Chapter 16 - Nyssa

Chapter 16 Nyssa

I’d been staring at the library for the past few minutes while Roan apologized. It wasn’t his fault the adventurers had shown up, but it was his fault for egging Jade on. She’dprobably cause more problems later, but my thoughts were on something else entirely.

Was the library alive ? Or was my imagination just playing tricks on me?

Magical libraries were part of the fabric of our society, but this had never happened before, at least not as far as I knew. Still, it felt like it was aware of what was going on around it, and it was capable of action.

Sentience.

I had to test my theory and figure out the truth.

“Weren’t you leaving?” I asked, sounding a little blunter than I’d meant to. “For your job I mean, weren’t you going off to do other missions?”

I had to know, because if he was going to walk away, he shouldn’t get to know the library’s best kept secret. Or laugh at me if I was wrong about the whole thing. Not that I thought he’d actually do that. Ugh. This was all such a mess. Why was he thinking about leaving now when we were on the verge of something amazing?

For the library...and between us.

I thought we’d been getting closer lately, but maybe that was all my imagination too. Getting lost in a romance novel was a lot easier than trying to experience your own.

Roan paced next to me, still not answering my question. I pulled my gaze away from the library to look at him, and when our gazes met, he stopped in his tracks.

“Nyssa...”

The way he said my name, soft and intimate, made me want to tell him everything racing through my mind even if he was leaving. I wanted to know his opinion on it, see what he’d come up with for how to figure out if the library was alive or not. I could ask it directly, sure, but how would it answer?

Wait.

The story spirits seemed to know what the library was thinking. All those times they said things like the library was abandoned or it didn’t trust people made more sense now. They acted like the library was a friend, like they were its protectors.

Had the library summoned them because it was...lonely?

Books had been my best friends for a few years too, but this was different. If the library had actually pulled characters out of their books for company, then it wasn’t just sentient. It had feelings, hopes, maybe even dreams.

How could I let a library like that fade away?

I had to know what was real and what wasn’t before I let my mind wander anymore.

“Here’s the deal, Roan. The library needs me, so if you’re leaving, I’d really prefer you just leave now.” I took a cautious step closer. “But if you want to stay, if you want to keep helping the library, you’re more than welcome to.”

The corner of his lips quirked up in a smile. “It almost sounds like you want me to stay.”

“That’s not what I said at all.” I rolled my eyes, but felt myself smiling back. “I just don’t want to get the story spirits’ hopes up if you’re going to leave soon. A clean break is better, before they get more attached to you.”

Before I got more attached.

He stared at me for a bit too long. I glanced away, turning back to the library as if it would somehow show me if it was alive or not if I looked hard enough. But this time, my gaze kept flicking back to Roan.

Would he leave? Or would he stay with me?

“Okay, I’ll stay for a while longer,” he said, “until we can make sure the library is safe. Jade won’t let this go and that’s my fault, so you shouldn’t have to pay the price for our issues.”

The tightness in my chest loosened and I felt like I could breathe easier. He was going to stay. Not forever, of course, but long enough to help the library and for me to figure out what I actually felt about him.

That would have to be good enough for now.

“Then we’ve got a new mission.” I grinned, excitement charging every step I took toward the library. “We’re going to figure out if the library is sentient or not.”

“Sentient?” Roan asked, disbelief in his voice. “Where’d that come from?”

“You’ll see.” I rested my hand on the door, feeling magic flowing through it.

This library had comforted me and filled my childhood with adventures. If it was sentient, if it knew what was happening, then that changed everything. I hadn’t just been a kid having fun at the library. I’d been a kid spending time with a friend...

“If you’re alive,” I whispered, “please, please find a way to let me know.”

The door creaked open, sending a shiver through me. This was so insane, but exciting at the same time. After I’d been thrown out the first day, this door had stayed shut with almost unnatural force. Nothing I’d done had budged it, almost like the library itself had refused to let me in. But now? It welcomed me with open doors.

I stepped inside slowly with a new reverence for the place. Roan followed me, silent but curious as his gaze swept the area.

“Library?” I called out, not sure what to actually call it. Maybe using its proper name would be better. “Misty Mountain Library?”

Roan’s lips twitched.

“Do you have a better idea?” I asked him.

His gaze fell on a pile of books next to one of the reading chairs. “Even if it’s sentient, it might not be able to talk like you and me. Try asking for a book instead.”

Asking for a book, huh? When I was younger, books used to fly through the air like beautiful birds, flapping from the book tree to the shelves like it was the most natural thing in the world. Had the library been directing them even back then?

I walked over to the great book tree, reaching my hand out to touch its bark. Magic thrummed under my fingers, warm and inviting. If anything was the soul of this library, it was the tree, so I should talk to it here.

My throat felt tight. What if I asked it something and nothing happened? I could be wrong about the whole thing and make a fool of myself. Roan stood behind me, resting his hand on my shoulder. I drew from his strength, his confidence filling me. This was my library and I had to know the truth.

“Library,” my voice was barely above a whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m looking for a good romance novel. Do you have any suggestions?”

I closed my eyes, too anxious to even look, but the sounds of the book tree’s branches swaying made me open them again. One of the branches brushed against my shoulder where Roan’s hand was. That had to be the wind. Right?

A book flapped through the air, hovering in front of me like a curious bird waiting to see if I had any seed. I reached out for it and the book settled into my hands, no longer moving. The cover was vibrant and eye-catching, the title Divine Duelist scrolled across the top. It was a romance novel about magical card game players mixed up with mythological gods.

The library had sent me a romance novel. Just like I’d asked.

“You’re really alive,” I said, happy tears filling my eyes. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

Roan’s grip on my shoulder loosened as he moved to examine the tree. “Well, I’ll be damned. It really can understand you. Is that because you’re the librarian or does it listen to everyone?” He tilted his head. “Library, could you find me a good action-adventure story?”

He’d accepted my theory so quickly. No arguing, no mocking. Nothing but trust. My heart swelled as I blinked back tears of relief. His trust reassured me as stoutly as his sword protected me. He’d probably seen all sorts of magical things as an adventurer, so if it made sense to him, then I couldn’t be that crazy.

Another book that looked like it was about one thousand pages flapped through the air, dipping low every once in a while since it was so large, before dropping in front of Roan like a rock.

“That is so cool.” Roan grinned as he took a seat, flipping through the book.

I ran my hands across one of the book tree’s leaves. “Thank you.”

The branch curled around my hand, magic tickling my senses.

The library was alive.

No matter how many times I thought that, it still felt monumental, like one of the world’s great secrets had been entrusted to me.

“I have so many questions,” I said, not sure where to even start. “Is there a better way to communicate with you? Writing maybe?”

“I can help with that,” Lisa called out from behind us.She smiled, giving me a knowing look. “We thought you might want to talk in person.”

My mouth dropped open. “Then you really can communicate with the library! Why’d you kept it a secret all this time?”

“It’s all very new,” she said, taking a seat beside the tree, “and I didn’t want to put the library at risk if the wrong people found out. Who knows what they’d think of a library that could think.”

A library that could think. What a beautiful concept.

Roan nodded. “That was a good idea. I’ve never heard of another library being alive like this one and people always get weird when new or strange things happen. Just look at how they’re treating you guys.”

“Exactly,” Lisa said, pouring herself a cup of cold tea that Mochi must have left out. “So we decided to be cautious and keep it to ourselves.”

I frowned at the book tree. “Why tell me then? And why now?”

“Honestly?” Lisa sighed. “We pushed you away at first because we didn’t trust you. You could have gotten our hopes up, torn the place apart trying to improve it, and then lost interest and left. That would have crushed what little spirit the library had left and we wanted its last months or years to be happy. We had no hope of it coming back to life. But the harder you worked, and the more joy you brought to this place, the more we thought it might be possible.”

I blinked away more tears, feeling far more emotional than I’d expected. These story spirits believed in me enough for the library to reveal its greatest secret.

“Is every magical library alive?” I asked.

My question hung in the air, heavy and full of implications. If every library was alive, we had to rethink the whole concept of magical libraries and their librarians. We should be more like caretakers than anything else, making sure they were happy and healthy and loved. Definitely loved.

Lisa lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t think a library has ever been able to communicate before, not like this one. So if they are sentient, nobody knew about it.” She sipped her tea, frowning at it like she just realized it was cold. “The wild magic storm changed everything here by allowing the library to summon us. Through us, it found new ways of communicating. It’s grown bold and intelligent.”

The library was learning.

Excitement danced through my body. I wished Oren was here to hear all this so he could get to researching right away.

This library had taken care of me as a child, welcomed me into its shelves, and showed me wonderful books. I’d felt its soul even then, but when I grew older, I’d brushed it off as a childhood fantasy.

But now?

Now I would do everything I could to protect it. To repay it for all the years it had taken care of me.

“What do you need me to do?” I asked.

Lisa smiled. “Prepare for the Tales and Tomes festival. We need it to be the most amazing festival anyone’s seen in years to ensure we get the gods’ blessing. Your passion has inspired us all, so we’ll help as much as we can.” She gazed up at the great book tree, wonder filling her eyes. “If this library hadn’t gotten lonely, I wouldn’t even be here. I owe it everything and more. It gave me life. It chose me.”

It felt like it had chosen me too. Like I’d been working toward this my entire life.

“Then we’ll start preparing for a festival,” I said confidently.

The Tales and Tomes festival was the biggest story festival of the year. Celebrations lasted for an entire month, filled with new writers penning stories and wonderful readers sharing their favorites. Passion for books was the heart of the festival and magical libraries were at its core.

Every library around the world could participate, but people expected them to go all out if they did. The popular libraries were full to the brim every year for the final celebration, but smaller libraries often struggled to have enough people to make it worth it.

We’d have to outshine every library around if we were going to get enough patrons to make this festival a success. With all of us working as a team, we’d make this festival one that nobody would ever forget.

Because the Misty Mountain Library was counting on us.