I DOVE STRAIGHT INTO the books without hesitation to see what I could find. I didn't think I could ever read so many books in one sitting, but once I started I couldn't stop.

Some of them were about the Vinter realm which Eeira had told me once was the Netherly. There were textbooks on the plants, the mountains, and animals that strived all over. There was even a field guide like the one Calder had described to me that his father had given him. I didn't realize all of the inhabitants there truly were in this world.

All of the creatures of the fire fey territory were gone. The wolves whose fur spat embers when they ran, the birds who transformed into pure flame when taking flight like phoenixes, and many others were all put to extinction as result of the war. And then there were the animals who strived in my territory, like the snowy owls with icy wings and white hares who were made completely of snow but as alive as could be. I had been here so long already and yet there was still so much of this world I didn't know.

I knew all I needed to about the human world. I had learned as such from television and books and living my own life. Everyone seemed to need coffee in the mornings before work and traffic was always jammed on the interstate and people were rude to the cashiers at the grocery store. And it puzzled me to an agitating end how Thorne seemed to know one of America's most beloved fast foods as well. Calder had told me as a knight he had traveled to several places in the ephemeral world on assignment, but Thorne had been nothing but a regular man living in the village until now. How did he know about pizza?

"Miss? Are you in here?" I heard Bryndis call from below the top floor, making me jump.

"Yeah, up here," I called back, keeping my nose down into the book on my lap.

"Captain Thorne said I would find you here. What are you doing, Your Majesty?" Bryndis asked as she ventured up the stairs with a tray of some type of little cakes in hand. "I have never seen this library before. Why are you up here?"

"Neither have I, and I scaled this palace twice and back when I first came here," I replied. "This whole floor was glamoured so neither I nor anyone else could find it. Now I'm trying to figure out why."

"I don't think you will find that answer in any of these pages, Your Majesty. Perhaps Madam Eeira knows."

I scoffed, "Like she'd even tell me. She probably wouldn't even want me in here in the first place, so don't tell her. I've just got to hope Thorne isn't a blabber mouth as much as he likes to be cocky. What I'm looking for in these books has nothing to do with a glamour spell. I'm going to find a way to finally take down the frozen queen once and for all, and bring Calder back."

"Oh, Miss, I-"

"Don't tell me you think it's a bad idea. I really don't need that kind judgement right now. I know the risks. I've already went through it, that being an ice sword through my gut. But I can't stand by and do nothing, especially once I become queen. I already told Eeira I wouldn't wear any crown until Calder is back, so even if I can't destroy Sylvi right now, Calder's safety is my number one priority. I won't lose him."

"So. . .what are you going to do, Your Majesty?"

Sighing as I tossed the book aside having found nothing, I ran my hands over my face. "I don't have that part figured out yet."

Standing I surveyed the towering book shelf before me as I already had five times, biting my lip in thought.

"What are these dust covered pages hiding?" I asked myself.

I ran a finger along several spines until I chose yet another book to the high stack in the floor and on the table.

As I started to pull the book off the shelf I felt a rush of dizziness suddenly come over me. I gasped as everything around me became white and flashes of images raced through my mind. I could hear cries of agony that were so familiar to me, but the flashes were moving so fast I could barely make out what I was seeing.

Then the blurring of it stopped just a short moment, and I could see I was in a dimly lit dungeon. I felt pain shooting through my chest and up my arms, nearly pulling me to the ground. I watched helplessly as none other than Calder writhed on the stone floor as an iron knight burned him with his boot on Calder's bare chest. Iron cuffs and chains were clasped around Calder's wrists, and I could feel their draining force even though I wasn't even there.

The knight removed himself for me to see the gashes all over Calder's chest that were bleeding, as well as new burns that had been branded on him. Tears swelled in my eyes as his head lolled to the side and I was able to see the sunken features of his now paler face. The mesmerizing blue of his eyes were now drained to a deep gray, meeting mine like he saw me standing there. He parted his lips as if to say something before I was brought back to reality.

I sucked in a sharp breath and stumbled back into the desk behind me, pressing my hand firmly into the wood surface to keep myself upright. It felt like the same wounds and burns of Calder's were deeply crested into my own chest, and I clutched it to reassure myself it was all in my head.

"Your Majesty!" Bryndis exclaimed in alarm, helping me straighten myself. "Are you alright? What happened? You touched the book and it was as if your mind went into oblivion."

"I just had a vision," my voice shook, wiping away the tears I felt on my cheeks. "It. . .It was of Calder. He was in a dungeon cell, being tortured by an iron knight. He looked so. . .so awful. Blood everywhere, burns all over him. Th-The life was practically drained from his eyes. Oh god, Bryndis, what is Sylvi doing to him!"

I felt a mass press down onto my lungs and I had to sit in the chair next to me. "Calder can't make it much longer. You should've seen him, he was so much paler he was practically white. Sylvi is keeping his powers dormant somehow so he can't regain any strength from the torture she's giving him. She's slowly killing him and it's all my fault. And here I am helpless to do a damn thing about it!"

"It isn't on you Majesty. Do not blame yourself for the frozen queen's horrible acts," Bryndis tried to reassure.

"But it is on me, Bryndis. It's on my whole lineage of the Arnesen name. I'm paying for my grandfather's mistakes. And now Calder is paying for mine. Why, why did I have to drag him into this? Why didn't I force my feelings for him away the moment I started having nightmares of him dying and visions of Sylvi coming after us? He wouldn't have sacrificed himself for me had we not taken it further after that first kiss. I caused this!"

"He would have still thrown himself in front of death for you, Your Majesty. You are his princess. He would have done his duty no matter that he loves you. Traitor or not. . .he did save your life."

I slowly shook my head. "I just wish I knew how to get him out of there before Sylvi kills him. The Clan won't help me, Eeira doesn't care if he rots. I'm all on my own. The only help I've gotten is Thorne showing me this stupid library that probably has nothing to fix this either. And these visions, I don't even know how the hell I get them or what they mean, or if they're even correct. The ones about the sword defeating Sylvi surely weren't. I thought that would be the last one I'd have. But it was like I was right there in that cell with Calder, and I was feeling the same pain he was. He was in so much pain, Bryndis. I don't know how he's bearing it."

"Perhaps you felt it because you are still sharing some of his power," Bryndis suggested. "And when you went blank you were holding this book."

She then bent down and picked up the old thing, holding it out for me to see the cover.

"The Encyclopedia of Visions and Dreamwalking," I read aloud. "What the hell?"

I hesitantly took the book in my hands, receiving no vision this time which I was relieved of. In confusion I gazed over the cover, running my hand across its leather.

"Why would a book like this exist, let alone be here?" I wondered to Bryndis. I opened the book to reveal pages that were marked and scribbled on in ink, with circles and underlined words that must have been important to the reader.

"It might have been a study for your grandmother," Bryndis revealed, "She did have visions and dreams too when she was younger, you know."

I might have truly fallen in the floor this time had I not been sitting down. "Wait. What?"

"I. . .thought that you already knew, Your Majesty. Your Grandmother Anitha predicted the coming race of ephemeral fey ten years before it all began. But It wasn't until after they were all destroyed that she told your grandfather. The gift must have skipped your father, uncle, and all of your sisters and was passed down to you."

"Eeira didn't tell me any of this when I learned about the realm and my family's history. Not even the Clan said anything," I retorted. "That must have been why Calder didn't seem extremely surprised when I told him I had been having dreams and visions. He knew about my grandmother. Does everyone else here know too?"

Bryndis sheepishly nodded her head. "Everyone except Thorne and the other new staff."

I lightly scoffed. "I can't believe this. What else is there that can possibly be hidden from me? What other secrets are there inside these castle walls that aren't being shared with me? I know I kept my visions from Calder but that was for his protection. But this isn't protecting me, this is lying to me."

I slammed the book shut and tucked it under my arm as I stood and quickly started for the steps.

"Where are you going, Miss?" Bryndis called from behind as she sprinted after me.

"I've been in a drug induced coma for three weeks," I said, "I think it's about time I have a chat with the Clan."