The Grand Library loomed before him as the fourth bell's echo faded. Massive structure of living stone and ancient knowledge, vaulted ceilings disappearing into shadow. Floating lights drifted like lazy fireflies between endless shelves spiraling both upward and downward into darkness.

  Akilliz descended. First floor down: still students, still safe. Second floor down: serious scholars, enchantments humming. Third floor down: almost empty, air heavy with secrets.

  The back corner room was exactly where Lirien said. Small wooden door, slightly ajar, warm light spilling out.

  He pushed it open.

  The private study was circular, carved from stone. Single scarred table. Three mismatched chairs. One enchanted light floating near the ceiling, flickering warm gold. Door had runes for privacy.

  Lirien and Kael waited.

  "Took you long enough," Kael said. "Thought you'd chickened out."

  Lirien shot him a look. "Whatever it is, we're your friends."

  "I need you to promise you won't tell anyone what I'm about to show you."

  They exchanged glances.

  "We promise," Lirien said.

  "Yeah. Alright." Kael sounded less certain.

  Akilliz sat. Pulled out his journal with trembling hands. Flipped past his own entries to the hidden pages tucked between.

  Spread them across the table.

  Four pages:

  1. Soul's Breath altered formula

  2. Lightspire Bloom recipe

  3. Her final journal entry

  4. Ancient elvish page with shifting symbols

  Kael leaned forward. "Where did you get these?"

  "They're my mother's. From the restricted archives."

  "You STOLE from—"

  "Sylvara sent me there! To fetch the Binding Rites of the Subterranean Lords. She gave me a strange key. While I was there, I found my mother's journal hidden on a shelf. These pages were loose. I grabbed them when I heard footsteps."

  Kael went pale. "Subterranean Lords. That's old terminology…could be demons, could be dwarves."

  The word hung in the air.

  "Why does Sylvara need a book about demons or dwarves?" Lirien asked.

  "I don't know. That's why I need help." Akilliz pointed to the elvish page. "I can't read this."

  Kael picked it up. His eyes widened. "These aren't potion recipes. These are SPELLS. Wizard spells." He traced the script. "Torrent. Ethereal Binding. Radiant Sphere."

  He set it down carefully. "This is formatted like a magic spellbook."

  "A what?"

  Kael pulled out his worn spellbook. "Normal spellbooks FORGET. Close it, the spells fade. But magic spellbooks are permanent. Strong wizards like Zolam create them. Anyone who reads one remembers forever. They're worth fortunes." He held up the ancient page. "Your mother had access to one."

  "But she wasn't a wizard. I never saw a wand in our house."

  They stared at the page.

  "That doesn't make sense," Kael said slowly. "Only wizards write magic spellbooks."

  "Maybe someone gave it to her?" Lirien suggested.

  "Maybe. But why?" Kael frowned. "And why is it in the restricted archives?"

  "Let's test if it's real," Kael said. "I'll translate, you repeat. If it works, the spells inscribe permanently."

  He read the first spell in Elvish, then translated: "Torrent. Invocation of the Waters. Calls forth a deluge from above."

  Akilliz repeated. As he spoke, the words INSCRIBED into his memory. Permanent. Like carving stone.

  "I can feel it," he gasped. "It's in my head."

  They continued through all three spells. Both could recite them perfectly.

  "Should I?" Lirien asked.

  "Do you want wizard spells?"

  She hesitated. "I'm waiting for healing spells. If there are more pages in the full journal..."

  Akilliz nodded.

  "Alright." Kael stood dramatically. "Time to test them!"

  He raised his hand, fingers spread, and took a deep breath. Spoke the incantation exactly as written:

  "Vyr'tharis torrethel!"

  What should have been a deluge—a torrential downpour summoned from the aether, was instead a tiny spritz of mist that appeared from tip of his wand.

  With a very faint *pffft* sound.

  Like someone barely squeezing a spray bottle.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Silence.

  Then Akilliz and Lirien burst out laughing.

  "That's not—" Kael's face flushed. "That's not what it said! It said “torrential waters!"

  He tried again, more forcefully this time, enunciating each syllable with exaggerated precision. "Vyr'THARIS tor-RE-thel!"

  A trickle appeared. The tiniest stream of water, like a leaking faucet. Barely enough to wet the table.

  Akilliz wheezed, doubled over.

  "Shut up! The description said it could flood entire rooms!" Kael looked genuinely distressed.

  "It's very... practical?" Lirien offered, trying not to laugh.

  Kael groaned. "Fine. Next one."

  He shook out his hands, reset his stance. Spoke the second spell: "Lyr'ethal vincorum!"

  What should have been a rope of ethereal light, strong enough to bind dragons, the text claimed—was a single gossamer strand. So thin it was barely visible. It drifted in the air like spider silk, completely useless for anything remotely resembling binding.

  More laughter.

  "Great. Just great." Kael didn't even look surprised this time.

  "One more!" Akilliz encouraged. "Maybe the third one works!"

  "Hopefullu the third one will set me on fire," Kael grumbled, but he raised his wand anyway.

  "Syl'radis luminara!"

  His wand began flashing like a dying lantern.

  On.

  Off.

  On.

  Off.

  Like he was turning a switch.

  "WOOOOOAH!" Lirien clapped her hands. "So COOOOOOL!"

  "That's outstanding!" Akilliz joined in, genuinely enthusiastic. "You can signal for help!”

  Both of them being completely, hilariously sincere in their encouragement.

  Kael stared at his flickering hand, then at them, then back at his hand. He looked like someone who'd just opened a birthday present to find socks.

  Kael stared at his flickering hand, then at them, then back at his hand. He looked like someone who'd just opened a birthday present to find socks.

  "Great," he said flatly. "They have these incredible Elvish names. “Vyr'tharis torrethel.” “Lyr'ethal vincorum.” “Syl'radis luminara.” They sound POWERFUL." He gestured at his pathetic flickering hand. "And they're completely useless."

  He slumped back into his chair, the light dying with a final sad flicker.

  "I think the water one was my favorite," Akilliz grinned.

  "The *pffft* sound really sold it," Lirien added.

  "I hate both of you."

  But despite everything, Kael was smiling.

  Because for the first time in three years of studying under Zolam with his forgetting spellbook, he'd learned spells he'd remember forever.

  Even if they were useless right now.

  And somehow, in this dim library study room with his two friends laughing at his expense, that felt like something worth celebrating.

  The laughter faded gradually, replaced by thoughtful silence. The weight of what they'd discovered settling back in.

  "Alright, Kael," Akilliz said, still grinning. "Let me try."

  He reached for Kael's wand.

  Kael yanked it back, making a face like Akilliz had tried to grab something deeply personal. "Welll..."

  "What?"

  "It's one of the cardinal sins of wizardry. One mustn't let their wand be touched by others." He tucked it protectively against his chest. "But I'll help you find one. The market sells them."

  "How much?"

  "Entry-level wand? About three hundred silver."

  Akilliz's jaw dropped. "Three HUNDRED silver?! That's more money than I've ever seen in my life!"

  "Should've been a wand maker then," Kael said with a shrug.

  "You're not wrong."

  "Though..." Kael tilted his head thoughtfully. "The spells inscribed, right? You'll be able to cast it whenever you get one, who knows how strong it'll be. I known you seen my attempt, but it's still worth trying later."

  Akilliz nodded, tucking that information away for future experimentation.

  A moment passed. Then Lirien, who'd been quiet through the wand discussion, spoke up.

  "What are you doing?" Akilliz asked. "Staring at that page?"

  She'd picked up the Soul's Breath formula while they'd been talking, her eyes scanning it with intense focus.

  They sat there a moment, letting the laughter fade completely. The situation at hand settling back over them like a weight.

  Lirien closed her eyes, still holding the page.

  "Akilliz, this is so... strange." Her voice had gone serious. "I can recite it word for word. I know the *song* of this potion." She opened her eyes, meeting his. Stunned. "I've never brewed a potion in my life."

  Kael leaned forward, comparing both the spell page and the potion recipe. "Same format. Same precision. Same structure." He looked up at Akilliz. "Your mother didn't just *have* a magic spellbook. She created one. For alchemy."

  Long pause.

  "Is that even possible?" Lirien asked.

  "I've never heard of one for potions," Kael admitted. "Who could even make something like that?"

  "Zolam could," Akilliz said. "Maybe the Council's Archon."

  "But they wouldn't just give that power to a human alchemist," Kael said.

  "Unless they wanted something from her," Lirien said quietly.

  "Her gift," Akilliz realized. "They made the spellbook to trade for her gift."

  "But it didn't work," Kael said. "Because you can't trade hereditary blessings."

  They sat with that.

  "Who wrote it then?" Lirien asked. "If your mother wasn't a wizard, whose handwriting is this?"

  No one answered.

  Kael picked up the third page. "What's this?"

  Akilliz's throat tightened. "Her last entry. Two days before she left."

  Kael read aloud:

  "I'm running out of time. The council is watching me closer now. Asking questions I can't answer safely. If I don't leave soon, they'll take more than just my research. They know I've studied the true history of this hallowed place.”

  "If anyone ever reads this: Trust no one in Luminael, even those who knew me. They will want what I wouldn't give.

  I'm sorry I couldn't stay. I'm sorry I couldn't finish this.

  Think for yourself. Question everyone."

  Lirien's hand found Akilliz's. Squeezed hard.

  "Were they hunting her? " she whispered. "What was the council going to do?”

  Kael's face had gone pale. "And she was probably pregnant with you. "

  Akilliz couldn't speak. Hearing it like this made it real.

  "She protected you," Lirien said fiercely. "She got you out. You're here because she was brave."

  His vision blurred. He nodded, not trusting his voice.

  "What did they want?" Kael asked.

  "Her gift," Akilliz managed. "They wanted to learn it, copy it. But she couldn't give it. It's hereditary."

  "So they let her leave?" Kael asked.

  "Or she escaped," Lirien said.

  "Either way," Kael said, "she hid her research here. In the restricted archives." He frowned. "Why hide it where she was running from?"

  "Maybe they took it," Akilliz said. "Confiscated it. Locked it away."

  "But why not destroy it?" Lirien asked.

  "Because it's valuable," Kael said. "A magic spellbook of permanent alchemical knowledge? That's priceless. Even if they couldn't use her gift, they could study her methods."

  "Sylvara taught her," Akilliz said suddenly. "Thalindra told me. Sylvara was one of the teachers studying Ma. One of the ones asking questions she couldn't answer."

  Both stared at him.

  "So Sylvara knows about this journal," Kael said slowly.

  "And she sent YOU to the archives," Lirien added. "While it was sitting right there."

  "What if she wanted me to find it," Akilliz said.

  "But why?" Lirien asked.

  "Maybe she couldn't be seen giving it to you," Kael said. "If the Council confiscated it, and she just handed it over, that's theft. But if you found it while getting her book..."

  "Deniability," Lirien finished.

  "So she wanted me to find Ma's journal," Akilliz said. "But also needed that demon book. Which means she's researching demons and thinks Ma's work might help."

  "Or," Lirien said carefully, "she knows you have your mother's gift and wants to study YOU the same way."

  The words hit cold.

  "We need the rest of that journal," Kael said. "We need to know what she discovered. What 'true history' Luminael is hiding."

  "And we can't let Sylvara know we're looking," Lirien added.

  Akilliz gathered the pages, tucking them back into his journal. "So we need a plan."

  "Not tonight," Lirien said, standing. "You're exhausted. We all are. We think about it. Come up with something smart."

  Kael gathered his books. "Don't do anything stupid without us."

  "Promise."

  They left together into cool evening air. Parted at the plaza.

  Akilliz walked back alone, mind spinning.

  Magic spellbooks Ma shouldn't have. The Council hunting her. Sylvara's involvement. The restricted book. The buried history.

  Who wrote the spellbook in Ma's handwriting if she wasn't a wizard?

  He climbed the tower stairs.

  Noticed immediately: the tower was DARK. Completely dark. No lights anywhere.

  Every other night it had been lit.

  Tonight: nothing.

  His heart hammered. He reached his door. Pushed it open.

  Also dark.

  He fumbled for the fire potion vial. Hoisted it as the orange glow illuminated his room. He set it on his desk.

  And there sat a neatly folded red letter.