Page 97 of A Whisper of Cinders

That breaks my train of thought. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Is everything alright?” Ami asks, the worry clear in her eyes. Would she still be my friend if she knows I’m an unstable force of fire or that I keep longing for the kiss of her brother?

“Yes. Sorry, I’m a little distracted. I have a history class to go to?”

I know Mrs Delalune said something about starting my lessons, I just wasn’t expecting it to be this soon.

“Well, I can’t really say it’s a class. The students that go here already know the history and since you don’t… Well, Mrs Delalune asked Sirideán to explain it to you. He’s a remarkable storyteller and has the knowledge of where it all began.”

“So, he is old?”

“Fae don’t really like that word, let’s just say he’s lived many lives.”

That’s a vague description. I do wonder how old fae get. I assume older than the average human, but does that mean they live fifty more years or are we talking about centuries?

“Are you coming?”

Ami already stands, tray in one hand, and walks towards the cleaning area. I quickly do the same and follow her into the hallway. When we reach an ancient looking door, she halts.

“This is where I leave you, I’ll see you tonight? You don’t have to eat, there will be lots of delicious things to enjoy there.”

She winks, just in the same way her brother does. I ignore her, turn back to the door, knock and push it open.

It feels like I’ve stepped into another world. Books seem to be everywhere, cases so tall they reach the ceiling, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say I’ve entered another library. A smaller one than the one I’ve been in with Aramis, but still, there are more books than I can count.

A winding staircase leads to a mezzanine with — no surprise — more books and all kinds of crystals hang from the ceiling, creating a colourful design on the floor due to the light. In the centre of the room stands a circular table of the darkest onyx, the top looking near liquid. I move closer, transfixed by the sight of it. The urge to dip my finger into the smooth surface is overruling every single thought, but as I reach out, the table ripples and something is being shaped.

I take a step back and wait.

Seconds pass and a world forms in front of my eyes. Mountains rise, trees stand tall, rivers run through the landscape and enormous buildings and small villages erupt at different locations. Yet, a huge part of the map is covered in mist where green veins flash through like poisonous lightning.

And deep down I know this map belongs to Thyralune. This is where I currently am.

“It didn’t always look like this.”

I startle and turn around to the male who spoke, placing a hand across my thunderous heart.

He looks young and ancient at the same time, like most fae of age do. His piercing eyes are kind and possess a wisdom that can only be obtained by life. His white hair is braided, so is his beard, bits of gemstone are woven in through the strands and it contrasts beautifully with his darker shade of skin.

“Oh, pardon me, miss, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s alright, sir, I was admiring this wonderful table and…this appeared out of nowhere," I respond as I gesture towards the halfhidden map.

“No need for the sir, Sirideán is just fine. It is peculiar. ”

I frown. “What is?”

“For this map to appear. Did you touch it?”

Deciding honesty will get me the furthest, I say: “I was very tempted to do so, but I didn’t.”

He nods, as if that actually makes sense. “I see. Well, I believe you do owe some explanation of what you can see.” He gestures to the right of the map and it immediately zooms in. I assume it’s the Academy, but it doesn’t look like the old, spooky building at all. “This is where we are right now, Moonveil Academy for Magic.” The name appears as if written by hand as soon as he is done speaking.

Wait. “For Magic?”

“Ah, yes, they did tell you it was ‘for Mankind’, didn’t they?” I nod and he offers me a sympathetic smile. “I assume you understand why they initially did so?”

I nod again. I probably would’ve thought they were nuts, but I’m not that judgemental. The magic wouldn’t have made any sense at that point though.