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Mavise was the librarian in The Great Library of Lesern—the very place Avenay spent much of her time researching. Mavise always left right before dinner, inviting Avenay to go with her and her friends for food, then drinking and dancing. Avenay sometimes did, but more often she waved her off, saying she’d show up after she got to a good stopping place. But there was rarely a good stopping place when therewere worlds of knowledge in these books and only one life to learn it all.

Avenay chuckled and stood, her body stiff from the odd angle she’d fallen asleep at during the night. “Very well, very well. I’ll go to dinner with you tonight as penance.”

Mavise groaned. “Don’t make it sound like spending time with me is punishment!”

Avenay laughed at the horror on her face. “I didn’t mean that. I meant I would make it up to you by going to dinner. It will be my joy to spend time with you.”

Mavise humphed and crossed her arms, but looked pleased‌. “Fine. I suppose I’ll let you come to dinner with me.”

The clock chimed fifteen minutes past the hour and Avenay screwed up her face. The distinct feeling that she was forgetting something washed over her. Now if she could only remember what it was…

“Meeting. With your mentor. About your presentation for the academic summit,” Mavise said, shooing Avenay with her hand.

Avenay gasped and started gathering all the supplies scattered in front of her. “Oh, by The Mother!”

She shoved the quills, paper, and books in her bag, halting when she came to the tome she’d borrowed from the antiquities section.The Tales of Lemia. It was an artifact of great value, and technically she wasn’t supposed to take it out of the library. She was lucky enough to be one of only five people who could read it, and therefore was one of only a few people allowed to rent it as she pleased. But she was about to leave for Elf Glen, on the continent of Nemus, and if she could take it, then she could continue the work of translating it.

She slipped it under the notebooks and into her satchel, then stacked the other books that Mavise would very much notice if she didn’t put them back.

Mavise held out her hands. “Give me. I’ll put those back. Now run to your meeting!”

She handed the volumes to Mavise, the small framed female bending under the weight of them. “I’ll be back tomorrow to look these over, so just keep them behind the desk, okay?”

She turned and walked away, hearing Mavise shout after her, “I can’t do that! It goes against protocol!”

“Thanks, Mavise, you’re the best!” she responded, waving her hand as she exited the library.

A disgruntled, “Fine! But only because I love you!” followed her out of the library.

The halls teemed with students and faculty, walking to and from classes, research rooms, and offices. Golden light spilled through the tracery windows and hit the white marble floors, shimmering like diamonds. The air smelled like books and knowledge. Students discussed the finer details of spell-work, debating if seraphs could ever perform it like the elves did. It was a lively debate, the two males getting more and more heated in their arguments.

Avenay stepped to the side of them and came around the corner of the west wing. The last door down the hall stood ajar, and through the opening she saw her mentor, Lucas, sitting at the desk, smoking a pipe and looking over papers. Round rimmed glasses sat on the tip of his nose, his curling gray hair tumbling over heavy brows. She rapped her knuckles on the doorframe, and he looked up, his deep brown eyes crinkling in a smile as he beckoned her in.

“Avenay! How comes the research?”

She sat in the chair in front of his desk, her cream and brown wings settling nicely around the cutout back. “Good. I’m all ready to present at the summit, though I still need to practice a few more times.”

Lucas chuckled. “Of course you do. How many times have you practiced already?”

She pursed her lips. Lucas knew her too well. “About ten times.”

“And not once have you presented it to me.”

“That makes me too nervous. It’s easier to rehearse in front of my father and sister, who think I can do no wrong.”

“Need I remind you that you’ll be presenting to the greatest scholars from all over the world? Compared to them, I’m nothing.”

Avenay hadn’t thought about that. Not that she hadn’t known. She had, but she hadn’t let the realization of it hit her.

Panic must have shown on her face, because Lucas leaned forward, waving his hands in dismissal. “It’ll be easy. You’ll see. Once you get on stage and start, you’ll be excited to share all your research. I’m certainly excited to hear about it. Regardless, I have been a bit too busy to help, I suppose. I’m glad your family has aided your practice.”

Usually, Lucas would be more involved with her presentations, but he’d been too busy with his own presentation and teaching. He trusted her well enough that he didn’t need to hold her hand. They would leave in two days for Elf Glen, the capital of the elven realm on the continent of Nemus. Like Lesern, they were known for their libraries and academics. The acolytes of the Holy Mother dedicated most of theirtime to medicine, language, and history. Each year, they held an academic summit and invited the brightest minds across the world to present. This was Avenay’s first invite, and she wasn’t sure if she was more excited or nervous. Either way, her stomach wouldn’t stop fluttering.

She sighed. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“It’s just that…” She halted, opening her mouth and shutting it again. Lucas stared at her in patient confusion for a moment before he sighed.