Chapter Thirty
The Noxlin library was inside a beautiful, gothic church. As I followed Darce, the candlelit space felt very welcoming. It wasn’t grand, like the library in Dallethas, but none of the books were under lock and key. Any Noxlin could read whichever book they wanted.
“They are around this corner,” he whispered, moving towards the back of the church.
The two Books of Elder World were wrapped in worn brown leather.
When I saw them, I understood what Darce and Luz meant about the books being difficult to read.
These books were slowly corroding away. “You might be able to make sense of some of them.” The text in both books was written in a language I had never seen before.
“Nadine believes this one is something to do with the creation of Afterlight.” He motioned to the first book.
“That might be a sun, but our scriptures never depict our suns that way,” I observed, studying every part I could to see if I could understand anything.
Darce turned a few more pages. A lot of the text was faded, but I noticed the letters Lux and Tenebris were still clear to read.
“Can any of your kind read this language? What about the fire twins?”
“This is the language of the gods. Unfortunately, no one understands it. Not even the fire twins.”
“Lux and Tenebris seem to be used a lot.” Even with the faded text, I could make out a light outline of the letters.
“And Lunae Lumen is mentioned a few times, too.” Darce continued to carefully go through the pages.
One image reminded me of something, so I touched his hand to stop him from turning the page.
“That looks like darkness being shattered by light. I’ve seen a similar painting in the Dylin Palace. ”
“On the other page, the image seems to be reversed.” He turned the page to show me what he meant. Darce was right. Darkness appeared to be surrounding light, weakening it. “What do you think it means?”
“I have no idea,” I whispered. Studying the last few readable pages, I noticed a small drawing that looked a little like the tattoo on my inner arm.
It was a swirling sun with triangles around it, but this one had small arrows underneath connecting to a small circle with several lines of different lengths that looked like light beams. “Are there any drawings like your tattoo in this book or the other one?” I asked Darce, pointing to the image I’d been studying.
“This is very similar to my power source tattoo.”
“The last page has a few similarities to mine.” When he turned to the last page, my eyes fell on the words amor semper vincere.
I didn’t know why, but they seemed important.
Almost like a warning. “This book is about light and darkness, I’m sure of it, but there is a missing piece.
..something we’re not seeing. This last page is about harnessing Solace’s power.
You can see with the two dark circles why Charna thinks it’s about two bonded Noxlin. ”
“It does look like a joining of some kind.” Two dark circles appeared to be overlapping each other.
“What is the other book about?” Darce opened it, and the first image was easy to make out.
Our two moons, surrounded in darkness. “Is this the book of Nantu?” My breath caught in my throat, feeling strangely drawn to the image. “The moonlight goddess?”
“It will make you see Nantu in her true likeness.” Most of the images and text were faded like the first book, but the pages near the end, depicting the destruction, were easy to make out.
The massacre of both Noxlin and Dylin. The hatred.
The war. The sacred mountains being formed in Moonlight.
Nantu was no goddess, she was a monster!
“Why? It makes no sense. Why would Nantu do this?” Tears stung my eyes, taking in the pain depicted in the images. The last few pages had been burned from the book, but I had seen enough when Darce finally closed it.
“I’m sorry, Starshine. I know how much your fake goddess meant to you. I took no pleasure in showing you the truth.” Putting his hand over mine, he squeezed it gently in reassurance.
“What would cause her to do so much damage to Afterlight? These images reveal that she might have made the sacred mountains herself.”
“It’s not easy to piece the parts together.”
“When I get back home, I’ll try and get access to the Dylin book.”
“I don’t want you putting yourself in any danger. Especially now I know Xavier is looking for any reason to bond with you.”
“I have my allies back home. You don’t need to worry.” Darce didn’t look like he believed me. “I beat your ass twice this week. You know I can take care of myself.” When I nudged him, he gave me his beautiful grin. The one that reached all the way to his eyes.
“The palace is holding a ball next week.” I could hardly believe that I would be going home shortly after. These blissful weeks had flown by. “I want you to attend by my side.”
“What? Is that safe? What about your parents?”
“They hardly attend these events. A Noxlin ball is one of the most spectacular things to witness. It’s the perfect way to end your first trip here.”
“Does this mean I’ll have to go dress shopping with Nyx?”
“No, I’ll be helping you with that task. I’ll ask the palace seamstress to make you something exquisite.”
It appeared that the last of my stay in Eallarim was going to be eventful.
****
MY LAST WEEK FLEW BY in a whirlwind of sparring, dress fittings, dance lessons in Firefly Arch, exploring more of the cobbled city, and coming undone over and over in Darce’s bed. I never knew happiness like this existed.
The dress he had made for me was stunning.
The backless, black lace was fit for Noxlin royalty, with its sweetheart neckline, cap sleeves, and endless layers of tulle under the skirt that accentuated the details.
It was complete with a lace beaded cape that draped over my shoulders, showing my figure off perfectly.
The ladies-in-waiting had curled my hair, placing half of it up with a few clips. Darce had left me alone while I was getting ready. He wandered in wearing a black and gold trimmed suit, complete with an embroidered royal cape. My mouth became dry as I took him in. He was pure sin.
The ladies-in-waiting scurried away quickly, leaving us alone in his chamber.
“You never fail to take my breath away,” he cooed, touching my cheek with the back of his hand.
“We better leave now before I lose myself completely.” After placing a beautiful, delicate golden bracelet on my wrist, he stroked the black gem in the middle of it.
“A piece of my soul resides in this sapphire. If you ever need me when I’m not with you, all you have to do is call into the bracelet and I’ll be by your side. ”
“What if I’m in the great hall with my father?” I breathed, fearing that would be the only time I might need him. My father’s powers outweighed Darce’s. Sacrificing him that way was not an option. “Some battles I will have to face alone, Darce. I will not risk you.”
“Alora, there is no place in this universe that could keep me from you. If Holy Ether stole you herself, I would fight through all the celestial veils to reach you. Your father doesn’t scare me.
My biggest fear is losing you.” How, after all this time, could he still render me speechless?
“Come on. We don’t want to waste all those dancing lessons I’ve given you.
” He pecked my lips and then took my hand in his.
As we walked down the tall, lavish corridors, I gazed at the pillars that had huge black and gold fabric hanging from them.
I could hear the music before the grand room came into view.
When I took a step back at all the eyes that fell upon Darce and me, he gave me a reassuring smile, offering his arm for me to take.
There were so many dark eyes on me, but the sweet lullaby of the music put me at ease.
Taking his arm, he escorted me into the ball.
Watching all the Noxlin spin around the dance floor in an elegant, synchronised movement was awe inspiring. The string music, all their attire, the grandeur of the room. A race had never appeared so cultural, and more importantly, so...free.
All my life, I had believed Dylin were better than Noxlin because of our purity.
Through prayer, we gave ourselves fully to Holy Ether daily, but that meant nothing.
We could honour Holy Ether in any way we chose, and she would still bless us.
Noxlins were proof of that. Our males fought in a war that my father and Xavier were controlling.
Our females were giving their souls away to make our males more powerful.
We weren’t free. It was the ultimate control.
Dylin’s, as much as it pained me, weren’t good.
“What is going on in that beautiful head of yours?” Darce asked, handing me a glass of red wine.
“I have a lot of work to do with my race to make them understand that you are not the enemy.”
“There is no rush. We can work it out together.”
“There is only one way for peace and it terrifies me.” Darce gave me a questioning look, urging me to continue. “We need to overthrow my father, and I need to claim the throne.” An impossible task without my powers. “We need to work on making my powers fully manifest.”
“Let’s not worry about any of that right now.” Darce looked out at the dance floor. “Down your wine. I very much wish to dance with you.”
“With all these eyes on me?”
“Worried I can’t keep you safe?”
“Not at all,” I chuckled. “I can’t see your mother or father. We’re safe.” Finishing the contents of my glass, I passed it over to Darce, who put it on the table behind him. “Go easy on me. I’m still trying to remember all the steps.”