Page 91 of The Ruins of the Heartless Fae

“There are some interesting books—” Kolfinna started.

Mímir was already shaking his head. “We can take a look at them later.”

“But these are also valuable things for the king and the country, aren’t they?” Kolfinna wanted to take all the books in the room and bring them with her, but the look Mímir gave her stopped her.

“Kolfinna,” he said, his voice stern, “the country needs powerful weapons. An artifact that can make usstronger. We don’t need books. Although, I do agree that they’re valuable, but that’s not why we’re here.”

Kolfinna placed the book back down on the desk. She wanted to dive into the world of books and figure out the truth of where she came from. Because if these books were real and not some fantasy, there was more to her world than she thought.

As they continued down the hall, Magni halted in his steps and pointed inside one of the rooms. “What isthat?”

Kolfinna hurried inside after everyone else filed in. It appeared to be an office of some sorts, a desk in the center and a map spanning the space of the wall behind it. The outline of their country, Rosain, was etched in familiar lines, but it didn’t exactly look the same; there was more land in this version, and the borders were warped compared to current maps. But the strangest of them all, was the spacebesidethe country.

There was the Forest of Great Divide that divided the country from the Mistlands, the uninhabitable, vicious land of shadows and mist, where monsters and evil creatures resided. Katla had told her the grounds erupted with lava there, the seas brushed poisonous gas onto the shores, and monsters hung on blood sucking trees, waiting to pluck the eyes of any strays. But what Kolfinna hadn’t been told was that there were countries within the Mistlands.

The map showed lands beyond the Forest of Great Divide. The Ice Shores. The seas of Mer Folk. The High Court of Autumn. The High Court of Winter. The High Court of Summer. The High Court of Spring. The Elven Lands. The Deep Sea. The Blood Forest—

She stared at it in stunned silence.

Were there people still living there? Were her people thriving? But if it was as vast as it appeared, why did her people leave? Did theyallleave?

“This is fascinating,” Mímir murmured.

“Only monsters live beyond the Forest of Great Divide,” Magni whispered, brushing away a string of cobwebs covering one corner of the map. “So what does any of this mean? Are there countries beyond the Great Divide?”

Truda pursed her lips. “Didn’t you pay attention to your history classes? The fae abandoned their lands because it was uninhabitable due to the monsters and vicious nature of the climate and lands. They took over our lands, and then we defeated them. There’s a reason why no one goes back there. So yeah, it kinda makes sense that there’s a map of when they used to live there, right? It doesn’t mean anything. This is over a thousand years old, isn’t it?”

An uneasiness spread between them all; what if the fae were much vaster than Kolfinna thought? What if her people were out there? What if … She couldn’t contain the thoughts swirling in her mind.

But if a land where her people could thrive and live comfortably existed, then every fae would have run to its borders. If she was able to flee to such a land, she wouldn’t have to think about Royal Guards, proving herself, or being on the run.

Such a place didn’t exist. At least, not anymore.

“Let’s go,” Mímir said. “We can look into it later once we’ve found something substantial.”

“You think this isn’t substantial?” Blár arched an eyebrow and jerked a thumb at the map. “There clearly was a complex society based on this map. What if there’s a potential threat right next door and we have no idea? The military would be very interested in this.”

“That’s impossible.” Kolfinna couldn’t keep the edge out of her tone. “If there truly was an advanced civilization currently living there, every fae would run there! I’ve never heard rumors about that. Only stuff about how dangerous the Mistlands are. And if there was a whole other country—or by the looks of it, many countries—don’t you think they would’ve tried to invade at some point? Or even trickle in? I’ve never heard of these places.”

“It’s probably from before your people migrated.” Truda sighed as if she was wasting her time. “Come on, let’s go. This doesn’t prove anything.”

“It does prove there’s more to fae civilization than we know,” Kolfinna whispered. “But if this place doesn’t exist anymore … what happened to it?”

And if what the map said was true, were there other races of beings other than fae and humans?

“We can find clues later, just like how you can decipher the books later.” Mímir tapped his feet impatiently. “First, we need to find something substantial, like an ancient artifact or something of importance, before we can really dig down and figure out every detail of this place. Come on, let’s go. We’ve got a lot to explore.”

Kolfinna glanced back at the map, a multitude of emotions and questions surfacing … But she couldn’t dwell on it. She would have to figure it out later.

23

Kolfinna’s headgrew heavier with every step she took; she couldn’t stop thinking about all the people who had died because of her. She didn’t know most of their names, but she remembered their faces. There was Torsten, the Royal Guard with white-blond hair. Then there was Thyra, the brunette Royal Guard with a mole beneath her eye. Eyjarr, the middle-aged soldier with a family waiting for him. Embla, the soldier who lost her best friend, Brynhild. And so many others.

Her eyes strained with how much she had to pay attention toeverything. Every upturned stone was a potential threat. Every wall had potentially dangerous runes written on them. Every corner they turned she had to have her guard raised.Halfway through their exploration, she felt like she hadn’t slept in over a week. Her eyes felt gritty like there was still leftover sand in them. There was still so much of the ruins to explore.

To her left, Eyfura tripped over a cluster of bones. She cursed, and then muttered, “I’m not a fan of this place.”

“Me neither.” Kolfinna studied the decaying walls of the winding hallway. Matted, moldy carpet ground beneath her boots and she overstepped a pile of crushed bones.

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