Page 84 of Maleen

Talyn and I blink at each other while Jesper buries his head in my neck, opposite of Nero, before laughing at his antics. Of course Jesper would be excited about me killing our enemies.

I let myself enjoy this moment before sighing, “I suppose I should go find Madame Windwhisper and see what tasks she has for me to do now that we are back.”

Tal lifts a blood-matted curl of my hair and winces. “Maybe a shower, before you give the old female a heart attack. You’re stunning as always, but you look like you just came off a battlefield,” he murmurs sheepishly before placing the lock back down.

“That might be a good idea. Would you two like to join me?” I ask boldly, straightening my shoulders. We may have gone through a frenzy together, but it still feels new to me to be with multiple mates, let alone anyone.

Nero titters. “I suppose you want me to go check the grounds? Oh or maybe raid the kitchen?”

“That might be—”

“Princess Maeven!” I turn my head and see the elderly satyr, Librarian Merriwhether, sprinting towards us, her hoofed feet clicking against the stone floor hurriedly. “Princess Maeven, I’m so glad I found you. This is it!” she huffs, holding up a small leather-bound book and pushing her rounded glasses up onto her nose. It’s only then that she is taken aback by my bloodied state, but only for a moment. “Just like your fathers,” I swear I hear her mutter.

I try to wipe the worst of the blood from my hands—helped with a cheeky lick from Jesper—and Magick the water from a nearby fountain to wash my hands before drying them with air. Only then does she pass the book to me. “What is this?” I ask hesitantly, inspecting the aged, yellow pages. The cover is devoid of any title and cracked as if it’s seen too many days in the sun and long travels.

She smiles, tapping the cover gently. “It’s your mothers old journal. I found it hidden in the library—it was like it knew when it needed to be found, because I swear I’ve checked that spot before.” Her eyes glaze and she shakes her head, focusing back on what she was telling us. “Inside is information about the Being. The one she went to for your necklace.”

My gaze widens and I slowly look down at the journal. “Thank you! We need to find the others. This could be exactly what we were looking for!” I start flicking through the pages to see if anything jumps out at me.

“Now listen, Princess Maeve—Ravina. What your mother wrote about the Being… it’s dangerous, I think. It was hard to make out her writing during that time. It was almost as if she had written it in code.”

My grin drops slightly but I nod, determined not to be discouraged. “We will figure it out. Our answers have to be wherever this leads us.” I hold up the book.

Nero caws, puffing out his chest as if to prove my point.

“I know you will, dear, just be careful. Lean on your mates, and listen to the big one who’s overprotective. I have a feeling that this mission won’t be nearly as easy as the others.” Her eyes crinkle with worry before she dips into a curtsey and spins to hurry back the way she came.

Jesper wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me toward the barracks. “Let’s go find the others so they can decipher this while we enjoy uninterrupted shower time. Plus I want everyone to know how fearsome my mate is.” He gives me a lopsided grin and Talyn shakes his head.

The shower can wait a little longer because right now, my need for answers is much stronger.

NERO IS CURLED up on my lap as Killian peers over the journal. We’ve been at this for a few hours now. Long enough that I did escape for a quick shower, taking Jesper with me who worshipped me on his knees after he scrubbed all the dry, sticky blood off me.

“Say the lines again,” Aemon says as he taps his finger against the table.

Killian flips back a page and recites:

Pass into the forest of Death

Follow the trail, do not disembark

When stones in the sky touch, go through or perish

Snakes slither and teeth tear, beware the spinning waters

A fork in the path, one leads true

When all hope is lost, a light will guide your plight.

​“It makes no sense,” Killian adds, scratching at his head as he throws the book down on the table between us. “It doesn’t tell us what the “Being” is, or where it is. Just some riddle that is vague and confusing—and it doesn’t help that one of the lines is completely illegible.”

I grab the book and open it again, letting my fingers drift gently across the elegant writing of my mother. I wish I could just ask her, but she’s so deep in the coma that there is no waking her now. They are shocked she’s still with us, but the healers say her passing could be any day now, and in a way I’m grateful because she will no longer be in pain. But at the same time, I feel selfish for wanting her to fight and stay—to help guide me through this Fates-damn mess she left behind.

Nero mumbles sleepily and nuzzles into my leg. “What if this is her guiding you? Maybe it just doesn’t make sense until you go?”

I stare at the black feathered creature in my lap and tilt my head as I ponder his words before Vasari pipes in. “Again, I hate to say this, but the deformed pigeon is probably right.”

“But there’s nowhere on our map named the Forest of D—” I gasp, startling the others out of their thoughts as I scoop Nero up and race over to the window that overlooks The Nairiden Forest. The forest my mother would always tell me never to go into, that fae die trying to explore it, especially the northern parts.