Charlie had been awfully quiet throughout all this. “Charlie? What do you think?” I asked.
He shifted uncomfortably. “We’re making assumptions. How can we be sure of all this?”
My heart dropped. I really needed him to be with us. “We can’t know for sure until we unlock the doorway. I get we don’t have all the answers, but it’s progress. We’re one step closer to solving the mystery of my prophecy.”
“You don’t even know what’s inside the city,” Charlie said. “Whatever is behind that door could be dangerous.”
“I know it hassomethingto do with my prophecy,” I insisted. “The prophecy says there’s a war coming. Whatever we find in Forevermore must be something that will help us win the war.”
“Or start it,” Charlie grumbled. “What are you hoping to find? An Elven weapon? Think about it, pidge. Whatever the Elves hid behind that doorway is so powerful that only demigods can handle it.”
“Maybe it isn’t a weapon,” I theorized. “Based on what Marcus and Kallie found, we know the Elves had knowledge about the demigods. Maybe Forevermore holds clues on how to use our powers, andthat’swhy the doorway was made for demigods.”
Charlie gave a skeptical expression.
I swallowed. “I’ll never know what I’m looking for if I don’t go out and find it, Charlie.”
He fell silent. I ran my fingers over the bow. If this lost city was truly real, I had no choice but to find out how to get there. I was a demigod, but I had to know what that was, and why I was one— what my purpose in the prophecy meant.
No matter how dangerous this city could be, getting through that gate was the only way.
Chapter Nine
Charlie
My knees shook the whole way back to my dorm from the Lair. We were making more sense of the prophecy. We had another clue. In normal circumstances, I should’ve felt relieved. Instead, I felt a storm stirring in my guts. I wanted to vomit just thinking about getting closer to answers— because that meant we were one step closer to Ava’s demise. I wouldn’t let the prophecy come true. Icouldn’t.
I lay awake all night, brainstorming ways to sabotage our search for answers. If Ava found how to unlock the lost city of the Elves, it was over. I’d become destined to be her undoing— toendher, as Maddie had said. I had to lead her astray, or at least as far away from answers as I could.
The answer became clear as I woke the next morning. It wasn’t a sure thing, but it was one step in the right direction. I sensed that Oberi could tell I was on edge, because he padded slowly beside me as he guided me to the library. It was early morning, before breakfast, so there weren’t many people in the halls yet. I listened carefully when I entered the library, but I only heard the librarian behind the main counter shuffling books around. I approached her and cleared my throat.
She gave a sound of surprise. It was unusual for students to visit the library so early. The Institute didn’t exactly attract the book-smart crowd. Most students steered clear of the library as long as they could, usually only visiting it the night before a paper was due. Madame Rayne— the librarian— knew me by name, since I often had to come in to use the computers.
“Oh, Charlie,” she said kindly when she recognized me. “If you’re here about the computers, I’ve already informed the Warden that the one on the end is down. You’ll have to use the other today.”
“Actually,” I said smoothly, “I’m looking for books on Elvish lore.”
Before she could ask what the hell I intended to do with a book, considering I couldn’t read, I quickly added, “It’s for a group assignment. Since I can’t read, my job was to check out the books.”
“Oh,” she said brightly. “Yes, I heard about this assignment. A girl came in a few weeks ago looking for books on Elvish lore as well.”
Kallie,I thought immediately.
“I hope she left some for the rest of us,” I said with a laugh.
“Unfortunately, most Elvish records have been destroyed,” Madame Rayne replied. “But I stumbled across a few more after the other girl requested them. If you’ll just wait here a moment, I can get them for you.”
“That would be great. Thanks,” I told her.
Madame Rayne’s footsteps faded down a long aisle. I leaned against the main counter as I waited for her. Oberi nudged his wet nose against my hand and whined.
“It’s for the best,” I said, though knots twisted in my gut. I immediately threw up mental walls, so Ava wouldn’t sense I was up to something.
Madame Rayne returned a few minutes later, and athudsounded as she dropped a stack of books on the counter beside me. “It’s not much, but this is all we have left on the Elves.”
I gave her a kind smile. “I’m sure it will be enough for my paper. Thanks.”
“Best of luck, Charlie,” she replied kindly.
