“They’ve trapped us,” she gasped, fingers still clinging desperately to him. “We’ve walked right into it–”
“Kara,” he said calmly. She tried to focus on the sound of his voice. “We’ve been in Fatàn for hours. If this shield was meant to trap us specifically, it’s more likely it would have fallen the moment we crossed the border. I think this is something else.”
He kept his voice calm. Reassuring. But it still took several moments for her to understand exactly what he’d said.
“What?” she asked shakily, looking up at him.
“Look.” He pointed back to a treeline they’d passed. Boot tracks, still visible in the ash, leading out of Fatàn. “That’s Thorne boots, clear as day. They’ve left recently, but it means the shield went up after they withdrew. They’re keeping people out. Not just us. All of Vallenna.”
Her breath still came too fast, too shallow. Her head was still spinning and she held onto Sebastian even tighter. “Then they definitely won’t want us here.” She dragged in another breath. “They’ll hand us over. They probably already know.”
“Maybe,” he said calmly. “But Fatàn aren’t soldiers. And if we need to leave–” he tapped his sleeve where the Creststone was still hidden, “–we can.”
He paused to press a soft kiss to her forehead. “You’re safe, Kara. With me, you’re safe.”
He’s going to think I’m weak, panicking like that.
As if he read her mind, he said, “Stop that, Kara. You’ve been through hell, literally, into the flames and survived.” Something dark passed over his face at his words, but he hid it quickly. “It’s okay to be shaken by it.”
She nodded once, and reluctantly she pulled away from him. “What do you think made them break with Vallenna?”
“If it were any other house, I’d say fear,” Sebastian said slowly. “Barricading themselves before Draknor comes.” He eyed the deep red arc above them thoughtfully. “But with Fatàn? They don’t act on fear. Not ever.”
“Then why?”
“I don’t know. With them, it’s always Written. Part of a grand plan they don’t share.”
“That’s comforting,” Kara muttered.
“It’s too dark to keep going now, even with the light from that shield,” he said. “We’ll have to camp here.”
Kara looked around at the thin trees, the hot springs, the volcano still pluming smoke in the distance. Her hands twisted together.
“Here?”
Sebastian looped the reins of his valmare through a fallen branch and eyed her closely. “I’ll stay awake,” he promised.
You don’t need to. I’ll never sleep here.
But it was pointless to argue with him. Neither of them slept nor spoke that night, and when the dim morning light came, Sebastian pulled her gently to her feet.
“Come on. The library is north, you can see the spire in the distance. If there’s an answer to these Shards, it’s there. One step at a time, Kara.”
Right. Mission. Shards.
Sebastian handled the tension so much better than she did. They stayed to the back trails, which were paths carved into black stone with a strong smell of sulphur. Jets of steam would hiss up without warning around them, and the noise did nothing to calm Kara’s nerves. By dusk, the spire rose high before them – a vast, black stone tower. The Fatàn library. Kara had heard tell of it, spoken in hushed tones within Hale’s halls. Only Caldris scholars, under close watch, had ever been permitted. And here they were, expecting to stroll inside.
This is madness.
From their vantage point in the sparse pine forest, they could see the Fatàn capital, Aeterna, spread out around the library, clusters of dark towers and violet-lit windows. But as they watched, they noticed the streets were empty. Eerily quiet. Sebastian stared at the library, keeping a protective hand resting on the satchel at his hip. He flashed her a wry smile.
“Come on, Kara. We broke into a fortress full of Thorne soldiers. This is just books.”
“Still, let’s wait until nightfall. Safer,” she muttered.
Sebastian nodded, studying the layout below. “We approach from the west, there’s more cover. Keep to the alleyways, out of sight,” he told her. “If there are guards, we use your sleep magic. If there are too many – we run. Regroup. Think of something else.”
She nodded. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was something they could work with. They retreated further back into the shadows of the forest until the sky was inky black and the only light was from the three small moons. On Sebastian’s signal, they climbed down into the city streets, moving through the dark alleyways. Everywhere was still and quiet, but it didn’t feel safer. They crept forward, towards the library doors – but there were no guards on the steps – it wasn’t even locked.
