Page 17 of Myths and Manuscripts
“Looks like the author didn’t give a damn,” I finished for her. “The castle might be detailed on the outside, but the inside is pretty bleak.”
That felt like a metaphor for my entire life. The outside looked good, but the inside was a blank canvas.
Willow crossed her arms, staring intensely at the bed. “That just isn’t right. Not even a Demon Lord should live like this, so it’s a good thing I’m here.” She grinned, her eyes lighting up. “Ohhh, we should get some really cozy blankets, maybe a few pillows, really make this place comfortable.”
“It’s fine, let’s just get out of here.”
“Really? You don’t want even one pillow?” She sank onto the hard excuse for a bed. “I don’t think you know what you’re missing. This is not what a bed should feel like. It should be so comfortable that you can barely force yourself out of it in the morning.”
Something about her being on my bed, stone slab that it was, felt strange. She didn’t belong here.
“If I agree to get a blanket, will you leave?” I asked. “For your safety.”
“You think I’m not safe here? I’m in the Demon Lord’s castle, literally in your bed.” The corners of her lips quirked up. “Who in this entire book would dare harm me here?”
She dropped her bag at the edge of the bed and then leaned back on her hands to watch me. Seeing her belongings in my room felt like she was claiming it, making herself at home in my world. And I couldn’t decide if I should throw the bag out the window or stand in front of it so she’d stay a little longer…
I swallowed hard. This was not how the story went, and it wouldn’t help us finish the book at all.
“We’re leaving.” I grabbed her arm, ignoring her laughing protests as I willed us out of my book.
The golden light came back, reaching down for me like it always did, transporting me out of my book and back into the safety of the Misty Mountain Library. I let out a breath, happy to have that whole mess behind us.
Except, where my hand used to be gripping her arm, I just felt empty air.
Willow wasn’t there.
My stomach dropped as the glowing light around my book dimmed without releasing her. Was she stuck inside the book?
“Misty!” I shouted, marching toward the book tree as shadows snapped and whirled around me. “How could you let her inside but not let her back out?”
The branches of the tree swayed, giving me no answers at all.
“Bring her back. Now.” My voice thundered in the quiet library, causing a few patrons to back away quickly. “I was just kidding about her going inside the book, you know that right?”
The tree bark groaned quietly as Misty continued to ignoreme, but a trickle of pride washed through our connection. The library was pretty happy with itself, which probably meant it didn’t know she was stuck. It really thought it was helping us, helping her finish my story. Which was sweet and kind, but oh so very wrong.
“Misty, Willow can’t get out. You need to bring her back.”
The leaves on the book tree trembled as our bond went cold in a way I’d never felt before.
“What’s wrong?” I gently laid my palm against the tree’s bark, but a pit was already settling in my stomach. Do you not know how to get her out?”
Our bond warmed a bit, and I could sense the rightness of that. The library had been infused with wild magic, bringing us out of our books without even truly knowing how or why at first. The wild magic had taken over and drawn on what the library wanted most, so if the same thing was happening now, it might really not know what to do.
I sucked in an unsteady breath. I couldn’t be upset with the library for not knowing how its wild magic worked, but I had to fix this. It was my fault for making that offhand comment. My fault she was stuck.
“Let me talk to Nyssa.” I patted the great book tree in what I hoped was a reassuring way. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”
That’s what the overly optimistic librarian had ground into me over the past few months, that we were better together than alone. Hopefully that still held true. The tree’s leaves stopped shaking and its branches seemed to perk up. It trusted Nyssa as its librarian so I’d have to trust her too. She wouldn’t want news to get out that the books could suddenly lock patrons inside them after all.
Nyssa was already on her way to me by the time I started looking for her, hands on her hips and a deep frown on her face. “What did you do now? A few patrons said you were shroudingthe tree in darkness or something.”
“Accidentally, but there’s more important things to worry about.”
“Look, I know you’re a Demon Lord, but you’ve gotta try and work on your people skills.” She paused, staring at me. “Wait, what bigger things?”
“Willow is stuck inside a book.”
