Chapter 10
N olan informs me that night that in the time we’ve been on the outs, he’s been pondering how best to track down the Youngest Sister.
“In case it came to that,” he clarifies.
“Which it has,” I remind him.
“There’s a library woven through the fae’s ancient legends. One hidden on the island of Yggdrasil. A library said to be protected from intruders by magic.”
“The Ashen Library,” I gasp, hands over my mouth.
“I’m taking that noise you just made as evidence that you’ve heard of it.”
“Heard of it is an understatement. John had a phase as a child when it was all he would talk about. My father actually paid him—actual money—to discuss different topics. My parents always said it was mythical.”
“Well, I wouldn’t take your parents as an authority for where to get accurate information,” says Nolan.
Which is fair.
The journey to Yggdrasil is painfully slow.
Nolan explains that the Shifting Sea is temperamental in this part of the world, and while we manage to avoid any major storms, navigating around them means the journey takes an entire month.
Finally, we dock, though dock is a rather generous term.
There are a few boards jutting out into the water, behind which is a rocky beach the color of sandstone.
“You’re sure this is it?” I ask Evans, our navigator. He glares at me, which after a few lapsing seconds I realize is the only response I’m going to get.
We take a small crew onto the island. Just Nolan, Charlie—her miniature cannon strapped against her hip—Maddox, and me.
Nolan had been hesitant to let me come at all, but when I reminded him that I’d won the spar, he hadn’t pressed the matter.
The island is cold, the chill of the wind coming off of the waves reminding me of Neverland, but that’s the only similarity.
The sand here is lighter, and there’s not a single tree in sight.
In fact, the entire island appears barren.
It only takes a quarter hour of striding across it to glimpse the other side.
“Am I supposed to be seeing a library?” asks Charlie.
My heart sinks. “Maybe it’s just a legend after all.”
Nolan takes my hand in his. “Chin up, Darling. We traversed all the way out here. Might as well search a little longer.”
We do. In fact, we circle the island three times, each time hope slipping from my fingertips until I have nothing left to hold onto.
We’re on our way back to the ship, when I trip over a dead root. Pain jolts through me, and Nolan goes to help me, but when I look down, it’s just a scraped knee, the stain of my blood already being soaked up by the earth.
“I’m fine,” I say.
And then the earth trembles.
Nolan wheels me around behind him, and from beyond his shoulder I look toward the center of the island, where the rumble is originating. For a moment, I think the earth is caving in.
But then something appears.
Greenery, lush and lavish, breaks forth from the ground. But it’s not bushes I’m seeing, I realize as out from the earth sprouts a tree, giant and vast, its trunk severing the island in two as the earth gives way.
“It’s a reaping tree,” I whisper, remembering the one in Neverland. “The library—it’s under its roots.”
We watch in awe as the tree expands, taking up the entire island. We trip and stagger as roots creep through the grass, taking their place underneath our feet, until the island is completely overtaken with roots underfoot, the sun blotted out by a dense canopy overhead.
“It’s beautiful,” says Charlie.
“It’s terrifying,” says Maddox.
“Same thing,” says Charlie.
Once the tree has settled in place, Nolan turns toward me. “How do we get below the roots?”
I think back to John sacrificing his little finger to enter the reaping tree in Neverland. “There has to be something missing about you,” I say, then with a nervous chuckle, “I shouldn’t have a problem getting in.”
“Neither should Cap,” says Maddox dryly, glancing at Nolan’s hook.
We make our way to the trunk of the tree, Nolan holding my hand so that I don’t stumble over the roots. When Maddox offers his hand to Charlie, she pretends not to notice.
“What’s going on between those two?” asks Nolan as they, more nimble than me, get ahead of us and reach the trunk first.
“Apparently Maddox kissed Charlie.”
“I can’t see how that would?—”
“Then apologized to her for it.”
“Oh. I see.”
When we reach the tree, the other three look to me for guidance. “The reaping tree in Neverland accepted me right away. All I had to do was place my hand on the trunk,” I say.
“And what happens if the reaping tree doesn’t accept you?” asks Maddox.
I crinkle my brow.
“You don’t know, do you?” he says. “Excellent.”
“You’re right,” I say. “It should just be me and Nolan who go. Just in case.”
“I don’t particularly like the idea of leaving backup behind,” says Nolan.
“Yes, but Wendy won,” says Charlie.
Nolan glares at my friend. She grins back at him.
“Together then?” I ask my husband.
He takes my hand in his, then presses both of our hands to the trunk.
Nothing happens.
I press my palm in with more force, like that’s going to do anything. When I turn to look at Nolan, there’s guilt on his face. Like he’s the one who’s failing me.
But then, behind us, something slithers through the brush.
We all whirl around, Nolan simultaneously unsheathing his sword and pushing me behind him with his hook. It digs into my shoulder blade, puncturing my tunic, but there’s no noticing the pain.
Not when the danger in front of us is so much more terrifying.
A serpent, thick as a bull and long enough that it’s encircled both us and the tree three times, stares, its red eyes flicking between each of us.
“You summoned me?” it hisses.
“Mm-n,” says Maddox. “Definitely wouldn’t have done that.”
“But you did,” says the serpent. “I tasted your blood in the soil. The tree was thirsty, but it is grateful all the same.”
“We seek the Ashen Library,” I say, my voice quaking from behind Nolan.
“Darling,” he whispers in warning, but the serpent has already maneuvered its head to get a better look at me.
“We? Only one is permitted into the Ashen Library at a time.”
“That would be me, then,” says Nolan.
The serpent flicks its tongue into the air. “It was not your blood that revived the reaping tree.” The creature maneuvers its way to the side, tasting the air again as it looks at me. “Ah, but it was the girl’s.”
“Well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to accept an exchange,” says Nolan.
Still tucked behind Nolan, I tremble, clutching his shoulder. The serpent is a thing of nightmares, threatening to pull me under and black out my vision.
“I’m afraid that is not how this works,” says the serpent. “And now that the tree has been fed, now that the library has awoken, it will be expecting a visitor. Most who come to this island do not find that they enjoy what happens when the library is disappointed.”
I watch a shudder cascade across the serpent’s spine, and one follows on mine, though I get the sense that the serpent’s is more out of anticipation than dread.
“Nolan, it’s okay,” I say, though the way my voice is quavering indicates anything but.
“Have you lost your mind?” hisses Charlie, darting her eyes toward me, her hand on her hip, covering the grip sticking out of her holster. “You can’t go underground with that thing.”
“I will not harm the girl,” says the serpent. “It is a rule of the library’s. So long as she herself follows the rules, of course. I cannot speak for what I might do to a rule-breaker.”
“What are the rules?” I ask.
The serpent’s red eyes flick back over to me. “Those will be divulged once we’re away from prying ears.”
Again, my whole body shivers. The idea of being taken underground with this creature…
Nolan’s hand is tensed at the hilt of his sword. Slowly, I maneuver mine and rest it over his. “I can do this,” I whisper.
“I’d be careful with that sword of yours,” says the serpent to Nolan, then, turning to Charlie, adds, “And whatever abomination you have on your belt. I am not easily wounded. As far as how difficult I am to kill—well, many have tried, but none have succeeded. If you think to save the girl’s life by attacking me, I assure you, I will be dining well tonight.
If you wish for the girl to live, I suggest you allow her to come with me.
As long as she follows the rules, I will return her safely. ”
“And why should we believe you?” asks Maddox.
The serpent turns its head toward Maddox, until its snout is almost touching his forehead. To his credit, Maddox doesn’t flinch.
“I already told you,” hisses the serpent. “I am bound by the rules of the library. If I weren’t, my belly would already be comfortably full. It has been such a long time since I feasted.”
“Nolan,” I say.
“I know,” he says through gritted teeth.
I watch him survey the serpent, scan it for weak spots.
Even if he went for its neck, cut off its head, he’d have to be fast enough to keep the serpent from biting off Maddox’s head.
And he’d have to make sure it was a clean cut, and with the thickness of the serpent’s neck…
I watch Nolan calculate the odds. In the way his jaw ticks, I watch him lose every time.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I’ll be okay.”
Nolan reaches behind him. Squeezes my hand so hard I’m sure it will bruise later. I don’t mind. I squeeze it back. “Be careful, Darling.”
I step out from behind him and glance once more at my Mate. “You know I’m the best one to do this anyway, being a rule-follower and all.”
Nolan grimaces.
That’s the last I see of him before the snake’s tail wraps itself around my body and we both plunge into the earth.