Nyssa's Point of View

Chapter 16

I'd been staring at the library for the past few minutes while Roan apologized about all the issues he'd caused for us. It wasn't his fault the adventurers showed up, but it was his fault for egging Sylas on a bit. I knew Sylas would 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 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 more blunt 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. Sylas 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, kept me company when I was lonely, 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...

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"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 library. 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 just making a fool of myself. Roan stood behind me, resting his hand on my shoulder. Confidence filled me, drawing from his strength. 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?"

Hearing him so quickly accepting my theory was reassuring. 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 said with a grin 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," a woman's voice called out from behind us. I spun around, spotting Lisa coming out of the stacks. She smiled, giving me a knowing look. "We thought you might want to talk in person."

My mouth dropped open. "So 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 also 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 and 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. "The library's running out of time. If it can't get the story gods' blessing at the festival in a few weeks, it's going to fade away. We need you."

Fade away. They'd mentioned that before too and I'd read about it in school. Magical libraries needed patrons, otherwise they'd wither away like a dying plant until they were part of the earth again. The cycle of life and all. But now that we knew they were sentient, that added a whole new level of horrible to the situation.

"Is it dying?" I asked, swallowing hard. "Is the library dying?"

She shook her head. "Magical libraries never die. When they fade away, they're reborn in another location, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. They go where the people are and that's the only way they can move."

Well that sure wasn't in the textbooks, but it made sense.

"Does that mean that every magical library is alive?"

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.

We'd make this festival the best festival it could be. One that nobody would ever forget.