Nuwin snickered, and Matron Olsander sighed. “Best of luck to you, Princess Primelle. And remember, keep practicing, and you’ll one day be an expert.”
After we said our goodbyes and Nuwin left with promises to visit us in the near future on the Silten continent, I clasped Kole’s hand. My eyes grew moist as I gazed up at the stoic warrior, and that feeling in my chest reached for him, that strange sensation again fluttering around inside me.
“I honestly can’t thank you enough for this.”
He smiled tenderly, and his eyes grew hooded. “I’m glad it worked, and I knew you could do it.”
I squeezed him back, then felt inside my dress’s pocket for my book. We’d known that my last lesson today would be quick, and since the time was drawing closer to which I had to returnLegends of Our Realm,my parents had agreed that I could visit the Isle of Song following my last mistphasing lesson.
Kole arched an eyebrow. “Shall I mistphase us, or would you like to?”
My heart began to thrum because now that my lessons were over, all of my attention was shifting to finding answers to who created those creatures, why they wanted me, and what they were after, which meant that my research was officially beginning.
I shook my head. “I still don’t trust myself to go that far. You better do it.”
“Is your book stowed safe in your pocket?”
I patted the side of my dress. “It’s right here, and with any luck, after returning it, Master Fistideeous will be happy to help me again.”
Because while I was skilled in research, I wasn’t a gargoyle. The small creatures were renowned for their uncanny ability to sniff out information that eluded most fae. With any luck, he could help us uncover answers about the creatures too.
Kole mistphasedus to the Isle of Song, the island that sat off the eastern shores of the continent and was renowned for holding the most prestigious university and library of our land. It was so revered that our continent’s greatest scholars lived there.
The second Kole’s mistphase calmed, I breathed in the warm sea air. Around us, grasses swayed in the breeze, but the islandwas far enough south that the breeze wasn’t overly biting, and there wasn’t any snow.
In front of us, a huge monolith waited, pulsing with magic. Similar to the one other time I’d been here, the library completely took my breath away. However, this time I didn’t arrive on the docks far below at the seashore. Kole had mistphased us right to the library’s steps.
“So this is it,” Kole said quietly. “I’ve never seen it before or been to this island.”
“Good thing you can mistphase so competently.” I bumped his elbow. “Previously, it took me days to get here by ship, and that’s only because I paid extra to secure passage on a vessel that employed Faewood fairies who wielded their air and water elements to propel the ship to go faster than naturally possible.”
He chuckled. “Stay with me, Princess, and I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
I laughed at his husky declaration, and we walked forward to the huge stone stairs cut into natural rock that climbed to the building that resembled a temple. Pillars lined the walkway at the top of the stairs, and intricate mystical engravings decorated each one.
Kole pointed at the engravings. “I’ve heard those engravings come from a time when the gods and goddesses walked the realm.”
“I’ve heard the same.”
Heady power pulsed around the library. The entire building had been carved from the scarred rock that naturally rose from the land on this island. Since the university had been constructed at the highest point on the Isle of Song, all around us, the Adriastic Sea was visible, glimmering in the distance. Waves could be heard too, crashing below on the distant shores, but they were faint, only detectable if the wind grew silent.
We reached the top of the steps, and I thought of Master Fistideeous, the gargoyle who had helped me last month when I’d begun my hunt for the Stone. “Some say the land here feeds the gargoyles’ minds, and that’s why they’re so knowledgeable.”
“Then let’s hope they can answer a few questions after you return that book.”
Before us, huge doors waited, and even though it was daytime, torches hung and lit up the twenty-foot-tall rock entryways.
“No guards or sentries?” Kole lifted his eyebrows.
“None are needed. They say the ancient magic protects this land.”
As if to prove my point, the doors opened automatically even though nobody stepped near them. They swung inward, and a long stretch of an immense hallway appeared. Pillars graced the inside as well, lining the labyrinth within.
“Do we wait for someone to greet us?” Kole asked.
I shook my head. “No, they already know we’re here.”
I grasped Kole’s hand, and he stepped with me over the threshold. A wall of magic instantly encased us as potent power tingled along my skin, but it released us just as fast.
