Chapter 131

FELIX

We traversed the countryside for days.

In every village and small town, it was the same story. Villagers were extremely wary of the royal guards, some even outright refusing to speak to our little brigade. Christopher and the other guards tried hard to be as upbeat and cheerful as possible, but things were definitely looking bad.

Reports from other groups of guards had similar tones. No one had found even the slightest trace of Mila. There were no sightings of a woman who fit her description, and all of our interviews of castle staff did not reveal any strange activity around Esmeralda’s chambers that day.

Fresonia had very few big cities–outside of Fresia and Carnea, all other civilization was mainly confined to small towns and villages. We combed through those small towns for days on end, and with each passing hour I became more and more discouraged.

I returned to the castle feeling more despondent than ever.

Just as I reached the edge of our back courtyard, a shudder went through the earth–and my body. It was almost like an earthquake, but instead of a shaking, it was more of a wave. It was the strangest sensation as my body rocked with it, as if responding to the natural phenomenon.

I looked around, but there was no sign of a disturbance anywhere.

It must have just been a trick of my mind. I had gone several days without sleep or even really eating, and I could tell that my body and mind were right at their limits. If I kept this up for much longer, I feared I’d collapse again.

I pushed my hallucination aside and trotted back into the courtyard, shame burning a hole in my chest. I had failed, in so many ways, and so spectacularly to boot.

I had wanted to track down Mila, but the overwhelming knowledge that my civilians, the people I was bound to protect and serve, all hated me. They hated that I was keeping secrets, and truthfully, I was starting to hate myself a little bit, too.

I slid off the horse, my feet hitting the dirt of the courtyard with a solid thump. As soon as they did, the doors to the castle were thrown open and Esmeralda scurried out.

The witch had a manic thrill in her eye, one I had not seen in a long, long time. That could only mean one thing–she found something.

“Did you find Mila?!” I asked, jogging over to her.

Esmeralda’s face fell slightly and she shook her head. “Still no sign of her. I’m sorry, Felix.”

I swallowed. “Of course. Thank you for researching anyways. We were rather unsuccessful on our travels as well.”

“But I found something else,” Esmeralda continued, a glint in her eye. “Something that could help us.”

I followed her up the hundreds of stairs to her tower, my heartbeat pounding in my ears with each step.

When Esmeralda threw open the doors to her chambers, I nearly gasped at the sight. My heart leaped into my throat.

Hovering above her potions table was a three-dimensional map of the seven magical kingdoms, completely created to scale. The entire map was several yards wide and nearly three feet tall, and the entire thing glowed with a translucent light.

Magic.

“What do you see?” Esmeralda asked desperately, gesturing to the map.

I studied the kingdoms for a few moments before it caught my eye: there, deep in the Dragon’s Teeth mountains, was a burst of light. It flared brightly above the stone crevices and tall trees surrounding it.

The mountain in question was at the exact geographical center of the seven magical kingdoms, at its true heart.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the light.

Esmeralda’s eyes lit up again. “That, my dear, is a magical flare.”

My brow furrowed. “A magical flare?”

“Approximately twenty minutes ago, this flare went up. It was like a power surge that shook throughout the kingdoms,” Esmeralda explained.

So that was what I had felt. Magic.

“I felt it as I was riding in,” I said slowly. “It went through all the land around me. I thought I was hallucinating.”

Esmeralda clapped her hands together. I had never seen the witch so giddy.

“I recognize this magic,” she continued. “Many years ago, an enchantress named Sofia placed me in charge of guarding the royal family. She protected the magic of the kingdoms. Many have forgotten her now, but she was the greatest enchantress who ever lived. Perhaps she’s returned at last, to help us all in this time of need.”

“And how many years ago was this?” I asked. I had never asked Esmeralda how she came to be an advisor for the royal family in the first place, but I was always curious. I was intimately familiar with Fresonian history, and I’d never heard of this Sofia.

“Oh,” Esmeralda said dismissively, “about a thousand years ago.”

My jaw dropped. “How old are you?”

It was the one question I had never dared to ask Esmeralda.

Her eyes twinkled mischievously. “Don’t you know better than to ask a lady her age, Felix?”

Now I did. I was terrified to ask any further questions.

“You think this Sofia person is in the mountains?” I asked impatiently. I wasn’t really sure where Esmeralda was going with this, and frankly, I did not have time for any nonsense.

“I don’t know for sure,” Esmeralda admitted. “It feels so similar to her magic, but she’s been missing for a thousand years. I was almost certain I had imagined her existence until I felt that magic again.”

“Do you think Sofia could help us find Mila?” My voice came out a bit more desperate than I was intending, but I was desperate.

“I think,” Esemeralda said slowly, “that this is a very special location. Whoever sent out that flare, intentionally or not, was in those mountains for a reason.”

I stared at her, an idea sinking in. “The library.”

“What?” Esmeralda turned back to me, finally tearing her eyes away from the map.

“That’s where the Library of Magic is. I can guarantee it.” I said. The more I spoke, the more I knew I was right.

Esmeralda’s eyes widened. “That would certainly explain why it felt like Sofia’s magic.”

“How fast can you get me there?” I asked, pointing to the spot. “Normally I’d take Ignatius, but he’s too sick to fly.”

Esmeralda’s joy dimmed at the mention of the dragons. She knew how much their illness weighed heavily on the entire royal family.

“I can create a portal for you,” she said eventually. “It will take a great deal of my strength and remaining magic, but this is the exact type of thing we were holding out for.”

“Charles found answers about Mila there,” I said, hope starting to blossom in my heart. “I can only hope I can do the same.”

“The library is ancient,” Emeralda warned me. “Be careful around that kind of old magic. It can be tricky.”

“There are answers there,” I said again. “I have to find them.”

Esmeralda sighed and pressed her hands into the table. Suddenly, the map dissolved into what looked like an open hole, leading me directly into a snowy mountain forest.

“Be careful,” Esmeralda whispered again.

I gave her a nod of gratitude before stepping through the portal.