Chapter Eight

“And if, when he wakes, Damion thinks I’m completely mad? What then?”

“He won’t.” Those silver eyes sparkled. She kept getting further and further away from him, so he got up and followed her around the walls and shelves. “He is used to strange. What happened today is not going to be as hard for him to believe as you might think.”

Volencia thought back to his easy banter, that smile so forthcoming. He seemed honest and sweet. It was what had drawn her to him to begin with. His… innocence. But when the moment had come to fight, he had. He was no stranger to the sword and he certainly believed he could face them. When he first entered the fight, he’d even joked about it. “I sincerely hope you are right.” But she didn’t know the boy, and the thing before her was sitting in his body. So, he likely knew more than she did. “Hey, is there any way you could make this easier?”

He gave her a charming lop-sided smile, “You need only ask.” With a wave of his hand, every book from the room zipped through the air. Dust clouds filled the space, and the smell of old or rotting leather was overwhelming as they quickly piled into four different sections. The largest was the pile of ruined books, next were the ones that still had titles and a page here or there that could still be read, the third had whole sections that were legible, and the last was a pile of five books. A table stitched itself together just as the books landed on it. Each one pristine leather with gilded pages and stamped with ruins unlike she had ever seen.

Lifting each one up, she frowned. “I know the main seven languages, and I have no idea what these are written in.”

Chuckling, he handed her a bag. “You should take those with you. It’s an ancient language, but the Samanthians would be able to read it. They’ll be able to help you.” He lifted a large black book, even the pages were grey and dark. “Except this one. This one deserves to be on the bottom of the ocean.” He started to walk away with it, and panic settled over Volencia.

“Wait!” She grabbed the book, holding it to her chest. He scowled for a moment, before sighing. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll likely remember before you figure out how to read it anyway.” He waved his hand dismissively.

Volencia sighed. She didn’t know why the black book seemed so important, but it did. She gently placed it on the top of the pile. He looked back at her curiously, as if knowing she put it in a special spot in the bag. She cleared her throat, “Out of this entire library, is this really all that survived?” Volencia looked longingly at the books. She wanted to read them now.

“Yes, but perhaps someone was trying to make sure no books survived, and these just happen to be the best protected?” He offered.

“Why would anyone attack books?” Volencia asked, surprised.

“Because they teach what the destroyer doesn’t want you to know…” he looked around the room, seeming surprised. “But you’re right, there should have been more.”

“My parents might have them. Or the Samanthians. They gave the city up, so there could have been time for them to grab what they wanted.” He pulled his sword out of the sheath part way and looked down at it in contemplation.

“Hm. This is making more sense by the moment.”

Volencia couldn’t help but laugh, “No it’s not.” But the smile he gave her with that response made her heart quicken.

“Fair enough.” He nodded. Volencia put the books in the bag he’d handed to her. “I always enjoyed that part of the journey. The reading, and learning, finding out about new languages. Sometimes trying to figure out old ruins. In the moment, I hate it, because I have no patience, but those are the times I look back on most fondly.” He amused himself with the pile of ruined books, turning them into their own table and chairs. It seemed his magic worked absently and apart from him. He didn’t wiggle a finger or shutter an eye.

“Alright,” She moved toward him, wrapping her arms around her chest. “Let’s talk about that sacrifice now.”

“I promise,” his hands held her shoulders lightly, pulling her gently against his chest, his arms wrapping her in a warm and comforting embrace. “It doesn’t mean I love you any less.” He rested his chin on the top of her head, explaining, “I can never allow my beloved to take my place as the sacrifice. One who comes to rescue me must come of their own free will. No one can be forced, and they must have certain traits in order to be able to freely be a sacrifice. It’s no small task to find a certain kind of person who is willing to not only give up their life, but take my place for eternity. You’ll find out more about all that through your travels should you chose to take up this journey for me. It’s nothing at all like Locke made it seem earlier.”

“Oh.” Volencia waited.

He shrugged, “So far the only one who has been willing to take my place and met the needed criteria, which you’ll figure out on your own, is my beloved. However, I will not trade myself for her. So, here we are.”

“And you can’t tell me who your beloved is or offer any more insight into what our journey will bring?” He shook his head in answer, “Is there anything else here I should look for? Anything to help us on our way?”

Pursing his lips, he looked around the room. “There is, but nothing I can help you with. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to come back here with Damion one more time. Or even your Aunt, Uncle, or Father, they may know it if they tried to help the Samanthians when the war was waging.”

“Okay,” Volencia nodded. “I should probably head home. I’m sure my father’s worried sick about me.”

The entity before her blushed, watching her. “Would I… would you allow me to, well… join you?” His eyes turned away from her, looking back toward the tree. “At your home I mean?” His blush reached from his neck to his ears, turning his entire face red, his hands went up, “Not that I wouldn’t take you if you said no, it just—”

“After what you’ve done for me today? I would give you anything.” Volencia offered, placing her hands on his arms. “I would be honored if you would join.”

“I only have tonight.” His fingers touched her waist briefly before falling away. “At dawn, Damion will be back, and I’ll be trapped again.” He looked away, but she could see how uncomfortable he was.

“Then come back home with me? Stay with me, and I’ll talk to him about everything in the morning.” His hand reached out, freezing just before touching her cheek. Clearly second guessing himself.

She stepped into his touch. His shields crumbled and he pulled her close, holding her tight. His hand found her chin and made her look up at him. “May I kiss you?” She felt her panic rise. She’d never been kissed before, and after today… he did not wait for answer. He lowered his face to hers, hovering in front of her for a moment. When she didn’t fight back, he leaned in, gently pressing his lips to hers. Closing her eyes, she allowed his soft warm tongue to coax her lips appart. Butterfies flittered low in her abdomen as his breath filled her. His hands cradled her face, gentle but strong, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Breathless as they broke appart, her head swam dizzingly to see that they were standing in the middle of a familiar room. She clung to him as a darkness crept in from the corners of her eyes, she felt like she was about to faint.