I nodded, trying to think of a new question that would help me gain my answer. “What kind of shadow curse could fill me with rage and make me unable to use my magic?”
The page became blank once more until new ink started spreading across it, but there was less this time. I shook my head at what appeared, the text detailing the anatomy of some shadow beast, a dark plant which could grow roots within you and turn you inside out, and a shadow worm which could burrow into your skull and drive you insane.
“We’re missing something,” I said to Orion, looking up at him as a crease formed on my brow. He reached out to cup my cheek, a burning intensity in his eyes.
“You can do this, Blue. We’ll stay here until you do this.”
A shiver ran through me as I nodded, turning my gaze back to the book and starting to ask it question after question, hunting for the answer we so desperately sought.
“Let’s be more general,” I said after an hour of trying and failing to find what we needed. Orion nodded his agreement, his hair dishevelled from how many times he’d run his fingers through it.
“How can the shadows affect Fae magic?” I asked.
A whole page appeared before us and I frowned in intrigue, leaning closer to read the text.
The scholar Hanson Edgelight hypothesised that the Nymphs once lived in harmony with the Fae. Although he was widely mocked for the opinions he held, and many of his theories were disapproved, this one held a ring of truth to it.
It has long been known that there was a time when Nymphs and Fae did not collide in the way they do now. However, many of the texts from these times have since been lost. Edgelight claimed that he had found evidence of a village of Nymphs hidden in the cloud forest of Serendipity who were living independent of Fae society. He claimed he had visited this village but would not give out its location for fear of the Celestial Council moving to attack the Nymphs who resided there.
This one photograph survived his accounts after he burned the evidence when a group of Nymph hunters came to his door, seeking the village. The charred remains of this photograph show Edgelight standing before a Nymph with their hands clasped together in what appears to be a peaceful interaction.
If a village like this really did exist, it would bring into question everything we know about their kind. Nymphs can only survive by feeding off of Fae magic once they have awakened their own shadow power. So if a Nymph village really does exist away from our kind, then we can only assume they are either hunting Fae and Edgelight was unaware of this, or they have found some way to survive without us.
Today, the FIB handle the Nymphs to keep society safe from their attacks, but if we are to believe Edgelight’s theory, and take this photograph as evidence of a peaceful Nymph population living somewhere in Solaria, then we would have to also question the morality behind killing their kind.
“It’s not possible, is it?” I asked Orion and he ran his tongue over his fangs thoughtfully.
“Anything is possible, though this seems unlikely.”
“Maybe it’s worth exploring though, right? If there are Nymphs out there who don’t need to steal magic to survive, then maybe they can teach other Nymphs how to live that way,” I said hopefully.
Orion nodded slowly, though he didn’t seem convinced by the idea. “Let’s keep looking for information on the curse, Blue.”
“Perhaps we’re coming at the curse from the wrong angle,” I sighed and he cocked his head.
“What angle do you think we should be coming at it from?”
“Maybe we should be looking at the power of my Phoenix. Maybe there’s a spell or gift I have that could help me, instead of trying to find the exact curse which I’m bound to.”
Orion’s eyes brightened at that idea and he turned from the platform, striding back towards the bell and ringing it hard. “Good idea,” he said.
Arnold’s moos sounded off in the tunnels as he answered the call and came charging our way, the sound of his hooves pounding along the passages towards us.
“I’m not just a pretty face,” I teased and Orion’s lips quirked up ever so slightly before falling flat again. Perhaps the worst part of this curse was seeing how it was affecting everyone around me already, and I knew in my heart that I would do anything and everything to ensure that I broke it for their sakes as much as my own.
Arnold arrived with a snort and a foot stamp, bowing to me once more. “My lady, how can I help you?”
“Do you have any books on Phoenixes?” I asked.
“My queen, we have books on everything.”