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He’s dancing around the facts. “I want them in here,” I snap.

“As do I,” Gwyneth agrees.

The All Knowing groans and distinctive male shouts of surprise echo down the passage before the four knights lie at my feet in a heap of male yumminess.

Nash jumps up first and helps Malachi up, revealing Hart, who scrambles to his feet. That leaves Theo at the bottom of the knight pile I’m jealous I’m not a part of. They turn to take in the vast room that seems to be endless in every direction.

“This is astonishing,” Nash says.

“Thank you,” the All Knowing answers, making the knights jump as Gwyneth and I chuckle.

“I think he likes to be flattered,” I offer. “Let’s get down to business.”

“Indeed. You are?—”

“I need—” I say at the same time as the All Knowing.

“Apologies. You go first,” I say. Everyone knows you should make allowances for your elders, and this dude is old.

“No, please continue.”

Fine. “I have been accidentally made into the Lady of the Lake.”

“There are no accidents,” he counters.

Hart snorts. “Have you met Daphne?”

“There are no accidents where the narratives are concerned,” the All Knowing corrects.

“So Daphne was always meant to become the Lady?” Nash asks as he tries to catch a flying book.

“Correct.”

We blink at the library as we wrestle with that information. I bite my lip. “Okay, I need to know how to change my fate. The knights need to claim Excalibur, but I also need to not die.”

“Yes, you slayed the false king and the dragon in one breath. One must marvel at your ability to course correct the narrative he dared to breach like an imbecile, all while struggling to remain upright for more than a turn,” the All Knowing says.

“And now the throne is empty,” Nash replies. “But we refuse to deal Daphne her fate.”

The All Knowing chuckles. It’s a rusty sound, like it’s not happened in many, many annuses. “Fate rarely is what you believe.”

“Here we go with the cryptic messages,” Gwyneth says.

“If you wish to alter destiny, however, you must seek out the brothers.”

“I already have more than I can handle,” I say with a glance at the four knights.

Theo winks at me. “You handle us fine, pretty mouse.”

“Not those brothers,” the All Knowing says with a sigh. “ The brothers.”

I search my mind for any sign of what he means by the brothers, but come up empty.

“The Grimms,” the All Knowing adds.

Gwyneth shrugs while Nash shakes his head.

“We are drawing a blank. Are they part of a lesser-known narrative?”

“They are not part of any narrative.”

“So, they are rejects?”

“No, they are both apart from and woven into all the narratives.”

“Got to love a riddle when we are trying to solve so many problems,” Malachi says.

“You must go on a quest to find them. They can aid you in what you seek.”

“Great, a quest,” Theo says, rubbing his hands together. “This was getting boring, wandering around musty libraries and researching books. No offense.”

“To offend me, I would need to care for your opinion,” the All Knowing says. “But they must go alone.”

“Not happening,” Hart snaps. “Daphne dances with death every diurnal.”

“Wait, which is it?” I ask.

“What?” the All Knowing answers.

“Are we going alone or together?” I ask.

“I said alone.”

“But if I am with my sister, we aren’t alone.”

“Fine, take the knights.”

Malachi’s lips twitch as I win the battle with a scary voice.

“How do we find these brothers?” Gwyneth asks with her hands on her hips. “The ones no one has heard of?”

A scroll of parchment floats down from the middle of the room and unfurls before us to reveal a map. In the center is the Hallows, surrounded by a ring containing the towns of Far, Far Away, then the unknowns of So Far Away. Nothing surprising, and no giant X where these brothers hang out.

As if touched by enchantment, the map shimmers to life, and before our eyes, the names of these lands transform in a dazzling display.

The markings gracefully fade, only to re-emerge anew, tracing the same cherished territories, yet now they pulse with an ethereal glow, hinting at their existence in a realm entirely distinct, where magic flows like a gentle stream and wonders lie intertwined with secrets of the ages yet to be unraveled.

“What is this?” Gwyneth asks as she walks around the map.

“A map of the world that exists in tandem with this one. This is where you will find the brothers.”

A bright light appears and burns an X onto the paper where our So Far Away would be located.

“How do we enter this world?” I ask.

The All Knowing laughs as a white rabbit hops out from between some shelves. This is no ordinary rabbit—he wears a waistcoat and clutches a pocket watch. He turns to look at us over his shoulder. “Hurry. We are late,” he says before hopping off down the dark passage.

“Follow the rabbit,” the All Knowing says. Then, in a move I already hate, kicks us all out from the living library and back into the stuffy one with a grumpy librarian.

“Anyone else voting for not following the suspicious rabbit with a timekeeping issue?” Hart growls as he launches to his feet, snatches my hand, and drags me upright. Nash helps Gwyneth stand as Theo and Malachi also right themselves.

I snatch the waiting trident with a growl. “You can invite us to leave,” I snap at the shrinking dark passage.

“Follow the rabbit, Stone sisters. He will lead you to the realm you require. Finish the tasks, complete the quest, and maybe, just maybe, you will prove yourselves worthy of an audience with the brothers.”

“I really don’t like him,” Malachi decides.

The library door swings open, and a white fluffy tail disappears through it. “Do you think he will wait for us?” I ask.

Nash sighs and strides after him just as the mirror man emerges in the mirror we leave in here now.

“I am ready, fairest Ditsy. Poseidon awaits.”

Ugh, why have we spent endless turns with our heads stuck in the books, only for all the action to occur at once?

“Can we put a pin in it?” I ask.

The mirror man rears back. “The power it takes for this is not to be underestimated. I am breaking so many rules for this to be possible.”

My head feels like it’s being pulled in a million directions. That can’t be healthy.

“Okay. The All Knowing pulled the rabbit out of his ass, so he can do it again,” Gwyneth mutters.

“Or the rabbit will wait. The more immediate issue is Poseidon. We don’t want an angry Idol on our asses while we are traipsing through a new world.

So let’s pacify the Idol by exchanging his weapon for the sword, which we need back here, anyway. ”

“That’s a good plan,” Nash admits.

“Back in our chambers,” Malachi says. “Not here.”

I sigh as we turn in the opposite direction to where the rabbit left. My stomach rumbles. “I’m going to need extra sausage if I’m facing an angry Idol with weird kinks and a personality flaw.”

“Sword, then sausage,” Theo states.

“New group motto,” I quip. “But it’s the wrong way around. Sausage should always come before swords.”

Gwyneth snorts, and Nash shakes his head as they lead the way.

How is it I still don’t know where I am going?

I am directionally challenged, and they still want me to visit two completely new realms?

This has Daphne disaster written all over it, but it’s still better than stuffy research.

I just hope I’m not about to eat my own words.