Chapter 19

Firo flipped through the journal. He’d been in the vast library in Alterealm for an hour now and wasn’t getting as far as he’d hoped in his research of angels. One book would say a bit, the next a little more, but nowhere had he found a list for the types of angels denoted by their wing’s style and color. Everyone he’d read through stated clearly about white wings, which, as far as he was concerned, was a given.

An intense vibration went through his whole body. He set the book down and closed his eyes. His princess was paging him. He sent her images of the walls lined with books and relaxed so he could open up their connection, and she could come to him. Normally, it didn’t work that way; he usually went to her, but if he walked out of there, he’d lose his place in his search, and he didn’t want to start all over.

He heard the large doors open and turned to see Aireese standing just inside the door. She had a surprised but delighted look on her face. He couldn’t help but smile at that. He had felt the same way when he’d walked in with Princess Crissy. The space was filled with magic of the oldest kind, and it left him breathless for a moment.

The library’s keeper came toward them. What had Crissy called him? The man that wasn’t one but all, or something like that. She wasn’t far off. Firo could feel the weaved spell that bound so many into one entity, and he was astounded that this being existed. He knew from the magic, as soon as he entered, that this keeper never left this space. There would be no chance of his form existing outside this area.

Aireese bowed to the keeper and then smiled at him. The keeper sent Firo an inquiring look.

“I’m fine here, thank you.” He told him. The man inclined his head and then went back in the direction he had come. Firo wasn’t sure that labeling the keeper him or a man was correct because clearly he wasn’t, but calling them ‘it’ seemed disrespectful.

“This is amazing,” Aireese whispered.

“Mmm.” He opened the book. “It left me breathless when I stepped in.”

“Yes, but in an exhilarating way.” She blew out an audible breath. “I need to focus on not absorbing much of this one.”

Firo grinned. His kind absorbed magical vibrations from others and spells, and too much of this one was quite capable of debilitating them for hours. “Yes. I’m blocking completely. I’d like to sleep again sometime in this century.”

“Good idea.” She looked at one of the books he’d set on the shelf. “Finding anything?”

“Not as much as I’d hoped.” He sighed. “I had hoped with all of this—” He motioned around them. “There would be information.”

Aireese looked around them. “There probably is, but finding it will be the hard part.” She looked behind them. “Have you asked him directly?”

“No. I wasn’t sure how to explain why I was asking.” He looked over at the other shelves the keeper had suggested. “I just asked for books about angels.”

Aireese rolled her eyes. “Details, Firo. Information about angels isn’t very specific.”

He sighed. “I know. Perhaps I’m just too distracted in here.”

“I will go ask for you, but once we leave here, be warned I need to have a few hard words with you, but won’t—” She motioned around them. “Disrespect the energy in here.”

He nodded. He knew what she was going to have hard words about, and a small part of him was almost glad that his long-kept secret was going to come to light. She already knew more than anyone ever had, so how bad could more be? He kept his eyes on the words in the book while she stood there beside him, staring at him. He may want things out in the open to lighten the heavy feeling in his chest he’d carried all these years, but that didn’t mean he was going to welcome the process.

“I’ll be right back.” He felt her move away and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

How angry was his princess going to be with him for doing what he had done? Worse still, for doing what he had done to her only niece. She may not have known of her existence until the day before, but his kind held family high on a pedestal. Firo would have too, if he had any blood relations left living. His last had passed on more than two centuries ago. For whatever reason, fae only had one or two children. He could count on his hands the number of families that had more in the last ten centuries. Because of this, he had been an only child, born to only children, who were also spawns of only children. His family line was short and close to extinct now.

Aireese came back and set a book in front of him. “You would have found it in a week’s time. It was in a different section about identifying realm traits.”

Firo closed the book in his hand and set it beside the others. “Realm traits? So what realm are angels under?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t ask, I just took the book I was guided to.” She held it out to him. “What are you going to do if it’s not in there?”

“I don’t know.” And it was the truth. He wasn’t even sure what good knowing the type of angel Ava’s father had been was going to be, but he needed to know.

He opened it and flipped a few pages. There were sketches in this one. “How do you suppose they got them to pose for a sketch?”

Aireese leaned closer to look in the book. “I’m sure they didn’t pose.”

He flipped through the pages. His focus wasn’t on the era, location, or purpose, at least not yet.

“What color are you looking for? What about shape, does that change too?” She leaned closer. “I’ve never really thought much about them because they’re…”

“A taboo subject in FaTerra?”

“Yes, that.”

“The shape was from her mother, only larger and thicker.” He glanced at her. “That much I do know.”

She held his look for a moment. “Okay, so we can’t look for shape. What color?”

“Reddish and blackish.” He scowled at the book. “The light from the fire didn’t help.”

“So, they were red with black tinge or black with red tinge?”

He lowered the book and stared at her. “Is there a difference?”

“Yes.” She pointed to the book.

He looked down at it to see a small section on the bottom of the page listing exactly what he’d been looking for, and he was so lost in his head he hadn’t even noticed. It listed both ways she had just said. “How am I supposed to know what color tinged another?”

“Give me the book.” she pulled it from his hands. “Close your eyes and picture her.”

He scoffed. “I don’t need to close my eyes to picture her.” She was always there.

“Try it.”

Heaving a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes.

“Go back to the bus incident.” She said softly.

He wanted to say he didn’t need to because he would never be able to remove it from his mind. The terror he’d felt that she was willing to burn because she wouldn’t leave the child behind. “Red, I think, tinged with black.” He opened his eyes.

“Okay.” She looked down at the book. “Justice.” She nodded. “That makes sense, except for the fact that he left my sister. That’s not right and just.”

Firo wanted to laugh. “I don’t think matters of the heart consider what is just and what isn’t.” If anyone knew that, it was him. The only one that would ever truly complete him was forbidden in his realm and the child of the royal charge he let die. He looked at the book. “What does it say for the other way?”

She skimmed her finger down the list and then looked up at him. “Destruction.”

He snorted. “Wonderful. The one intended for me was either spawned by an angel of justice or destruction.”

Aireese flipped a few pages. “The angel of Justice meters out justice for those that wrong.” She said it slowly, as if she was unsure of what she was reading.

“That sounds like Ava.”

She glanced at him. “She was very keen on finding those responsible, and what was she going to do?” She smiled. “Oh, yes, kick some idiots in the head.”

He scowled at her. “How long were you lurking before you made yourself visible?” He hated that he could never sense her when she did that, but if he were to try it, she knew immediately.

“Long enough.” She looked down again and turned the page. “Destruction—” She squeaked. “Oh. That’s not good.”

“What isn’t?” He wanted to rip the book from her hands, but regardless of how much she saw them as friends, there were still things you didn’t do to the next queen of your realm.

“The angel of destruction has the charge to tear down, reform, and rebuild–” She flipped the page and then back again. “It just ends like that, no further description.”

Firo closed his eyes. “Lovely.” Opening them, he gently took the book from her and read the words for himself. “So she’s either a vigilante of justice or can destroy.” He closed the book. “I was hoping this would be helpful, but like anything else when the gods and their lackeys are involved, it’s a riddle.”

“Did you expect something instructional?”

He picked up the books he had used and carried them over to the polished wooden table nearest them. Setting them down and glanced at the man that seemed far away, but was still close enough to them that he was in the same space. Inclining his head to him, he turned back to her. “Instructions or any insight would be great, but no, I just needed to satisfy my curiosity.”

“I see.” She tilted her head and then glanced at the man and nodded. Turning, she headed toward the door. “We have much to do today.” She looked at him over her shoulder. “Including keeping Ava from hunting down magical idiots and kicking them in the head.”

Firo followed without any inkling of enthusiasm. He knew she hadn’t forgotten the talk she wanted to have and if her knew her, which he did very well, he wouldn’t get five feet outside of this magic-drenched space before it began.

The door closed behind him, and she spun around. “Take me there. Now.”

His confusion must have been clear in his expression.

She sighed. “To the forest where Ava goes, and you follow. Where she was born.”

He looked down at the floor. She wanted to go to where her sister had died. Nodding, he looked at her again and held out his hand.