The library is further than I expected. My pace drags through the forest, leaves crunching and twigs snapping underfoot. Every little rustle in the undergrowth makes me jump, a flashback to those terrifying days in the Shaded Realm, and my heart starts to race, fear making me search for the monster about to attack me. But each time, there's nothing that leaps out, claws unsheathed and teeth headed straight for my neck.

By the time we reach the cave, in the side of a small hill covered in trees,it feels as though there are holes in my feet that penetrate from top to bottom, and I'm not sure I can continue to stand on them. We duck inside the cave's mouth, and I practically collapse onto the stone seat carved into the side, topped with a small, red velvet pillow. The cushion takes the pressure off my bones, and I find myself sinking into relaxation as I sit there.

"May I help you?" An older fairy sits behind the desk. Her face has tons of creases crossing it, and her eyes are sunken and small with age. She has gray hair streaked with white that matches her wings, which are missing a few snowy feathers in places. Bianca enters behind me, and the old woman's gaze lands on her. "Ah, Bianca. Who have you brought with you?" She peers over at me, judgment in her gaze.

I want to curl in on myself, apologize for tainting this beautiful sanctuary for books.

"She's a visiting swan fairy," Bianca explains. There's a short pause, but Bianca refuses to fill it with more jabbering explanation. I must say, she handles this situation very well, never volunteering more information than necessary. I would be a nervous wreck, stammering and going on about all sorts of things that probably don't even matter.

"And what do you need?" The older swan fairy asks after a beat.

"I just wanted to browse through some of the old remedy books," Bianca says.

"Which section would be the best to start in?"

"Straight back," She says, pointing to the side.

Bianca starts over there, and reluctantly, I trail behind her. Shelves line every single wall, carved within the gray stone sides of the library and even follow the curves inside the various rooms. Books stand tall on every single one, featuring old brown or red covers, many discolored with age and fraying at the seams. Bianca leads me to the straight in the back.

"That's the one, right in front of you." I jump, whirling around to see the older fairy standing behind us. She walks over, slightly hunched forward. She lifts a book from the shelf, flipping it open. "I presume you're looking for the remedy for the poisoning, right?"

Bianca glances at me before replying, "yes."

Her old fingers flip through the pages quickly. "I've read through almost every single one of these books in the library during my six-hundred and who knows how many years. I can show you the exact places you need to look in order to find the remedy. Ah, here it is." She opens the book up for us, angling a yellowed toward us. There's a drawing of a pink flower with large, square petals on the right side, while smeared black faded text is on the right.

"It's called Aottedin. You just need to be very careful to not get it mixed up with other flowers. I can probably help you find some of it in the forest if you would like."

"Thank you," Bianca says, slightly startled. "That would... be really great." She smiles, reaching out toward the book. "Do you mind if we read up a little more on it? We want to make sure we understand what we're looking for and how it should be handled."

"Go right ahead. Will never object to someone wanting to read." The old fairy hands over the book. "If you need any more help, feel free to ask."

The old fairy hobbles away, her wings swaying up and down behind her.

Bianca cranes her neck, making sure she rounded the corner, then turns back to the selection of books. "We need to find one on the barrier or one on curses."

She sets the one the librarian got out for us aside, still open to the page she pointed out. It would be good to read up on that, just later when we have more time. Bianca takes the top shelf, her wings lifting her up in the air so she can reach it, while I scour the lower shelves. With tentative hands, I lift the first book. Its cover is soft, almost slightly fuzzy and frayed on the fabric cover. The side is peeling with age as well. I open it, and the cover hangs over the side, nearly falling off. I gasp, clutching it for dear life. Last thing I need is to ruin the old book. I flip to the first page, with old text swirling in giant swooping letters. This one appears to be about healing different injuries, so I put it back.

After looking through several more books, my fingers delicately lifting each frayed volume to inspect it, Bianca lets out a soft, "found it!"

Somehow she has already gotten through two and a half shelves. I gently slide the brown cover volume I was holding back until the side presses against the back of the shelf before joining Bianca in examining the volume. She has mostly come down in height so I can see it but her wings flick slightly excitedly making her levitate the slightest bit off the ground.

Pages flip by her nimble fingers, trying to part the thin pages with deft speed until she lands on a chapter on the barrier. A few more pages and we find a section on a broken barrier.

"There are only a few ways the barrier breaks. There is sometimes a natural weakening over time, which makes it easier for the uncursed to carry the cursed out. The barrier must be virtually dead for the cursed to leave the realm on their own. The barrier at full health allows no cursed to exit, but if there's some form of weakening whether natural or by design, then they can exit into the human realm."

Bianca pauses and looks at me, a frown creasing her brow. "That's odd. I've never heard anything about the barrier weakening. You would think the queen would have told us about That."

She looks down at the page, eyes scanning over the words for a moment before looking up again." Come to think of it, you shouldn't have been able to come through the barrier at all. I don't know why I didn't realize that earlier."

" So what does this mean? " I ask. A Prickle of unease runs down my spine.

"I don't actually know." Bianca sets her jaw. "But what's most important is repairing the barrier." She returns to reading. I skim the page alongside her, grateful that Merla spent many evenings teaching me to read despite the school headmaster refusing to allow me in school.

Apparently, a very thin silken thread is needed along with an iron needle purified with blue flames. Once the silk is doused in uncursed living blood, it can be threaded through the needle and used to weave a very specific pattern among the rocks sewing the gaping portal shut.

"Where do we even find these things?" Bianca whispers. "I mean I know about the fire but what about the iron and the silk?"

"I know there's a foundry in town," I say. "We could try to sneak over there and see if anything would fit as a needle. The silk is much harder. None of the seamstresses use silk thread because it is too expensive. You might find that in the River Town but not in my Village. They only use cotton and wool."

" Does anyone have any silk clothes?" Bianca asks

I start to shake my head then stop. "Wait. I think the mayor's wife might have something. Maybe a hat with a silk ribbon."

"Perfect. We just need one thread from it."

"Yes, but how." My eyes return to the page. "And how do we ensure we do the right sewing pattern?"

"I will have to copy it," Bianca says. "If you go into the village, I will do that as well as source the fire."

I shift on my feet. I haven't told her the extent of being kicked out of being despised by the other villagers. They won't take kindly if they see I've returned. They may even try to kill me.

But also Bianca's right. We have a lot to do and it will go a lot faster if we split up.

I just have to figure out how to return without being seen.

"Alright. I'll meet you back at the pond in a few hours."

Bianca returns the book to the shelf though she pulls it slightly forward so she can easily find it again. As we leave through the front entrance, the librarian looks up from her desk at us, her eyes focusing in a point on me. I can't help but shiver, wondering if she could've overheard us somehow.