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Beyond it lay the biggest library I’d ever seen. Shelves were carved straight into the white rock. Every single one was stuffed full of leather-bound books, and in the center of the room, there was a single pedestal with a dark green book. As though a magical thread was pulling me towards it, I strode forward and brushed my fingers against the stone. Immediately, the front cover flew open, and the pages rushed by until it stopped on a passage that I recognized.
It was the same prophecy the seer had revealed to me, only there were four more verses added to the end.
Beneath the veil of night’s embrace,
The Heartbloom’s blossom, a fleeting grace,
On celestial eve, seek its glow,
To free the beast’s soul from captive woe.
Confront the past, embrace the light,
Atonement sought, in darkest night,
In altar’s embrace, redemption found,
Humanity restored, profound.
With love’s embrace and will unbowed,
Break the chains, let beast unshroud,
The ancient curse shall fade away,
In hero’s triumph, on destined day.
These sacred words, true love’s kiss,
Guide the chosen to avoid dark abyss,
With the mark of one’s mate,
One shall rescue the realm’s bleak fate.
My mind whirled with questions. What was a Heartbloom, and where could I find it? I chewed my lip, reading the prophecy over and over again, trying to understand it, yet missing several valuable pieces. If Mais couldn’t offer any insight, I would come back and search the books until I could find mention of anything that could help me.
In an excited rush, I grabbed the book and shoved it in the bag at my waist. I turned around and rushed out of the massive library. I sprinted back to the place where I had left Mais. Not seeing her, I passed through the magical barrier and kept going. I looked through each doorway as I strode by, yearning to explore the abandoned keep and read all the books lost in time in this forgotten place. The magic that had awakened deep inside me rumbled with a thirst for knowledge and to understand how a normal human from Earth could be transported to a fantasy land and come to find a magic of her own.
If you had asked me whether I preferred the red carpet or this, I would choose this each and every time.
As I wandered onward, I heard the crackling of a small fire. I rushed forward and found Mais in one of the larger rooms. She’d gathered a few pieces of broken furniture and made a small campfire. Some of her supplies were laid out, but one thing caught my eye and made my stomach growl immediately with hunger.
There was a bowl of fruit beside her, and she smiled, grabbing one of them and holding it out to me.
“Apple?”
CHAPTER17
Sophia
With a wistful smile, I took the apple from her hand, marveling down at the unexpected treat.
“Where did you find such a beautiful batch of fruit?” I asked, rubbing the apple against my sleeve to clean it. The beautiful scarlet color of the apple’s skin was ridiculously tempting, and when I glanced at the jerky and other items she’d rummaged for dinner, I decided to save the sweet fruit for dessert.
“Out that door over there is a small courtyard filled with different kinds of fruit trees. The runoff from the mountain feeds a small brook through the center. They’re thriving in there.”
“I didn’t know you had apples here in Terraheim,” I whispered.
