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Azura placed a book on the table, and Taly resisted the urge to point out that the Queen’s grip on reality was, at best, tenuous, as she reached across, pulling the book closer. It was plain, wrapped in soft brown leather with a blue-ribbon marker stuffed beneath the pages. Ordinary enough, except—

“Where did you get this?” Taly asked.

Because that wasn’t just a book. It was a diary.Herdiary—one that had long since been filled and abandoned back in Ryme, hidden where nobody but her knew to look.

“You gave it to me, of course,” was all the Queen offered in explanation, and Taly had no choice but to believe her.

For indeed, there was no mistaking it. Like all her diaries, the lettersTCwere stamped into the bottom right corner, and the dates were written along the spine in red ink. This one read:Anon 244–

The rest had been rubbed out.

Running her fingers along the soft leather, she traced her initials, felt the fraying ribbon, the ends knotted and re-knotted as the braided threads came undone. As soon as she lifted the cover, she was met with her own familiar handwriting.

From the personal diary of Talya Caro

That phrase marked every page as Taly began leafing through the entries. She had been fourteen when she started this diary, what became the first of many, and she cringed at the crude drawings of Skye lying dead on the ground with swords sticking out of his back. Needless to say, she hadn’t been happy when he was introduced at the Dawn Court, nearly doubling the time he spent away each year. Ivain had suggested journaling to help her sort out her thoughts.

And now the Queen was doing the same.

Azura said, “I want you to spend the afternoon writing down your dreams. All of them. Anything and everything you can remember since you came to the palace. Sometimes the tiniest, most forgettable details are the key to avoiding catastrophe.”

“But it’s full,” Taly pointed out, still flipping through the pages. She’d filled this book from cover to cover.

“A time mage’s journal is never full.” Azura leaned against a nearby desk, arms crossed. “Look.”

Turning to the last page, Taly watched with detached fascination as the letters began to blur,dissolving until there was nothing but a blank white space, waiting to be filled.

A time mage’s journal indeed.

“The entries aren’t gone,” Azura said. “Only hidden. The pages are enchanted to phase in and out of the present reality.”

“Like a pocket universe?”

“Like a thousand pocket universes, all layered on top of each other.”

Taly frowned. The pages were in fact blank now, and if she focused, she could feel magic woven into the paper itself. “Ivain keeps a journal. He said his eldest sister was the one that got him started.”

“Well, his eldest sister was one of us, so that comes as no surprise. Time magic runs strong in the Castaro line.”

“Did you know her?” Taly looked up. “Ivain hardly ever speaks about her.”

Azura nodded, something sad creeping into her expression. “I did. She was a very dear friend, even after she had the gall to take the Bryer name.” Her lip curled. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the Raines and Bryers are sworn enemies.”

Taly shook her head. She didn’t. It was common knowledge that the Raine bloodline founded House Thanos, only to be usurped by one of their vassals. Azura had lived long enough to see both families rise to power, and had used her influence as Queen to protect her bloodline from extinction. The Bryer Matriarch was not known for mercy. If she’d had her way, the entire Raine family would be nothing but a memory, even the children executed.

“You never wanted to rule,” Taly said. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but she did. “House Thanos changed leadership just after you took the throne, which means that you would’ve had to take the Rites to inherit the Shard while there was still fighting going on. You were pushed into it, weren’t you? To save your family?”

Azura’s frown deepened. It was all the confirmation she needed.

Azura pushed herself off the desk. “Write.” A pointed glance at the journal. “And every time you complete an entry, I want you to practice summoning and dismissing your Sight. If I’m not mistaken, that is something you already know how to do?”

Taly nodded. She had figured out how to summon her premonitions when she was still mortal. It wasn’t exactly second nature, but she remembered the feeling. Enough to do it again.

“Good,” Azura said. “I’ll be back in an hour. If you have any questions, Leto can help you.”

Chin resting on her hand, Taly watched as the Queen exited the room. Leto was waiting in the hallway.

Interesting, she thought. Not because the Queen had given anything away. She’d already had the information, simply needed to see the connections. But it was still interesting in that way that Taly found all things the Queen didn’t want her knowing interesting. Maybe one day the dots would connect, and the things that woman said and did would start to make sense.