Page 53 of Kiss the Filthiest King

It's all very fascinating, of course. Legends I haven't ever heard of, tales of dragon shifters, true dragons who remained in their beast forms all the time, their riders, their enemies, and sirens in their deep-sea kingdoms, or fae men and women with animal traits—like real furry cat ears or tails.

And there is also plenty of information on gods. Minor gods, such as the deity ruling over one specific river and with very little power outside of it, and the great gods of creation, said to have made the folk, humanity, and so many things in between.

But none really seems to be about them.Us.

"My head's gonna explode," Rachel mutters.

I certainly share the sentiment.

"You ought to rest," Loch tells her without looking up from the large, deep green volume on his lap. "The coronation is in six hours, at most, and mortals need more sleep than the rest of us."

"We all ought to rest," Relva retorts. "Especially since this is getting nowhere."

She has a point, little as I like to admit it. We've been reading since dawn, and it's mid-afternoon. I don't think any of us have found even one promising lead.

"Perhaps there's a reason for that," Caenan muses. "All these tales, they either occur here on Ilvaris, or at the very least, after the creation of our world. And whatever happened between the All and Undoing? It's old. Ilvaris wasbuiltas a prison to contain them. Presumably, their issues started before that."

We all stare at him. Personally, I'm feeling incredibly dumb.

"That's highly logical," says Calreth, shutting his book. "And I'm annoyed I didn't think of it first."

"Next time, can you come up with that before we waste eight hours of our lives?" Loch snaps.

Caenan shrugs. "It just occurred to me."

"I, for one, will take a nap," Relva declares, standing up. "There's still plenty to do for the coronation. Just because we're doing it in haste doesn't mean we shouldn't do it in style. Darina, I'll send your dress up as soon as it's ready."

Valdred is equally fast on his feet.

I nod rather than thanking her. "What now?"

I'm reluctant to go to sleep, given what happened the last time I drifted off.

"Just because these books don't go back far enough doesn't mean there isn't a record of what occurred. Just not in this world," Calreth says slowly. "We need to look in an older world."

I blink several time. "An older world? Like, where? Earth?"

Ryther shakes his head. "Earth is much younger than Ilvaris."

I did get that impression.

"The hells and heavens came first," my brother says. "And then the gods shoved the mortals out of their backyards once they figured out they were annoying neighbors—I'm sure you've read some rendition of that tale."

"I mean, kinda. But wait a minute, hells and heavens. Plural?" Rachel says.

"There are at least three that I know of, and each have various kingdoms," Ryther tells her. "The problem is, one doesn't just portal into a hell. There are guardians, things meant to keep intruders out—intruders a lot more powerful than us. That's twice as true for the heavens."

Calreth nods. "What we need is a witch. Someone capable of communicating between dimensions without physically going there."

"And a contact to communicatewith," Loch adds with a deep sigh. "Demons and angels aren't known for offering up knowledge for free. They'll want to make a deal."

"We have a witch," I say. "Rain, my best friend. She's part of a powerful coven." I bite my lip, thinking. "And, well, I kind of know a demon? Maybe. Possibly."

"You know ademon?" Rachel blink several times.

"I told you what happened when Junis took me from Night Hall, into that weird, underground pub."

"The halfway house of the pathfinders," Ryther remembers.

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