “I don’t know, Elloven, but we will. We didn’t come this far to fail.” He held her tighter as dust and shards rained around them. “And then I’ll tell you everything.”
“What?” She screamed when the chair split in half, and she went sprawling.
“Just be careful who you trust!” Jesstin’s words were clear, though he sounded a hundred yards away. He cursed when a chunk of stone hit his knee. “Get to the library and the nearest havre! Stay put! I will find you!”
“Jesstin!”
“I’ll find you!”
Elloven reached for him and toppled onto the thin band of sunlight crossing her floor.
Chapter 5
Trust with Scrutiny
Lightrise greeted Jesstin with stark silence.
First thing he did was check for his sacred flame. Still there, secure against his chest.
Shioven was gone, but he’d had a feeling he wouldn’t see her again. Magic would never allow her near her daughter, and after everything she’d revealed through their shared vision, what else was there to say? He’d gone straight from her “story” to the Night Soul, with no time to decide how to explain any of it to Elloven. He’d tell her when he found her, and he would find her.
Mon and Shioven had both claimed it would be exceedingly difficult to find Elloven, but he’d done it on his first fucking night in the Infinitum, so what did they know? He’d beaten the unbeatable labyrinth. No living man had ever entered the Infinitum before, and he’d done that too. Everyone who’d tried to manipulate him had instead underestimated him. Something was on his side. Fate. Luck. He didn’t need to give it a name.
Jesstin practically skipped down the steps of the cloister. The stained glass offered a cheery glow to the fresh day. Alice and her friend in the stairwell were gone, and most of the people who’d sought shelter had left as well. Only a few remained, including a sandy-haired man sweeping the night’s refuse into a neat pile. Long tables had been brought out where people had danced the night before, and another man had just finished arranging what looked like pieces of a game at each of the seats.
It was all so strangely... normal.
That alone reminded him he could trust nothing.
“Hello!” he called.
The man straightened, hands glued to his broom. “Aye, do I know ye?” His Southerlands brogue was strong.
“Not yet,” Jesstin said. “Jesstin Skylark.”
“Stef Garrick.” Stef resumed sweeping. “First night at this cloister or the Mori?”
“Both.”
