The next time I opened my eyes, the room was dark. I’d slept the entire day away.Again. My magic was demanding when it was depleted. I could’ve slept for another day. Another week.
I sat up to find Rafael sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed. The tangerine glow from the fire fell across his face. He was studying something—the unicorn book I’d found in the library. It looked so small in his hands. His gaze turned to me when he noticed me stirring.
“Did you know that unicorns can emitstarlightfrom their horns? It has the ability to break some curses and spells—and it can alsoblindenemies. Oh, and also… your horn is capable of channelingeveryform of elemental magic. Looks like you’re going to have some new tricks up your sleeve, Goldie. Hopefully I can keep up with you.” He gave me a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. He was trying to appear casual, but I could tell that today had disturbed him.
“Good thing you’re skilled at fighting blind.” I grinned. “I wonder how your shadows will respond to my light.” I rested my head back on his pillow, savoring the feeling of true safety.
“Light and dark… two sides of the same coin. One can’t exist without the other.” He stood up, while his shadows hovered between us. They swirled towards me before he tugged them back. We laughed and then it grew quiet. Our usual comfortable silence was gone. In its place, a new energy buzzed between us—a product of everything that had transpired in the last few days.
“Have you looked at the journal yet? I’ve been dying to see what it says about the curse.” I scanned the room. It was sitting on Raf’s nightstand where I’d left it.
“Not without you.”
“No time like the present,” I said with a weak smile, before picking it up and opening it. I grew disheartened when I realized I didn’t recognize the text.
“What language is this?” I asked Raf, handing it to him. He fanned through the small pages that had yellowed over the years.
“You don’t recognize the text of your people? Clearly we’ve been spending too much time on the physical side of training. This is the ancient language of the Fae. It’s still considered something we should all know, even though it’s not typically used in everyday conversation anymore. We made Dorish our dominant language when we began interacting more with humans. Most books have been translated over to Dorish now, but you’ll still find handwritten texts in Ancient Fae… especially if it’s not meant for human eyes.”
I must’ve looked annoyed because he smirked and said, “Don’t worry, I can translate.” He spent a few minutes flipping through the pages until he landed on something that made him stop.
“Here, this says the curse came from—" He paused, looking confused. "The Book of Erebus.” Raf rubbed his stubbled jaw in contemplation. “This contradicts what I was told.” He looked up to see my blank face and explained, “Erebus is a well-known spell book. It’s one of two that were created by the gods, to house the most powerful spells. Its opposite is the book of Chrysus, a book of creation, while Erebus is a book of destruction. Our people lost track of both of them centuries ago.
“If the curse came from Erebus… it means a magical being must’ve cast the spell—it changes everything.” He swore and loosed a long breath. “It’s always been assumed that Chrysus was the source of the curse. Anyone can cast spells from it… It can be used by humans. The magic used for creation spells is pulled directly from the land. The accepted belief amongst our people is that a human created the blood curse—this challenges that theory. Erebus can only be wielded with true magic.”
He furrowed his brows before musing, “Why isn’t this common knowledge? Someone with significant sway must’ve purposefully kept thisinformation from going public… Someone who knew the truth.” We both looked at each other.
Sylvia.
But why?
Raf flipped to a new page. There was a name written on top it.Aides Ruhn. “This was a prophecy given to my Uncle Aides. He died in Erador. It almost seems connected to yours… Let me translate.”
Rafael got a piece of pen and paper and began writing:
Two books united, Six Chosen souls
By horn and feathers, claws, and bones
The cost of magic will be steep
Bonded-blood must spiral deep
The black book’s spell demands a fee
Destruction has no empathy
Next an ancient spell that mends
Only then will the blood curse end
A war rages across the land
Chosen heirs must take a stand
The curse may start once more anew
If the caster is allowed to do
