Hand in hand, they set out upon the path.
Neither spoke. The air between them was heavy with silence, thick as mist. Lyanna cast a fleeting glance toward Vaelith, but asked nothing neither where they were headed nor what awaited them ahead.
The world around them was drenched in darkness.
On both sides rose walls that seemed endless towers of black crystal glimmering faintly, sharp as if a single touch could slice through skin. The ground beneath their feet echoed softly, the sound swallowed by the void.
At last, Vaelith came to a halt. His gaze lifted toward the unseen height above.
"Do you think you can manage," he asked, voice low and even, "or should I carry you?"
Lyanna blinked, uncertain if she'd heard him correctly. The faintest curve touched his lips as he read the confusion in her eyes.
"There's a staircase ahead," he explained, tilting his head slightly toward the dark ascent. "Ninety nine steps. Long, and steep. You've walked far perhaps too far. You look exhausted."
Before she could respond, his tone shifted quiet, teasing.
"If you can't, I'll carry you. I'm not weak."
The words caught her off guard. Heat flared in her cheeks as she straightened, flustered.
"I can walk," she said quickly, looking away.
And without waiting for his reply, she started up the stairs.
But before long, her breath began to falter. She paused midway, one hand gripping the railing, chest rising and falling fast.
"I told you," Vaelith murmured behind her, amusement threading through his voice, "you wouldn't make it."
Lyanna frowned. She could almost feel him smiling.
When she asked for a short rest, he shook his head.
"There's no time," he said. "If we delay, it may already be too late."
She opened her mouth to arguebbut he moved first.
Vaelith stepped ahead, knelt before her, and said quietly, "Hold onto me. I'll take you."
Lyanna froze.
"I " she began, but he cut her hesitation short.
"If you think I said that because I see you as fragile, you're wrong," he said softly. "You've come this far already. The weak don't endure that."
Something in his tone disarmed her. Without another word, she rested her hands on his shoulders.
Vaelith rose, lifting her effortlessly, and continued the climb. His steps were steady and unshaken, his breath calm even as the stairway stretched endlessly above. Lyanna couldn't help but stare he didn't even seem tired.
At the summit, Vaelith withdrew a slender object from his coat a key shaped like silver flame.
He pressed it into a circular mark on the dark door before them. Light rippled across the surface like water, and with a soft, echoing hum, the door yielded open.
Inside lay a chamber vast enough to swallow sound itself.
Books. Endless shelves of them millions, perhaps more stretching far beyond sight, their spines glowing faintly under the dim light.
Lyanna's eyes widened.
"Where are we?" she whispered. "You said you'd help me get home. So why bring me here?"
Her voice trembled, threaded with confusion and a quiet ache.
Vaelith's smile was faint, almost bitter.
"You think this is far from home?" he asked. "Listen, Lyanna the place I found you… that was a pit of torment. A snare. You were caught in their trap. I can't pull you out of it, not by force. I can only guide you toward escape."
"What do you mean you can't?" she demanded. "Why not?"
"How could I?" he murmured.
"I can't take you back," he interrupted quietly. "I'm bound here too "
His voice deepened, heavy with something unspoken. "You ended up here because of your own choices or perhaps fate's cruelty. I didn't bring you as punishment, Lyanna. You walked into the same snare I did."
For a moment, silence stretched between them then Vaelith spoke again.
"Still, the answers our answers are in these books"
he said, his gaze sweeping across the shelves. "Somewhere within these books hides the truth.Every question has its key, written here. I've searched for years and found only few fragments. But today may be different."
He hesitated , He looked around the room ..
"This library belongs to someone else. I've watched it from afar for years. Its master comes only once every month. When it does, new books appear ones brings from outside. Today is that day. That's why I brought you here… we don't have much time."
Lyanna's heart quickened.
"So if today weren't the day " she said softly, "what would have happened to me? And… what about my home?"
Vaelith studied her for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
"I don't know," he admitted. "If not for today, I would have taken you to my place instead. You've been there before though you may remember ....beggar "
Lyanna's brows furrowed.
"I'm not a beggar!" she snapped, stepping back. "And what does tursom mean, anyway?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he reached for her hand.
"Later," he said quietly. "There's no time now. The master could return any moment. Help me search the books will reveal what we need."
He led her between the towering shelves. The room was enormous, rows upon rows of books stacked higher than sight could reach. Each shelf seemed to hum faintly with strange energy .
"Most of these are empty," Vaelith explained , gesturing upward
"When I searched alone, it took years to find anything real. But with you here… and with my power… we might stand a chance."
Lyanna tilted her head, "Your power?" she asked.
He nodded.
"I can command lightning's motion. If I release it, the air will lift the books. As they float, their pages will turn and you'll look for the ones that aren't blank."
Her mind spun with questions, yet she only nodded. Something about his voice made her trust him.
Vaelith closed his eyes, raised his hands, and drew in a silent breath. The air trembled. A pulse of light rippled outward, and one by one, the books began to rise levitating, swirling gently as pages fluttered like wings of silver paper.
Lyanna darted between them, scanning each page, wonder gleaming in her eyes until a sound shattered the stillness.
The great door creaked open.
She turned sharply.
In the golden light of the doorway stood a woman so breathtakingly beautiful that the world seemed to hold its breath.Her eyes, large and glimmering red rosecaught the light , her lips soft as petals. Her long hair shimmered in shades of violet and silver. The gown she wore a blend of white and lavender flowed like mist. She was beauty made flesh, radiant and unreal.
The scent of roses drifted through the air soft, sweet, almost intoxicating. It clung to the woman like an unseen veil, every movement of hers stirring it gently.
Lyanna could only stare, struck silent. How can someone be this beautiful? she thought.
The woman's beauty was so radiant it felt unreal, as though she had stepped out of some forgotten dream.
Then, unbidden, another thought whispered in her mind
Would Vaelith find her beautiful too?
Her heart gave a strange little jolt confusion, curiosity… something else she didn't dare name.
Slowly, she turned toward him
Vaelith sat cross legged on the floor, a book open in his hands . His expression remained unreadable calm, steady while his fingers turned the glowing pages of a book he had apparently just found..
Rosielle..!!