Chapter 128

MILA

I stared at that stone door, feeling something tighten in my chest at the sight of it. It felt so familiar, and not just from the memories Sofia had shown me.

The air around me grew still, as if the whole world was holding its breath.

I knew somehow, deep in my soul, that behind that door lay the remaining answers I was looking for. This was where Sofia had buried all her secrets, where she herself had laid to rest a thousand years ago. This was the exact location of the severing of magic from a majority of Fresonia’s citizens, where Sofia had effectively ripped herself out of history.

It was odd, standing here. In many ways, it felt like I’d been here a hundred times before.

In many ways, I had.

My life, and all of my past lives that came before it, had all led to this very moment: Mila Benson in front of the Library of Magic.

A tiny part of me was afraid to go in. There was a small part of me that wanted to go searching for Felix straightaway, to put all of these notions of magic behind me.

But there was no going back now. I could never return to my once-comfortable, familiar life. Everything I once thought about myself was a lie, and I knew deep down that my true self somehow lay beyond those doors.

Before I found Felix, I needed to find myself.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the stone door. There were ancient markings over the entryway:

LIBRARY OF MAGIC

But below that, there were smaller, lighter markings, easy to overlook, especially if one did not know what they were looking at. Despite the fact that I never learned to read the old language of magic, I knew exactly what it said:

ONLY THOSE WITH MAGIC IN THEIR BLOOD MAY ENTER

TAKE NOTHING BUT KNOWLEDGE WITH YOU

LEAVE NOTHING BUT DISCOVERIES BEHIND

CREATED BY SOFIA LA WALLE AT THE DAWN OF FRESONIA

I ran my fingers over those etchings, feeling that aching sensation of magic shoot its way up my arm. There was a small tingling feeling in the back of my head, and I closed my eyes tightly.

I was suddenly struck with a series of images. No, not images–memories.

I stood at the gaping entrance to the library I created, nearly weeping at the advancements in magical knowledge that would soon be locked behind the stone. This was the only way forward, especially now that my curse was in place.

My heart was broken, an empty, black hole in my chest. The last few days had quite literally nearly killed me, but I had nearly destroyed everything I loved, too. This was the only path forward if I ever was to right all my wrongs.

From deep inside me, I summoned a powerful spell, one that rolled a large stone from the clearing into the doorway of the library. My powers shaped it into a door, sliding it slowly and carefully into place.

I was about to head further into the forest to complete my mission when a thought struck me. I wanted someone to find this library eventually, to unlock its secrets, and to break my curse. The only way they would be tempted to enter was if they had a taste of what was inside.

I laid my hand on the stone, watching runes etch their way across the door. The words that now were written there made it clear that this was a safe haven for all magical beings, at least, the ones who were left.

With a heavy heart, I took one last look at the library, and headed into the forest.

Sofia’s memories.

They were now intertwined with my own, as clear as day. It was as easy as looking back into my life a few months or years ago. I wondered how many other buried memories were lying in my brain, just waiting to be found.

I laid my hand on the stone. I knew what I needed to do.

The door easily slid open for me, a dark, gaping entrance just beyond. A single lantern shone in the dim light. The library smelled ancient, and had I not known about Charles’ own journey, I would have thought no one had entered the library since its genesis.

I stepped through the door and all the lanterns in the library flared to life.

It felt like a homecoming. I knew the second I took another step that this place was intrinsically tied to my own soul.

There were rows and rows of stacks, books that stretched out for what felt like miles. I knew that some of them were magically created by Sofia, enshrining all her knowledge into those pages, but some of them were texts even older than the enchantress. She had been in possession of powerful books dating back to the printing press.

What was in this library was all the knowledge of magic in the world.

And right now, it was all at my fingertips.

I didn’t even need to look at the titles of the books to know what each book was about. It was as if the tomes were whispering to me, telling me what was inside those pages. With each step, I could feel power surging into my blood, my magic finally awakening in the presence of the books.

The magic was like fire in my veins, flaring with every breath I took. I didn’t need a tutorial on spells or protections, somehow knowing that the magic would come instinctively to me in my time of need.

I had made it only a few stacks into the library when I found the book I was looking for: the one detailing the curse on Felix and the legend of the Destined Bride.

The book was extremely straightforward, with one great exception: there was no mention of Sofia or Samuel, and even (and especially) their love. All it said was a great enchantress cast the curse, and it almost made it sound like it was cast for Felix specifically.

I could see where Charles had gotten giddy–there was a short paragraph discussing how the prince’s pain could be temporarily cured by the death of his Destined Bride, despite the fact that when you turned the page, it made clear that this was only a temporary solution.

There it was, clear on the next page: the curse could only be broken by a spell cast by the Destined Bride herself.

It was startling to see it all spelled out in black and white. I tucked the book under my arm and headed further into the stacks.

I knew that I could turn around now, walk out into the mountains and leave with exactly what I’d come looking for. But I also knew that if I just took a few steps further into the Library, I could learn everything that Sofia once knew.

I could become just as powerful as my past self, if not even more so. And with that power, I could heal the kingdom that I loved so dear, the kingdom that I had once given my life for.

I walked further into the library.