The moment I stepped inside, the air shifted.
The grand library of Brightforge was nothing like the compact, neatly organized shelves found in most academic spaces.
This place felt ancient, a sanctuary of knowledge untouched by time.
Towering floor-to-ceiling shelves stretched so high I could barely see their tops, disappearing into the soft golden glow of floating lanterns that illuminated the vast space.
Runic symbols glowed faintly along the spines of old tomes, whispering secrets only those attuned to them could understand. Some books hovered in midair, drifting between shelves as if moving of their own accord.
The scent of aged parchment, enchanted ink, and something faintly floral, like pressed moon lilies filled the air.
Even the silence felt different here. Not empty, not hollow, but alive. Like the library itself was listening.
I made my way toward the front desk, where one of the Fae Librarians sat, his long silver hair tied back in a simple knot, eyes glowing faintly as he transcribed something onto a floating scroll.
He barely looked up when I stopped in front of him.
"What do you seek?" His voice was smooth, measured, like someone accustomed to speaking in hushed tones.
I hesitated, glancing around before leaning in slightly. "I need materials on the Celestial Rift Conflict… and the Great Rift War. From the Archive section if possible please."
That got his attention.
His quill halted mid-stroke. Slowly, his glowing purple eyes flicked up, scanning me with quiet curiosity.
For a moment, I thought he was going to question me.
But instead, he simply nodded, setting his quill aside. "Round table, third row."
I didn't need to be told twice.
I made my way to the section he indicated, settling into one of the round wooden tables carved with old Elarion sigils.
The moment I sat down, the table hummed beneath my fingertips.
A breath later, a stack of books materialized before me.
Some were so thick I doubted I'd get through them in a week. Others were old enough that their covers were cracked with age, bound with reinforced enchantments to keep them from crumbling.
I inhaled sharply, pressing my hands flat against the table.
Time to start digging.
I started with the Celestial Rift War materials, hoping to find anything on Cole, his involvement, his tactics, his downfall.
But the more I read, the more frustrated I became.
Everything written was just loose details, a polished narrative of the war designed to fit within a neat historical timeline.
Nothing raw.
Nothing hidden between the lines.
Nothing that could actually help me.
I flipped through page after page, scanning for anything worthwhile, but every passage blurred together with the same diplomatic accounts of battles and political maneuvers.
This wasn't what I needed.
Where were the real records? The ones that weren't filtered and sanitized for the Academy archives?
A heavy sigh left my lips as I pushed back the last book I'd been browsing, rubbing my temples before letting my forehead fall onto the table with a soft thud.
"Stars above," I muttered, banging my head lightly against the wood.
Professor Calix was right.
If we wanted real answers, we had to look beyond the standard texts.
As if summoned by my thoughts, a voice laced with amusement spoke from my left.
"You seem to be doing a banging job digging for these answers."
I snapped upright, turning to face the sharp green eyes of Rhydan.
Well, Professor Calix.
My brows lifted. "Did you seriously just make a pun?"
His smirk was infuriatingly unrepentant. "You're the one smacking your head against the table. I'm simply stating the obvious."
I narrowed my eyes. "Stating the obvious or enjoying my misery?"
Rhydan shrugged. "A little of both."
Typical.
His gaze flicked over the pile of books stacked haphazardly in front of me, his brows raising slightly.
"I take it the research isn't going so well?"
I exhaled, rubbing the back of my neck. "You could say that."
He leaned against the table, crossing his arms, the picture of casual amusement. "Weren't you supposed to be doing all this browsing with your partner?"
I blinked. Oh. Right.
He thought I was working on his History project. For a split second, I debated telling him the truth. Then I thought about explaining why I was knee-deep in war records, digging for information on a resurrected Noctari King, while my supposed sister was possibly being groomed by him.
Yeah, no.
I forced a nonchalant shrug. "Well, my partner is somewhere outside, probably sulking. So I thought I'd get us a head start."
Rhydan smirked, clearly entertained. "I see. Taking initiative. I like that."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. So, you're just wandering the library, or are you actually here for something?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he glanced back at the books, tilting his head slightly. "Found anything interesting yet?"
I scoffed. "If by 'interesting' you mean barely useful and painfully vague, then sure. Tons."
His smirk deepened. "Ah. Welcome to the world of academic censorship."
I frowned. "Censorship?"
He pushed off the table, grabbing the nearest book and flipping it open. "You didn't think they actually put everything into these records, did you?"
Something in his tone made my pulse tick up a notch.
I narrowed my eyes. "You're saying there's more?"
Rhydan looked at me, gaze sharp, assessing. "I'm saying… you're not going to find what you're really looking for in standard archives."
I inhaled slowly. And where exactly was I supposed to look?
I pushed back my sleeves, snatching the only scroll from the pile.
Unfurling it delicately, I analyzed the contents, scanning for anything that might be more useful than the glorified propaganda written in the books.
"How about the scrolls?" I asked, not bothering to look up.
Silence. No response.
A weird tension settled over the table.
I frowned, finally glancing up, only to find Rhydan staring at my arms.
Oh. Fuck. Me.
I had completely forgotten about the red lashes still gracing my skin. They weren't as raw as yesterday, but they were still deep, angry, the kind of marks that shouldn't be there without a very good explanation.
My stomach dropped.
Not too subtly, I yanked my sleeves back down, pretending to focus on the scroll in front of me, praying to the moons and stars that he wouldn't ask. That he would let it go.
That he would--
"You weren't in my class yesterday."
Shit.
I forced myself to meet his gaze, keeping my expression carefully neutral.
"No. I didn't come to school."
Rhydan's green eyes stayed locked onto mine, his sharp gaze unreadable.
I could feel him watching me, studying me the way he did when students gave him half-answers in class, when he knew there was more to the story.
"Any particular reason?" His voice was casual. Too casual.
Think, Athena. Lie? Deflect? Play it off?
Because one thing was certain, Rhydan Calix did not miss things.
And right now, he definitely wasn't missing this.
Always the Queen of Deflection, I latched onto the first thing that had been nagging at me since I walked into school this morning.
"What happened to the guards and the high security measures? Didn't see them when I came in today."
Rhydan's eyebrows lifted slightly, but if he was surprised by my sudden topic change, he didn't show it.
Leaning back against the table, he answered. "The Council got involved."
His tone was light, but there was an underlying edge, something just beneath the surface that I couldn't quite place.
"When they did their own assessment of the situation, they found nothing concerning." He paused, then added, "They ruled it as a random incident. And retracted the guards."
I scoffed. "A random incident?"
Rhydan shrugged. "That's the official statement."
Yeah. And I had a unicorn for a pet.
I narrowed my eyes, drumming my fingers against the scroll in front of me. "And do you believe that?"
For a second, he just watched me, expression unreadable. Then, with a slow smirk, he said, "I believe that's the version they want us to accept."
A non-answer. A very telling non-answer.
The Council wasn't just ignoring something, they were covering something up.
Did they suspect that the Noctari King was back as well?
I glanced at the time rune pulsing faintly on the corner of the library's enchanted wall. Shit.
I pushed the scrolls away, grabbing my bag as I stood. "I've got to go, or I'll be late for my next class."
Rhydan didn't move. Didn't blink.
Just watched me with that calm, knowing look of his, the kind that made you feel like he saw more than he should.
"If you want real answers, Athena," he said smoothly, "you'll have to seek out people who actually lived it."
I frowned. "What?"
His smirk was infuriatingly vague. "For your research."
Right.
The research. The one I was supposedly doing for his class.
I forced a casual nod, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "I'll keep that in mind."
Rhydan said nothing, but I could feel his gaze lingering as I turned and walked out of the library.
The moment I stepped into the hallway, the tension in my chest tightened.
He wasn't just talking about history books. He was telling me something.
Something I needed to hear. And the worst part?
I had a feeling he knew exactly what I was looking for.
The last class for the day was Mystic Combat Theory, one I shared with Ezzy and Jade.
To be honest, I did way better in theory than I ever did on the actual training grounds. Strategy, tactics, understanding how to win a fight without throwing a punch, that, I could handle.
But when it came to actually sparring? Yeah… not exactly my strong suit.
By the time I stepped into the classroom, both Ezzy and Jade were already there.
The row where they were sitting was already full.
I scanned the room, looking for an open seat when I caught a familiar face waving from across the room.
Rey.
She gestured toward an empty seat beside her, her dark eyes gleaming with something half-amused, half-curious.
I hesitated for only a second before making my way over, dropping into the seat.
"You looked like you were about to bolt," Rey teased, leaning back in her chair.
I snorted, adjusting my bag. "If I wanted to bolt, I wouldn't have stepped through that door."
She smirked. "True. Though, judging by your face, I'm guessing you'd rather be anywhere but here."
I huffed. "Something like that."
Before she could pry further, the sound of Professor Marius striding into the room cut off our conversation.
Class was starting.
And for the next hour, I needed to do something I had been failing at all day.
Focus.
I never expected this, but sitting with Rey was actually fun.
Mystic Combat Theory wasn't just tactics and spell formations, it was full of case studies, historical battles, and strategic puzzles that required actual thinking.
And somehow, we made a great team cracking through each scenario, tossing theories back and forth, arguing over the best counterattacks, and occasionally roasting the worst recorded battle decisions in history.
At one point, Rey nudged my arm, smirking. "Okay, but tell me this wasn't the dumbest strategy you've ever seen."
I glanced at the illustrated battle map in front of us, snorting. "Charging straight into an ambush without backup? Yeah, that guy basically handed himself over on a silver platter."
"Right?!" Rey threw up her hands. "Like, what was he even thinking?"
I grinned, shaking my head.
For the first time in what felt like days, I wasn't completely lost in my own thoughts.
By the time the bell rang, announcing the end of the school day, we looked like a pair of goofy teenagers, still laughing about a joke Rey made on one of the last case studies.
"I gotta say, Athens," Rey grinned, stuffing her notes into her bag. "You make class way more entertaining."
I raised a brow, smirking. "Good to know my sarcasm is appreciated somewhere."
She chuckled. "Oh, definitely. We should do this more often."
I hesitated for half a second before nodding. "Yeah. We should."
For once, I didn't immediately regret saying yes. The thought was barely finished when I felt eyes on me.
I turned slightly, only to lock eyes with Jade.
She was standing by the door with Ezzy, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
And just like that, the weight of everything I had been avoiding all day came crashing back.