Chapter 5
Chapter Five
EIRA
The starlight lantern floated in front of Eira, guided by the shadows trained to do her bidding, while she strode through the dusty stacks of Aytigin’s library.
Directing shadows was a new skill since getting her strengthened powers from Luana and one she rather enjoyed.
There was so much to her magic to learn and explore.
If there was anything to be found about the book she’d found in the temple, it was going to be back here.
The library seemed be endless. Each time Eira thought she reached the end of its rows of books, another section appeared out of the darkness awaiting to be discovered.
The largest known library in the realm belonged to the Golden Palace in the southern kingdom of Oxare.
After all these months exploring and learning, she wondered if the library here rivaled it.
Even the shelves Eira had already seen one day prior would have a new scroll or book to peruse the next.
They were in countless languages and from lands Eira had never heard of before.
A worthy library for a goddess, since it was Luana herself who’d built this place.
Eira’s mouth quirked in a smile at the thought of Alvis coming to visit and seeing this room. He would be in paradise.
It warmed her to be able to think about Alvis without the sting of guilt that used to pang through her when he came to mind.
She always hated that her pursuit of finding her own way and happiness caused her to betray someone so close to her.
But then they saw Alvis in Oxare this past spring.
His own happiness with Myra was brighter than the Oxarian sun, it was obvious any anger and bitterness was behind them all.
Not only were she and Alvis able to be friends — what they should have been all along — but she also would receive Myra as a soon to be sister-in-law.
Eira knew Myra from back home at Farren Castle, but never closely since she’d worked for Amelia and kept to herself.
She was glad to have the opportunity to rectify that once they were able to visit.
She continued to walk through the dark aisles of books with the lantern to guide her.
The flickers of the starlight danced along the leather spines like shooting stars across the sky.
Eira peered at the faded words one each one.
Or at least the ones that had words. Some were so old there was no marking on the spine or even on the pages inside.
With a single finger, Eira touched the top of one and pulled it off its perch on the shelf then paged through it with careful movements so as to not ruin the ancient tome.
She pursed her lips at the various images and markings, unable to understand them.
It was as though it was created so long ago, written language was still in its infancy and they were translating images with words.
The pages were old pieces of parchment tied and bound together to create a book.
It was possible this could be helpful, so she waved one hand to summon more shadows then placed the book on the little floating shelf she’d made and continued with her pursuit.
What a wealth of knowledge and stories lay within these walls.
How much more she could learn about Luana and their world, and ones beyond them, if she had the time to spend here and not only worry about the curse.
Her chest ached a little at the thought of knowing there would be a time when she would need to leave this place and not have the opportunity to do so.
It only meant every advantage would need to be taken sooner rather than later.
When breaking the curse allowed time for it, of course.
Maybe she would be able to bring some of the followers of Efare here someday so they could learn and add to their repertoires.
It was easy to lose track of time here, without any windows or time pieces to reference.
Minutes and hours blended together and were lost between the pages of the books.
Eventually, a small stack had formed on the shadow shelf floating along, and Eira was pleased with her findings.
Hopefully, it would give her some answers to this parchment, and in turn leave to clues about the curse.
A wind blew through the library and whipped Eira’s hair over her face.
A book toppled off the shadow shelf and the lantern wobbled back and forth.
She pushed her hair back and looked around.
No one else was there. Certainly not Malle, otherwise she would have felt the cold air before the wind.
It could only mean someone had arrived at the castle.
They weren’t expecting anyone, and Cadeyrn hadn’t left during the day.
What if someone was attacking or found away around the magic spells protecting them?
Amelia was missing — again — and could be anywhere.
Eira’s heart plummeted and waved her hands to instruct the lantern and books to follow.
She took off in a jog, grasping her skirt so she wouldn’t trip, as she found her way out of the library.
The books were dropped off at a small table near her favorite reading chair by the fire, and she was off again.
The key to getting inside the mountain was love.
While Eira tended to see the best in people, experience lent itself to making her feel as though Amelia didn’t truly love anyone but herself.
Besides, they had signals worked out with the village in case of any disasters or surprise attacks.
She hadn’t gotten any star or shadow messages. Even so…
Eira’s steps became more hurried, and she met Cadeyrn at the castle entrance, the worried look on his face reflected how she felt.
His sword was already drawn. The hair on his arms grew thicker, the bear inside of him wanting to burst out and shift into his other form.
The forever soldier and protector. With his free hand he grasped Eira’s and kissed her knuckles.
“Whatever happens and whatever you need, I’m at your side,” he reminded her.
It’s what he’d been saying ever since they ran off in search of the cure to save her father.
Cadeyrn had been a man of his word each step of the way.
The two of them were in this together, and whatever would come neither of them were alone.
They were comforting words but also told Eira he was imagining the worst the same as she was.
The sound of Aytigin’s wings rumbled overhead as they stepped outside of the castle into the mountain cavern and a cold wind whipped Eira’s hair across her face.
If one didn’t know better, they’d think they were truly outside once out of the castle with the enchantment of the mountain.
The cavern inside was vast enough for Aytigin to fly around, and the ceiling gave the appearance of the sky outside.
The mountain shook as the entrance on the other end opened, and Eira gripped Cadeyrn’s hand even tighter. If it was Amelia, at least this would all be over sooner. Although she would have preferred to have an army or at least Rose and Cal at their sides.
What came through though wasn’t Amelia and her army of zombies. It was a small caravan of people and no weapons to be seen. Eira narrowed her eyes and tried to peer more closely at their visitors. They weren’t enemies… they were…
“Alvis!” Cadeyrn cried out, and his wide smile matched Eira’s. Before everything happened between them, he and Alvis had been close. She knew he was just as eager to see his brother as Eira was.
“Should we give them a proper greeting?” Cadeyrn asked with a wicked grin.
“Of course,” Eira answered. “Only the best for our guests.”
Eira stomped her foot on the ground, and ice spread across the surface, making a slick and glittering path.
Cadeyrn wrapped his arms around Eira’s waist and with a gentle push they were off, slipping and sliding out of the castle as though they were children playing out in the snow or skating on a frozen pond.
But Eira made sure they never fell even if they didn’t wear ice skates.
What greeted them wasn’t anything spectacular.
A few horses and wagons, nothing outrageous even if it was a future king and queen in their party.
It was classic Alvis to never want to make a scene.
If he had things his way, Eira was sure he and Myra would have gone on their own without any sort of assistance.
But Alvis probably had no idea how to survive on his own, never having to before, so maybe not.
Then again, Eira hadn’t either until she made the quest to come here to the Paravian mountains.
Eira looked behind her shoulder back at Cadeyrn and they shared a smile.
It looked like Alvis and Myra followed their instructions for how to enter the mountain they’d sent ages ago in the hopes they’d come to visit soon, and they made it.
The hands of two people who shared true love could reveal the opening, and unsurprisingly, Alvis and Myra succeeded.
As the two groups came closer together, Eira ended their ice travel and arched a long arm over her head.
A sea of glittering stars spread over them, shooting back and forth as though they were in the middle of a meteor shower.
Gasps and ahs erupted from the traveling party while Eira and Cadeyrn sprinted over to greet them.