Chương 17: Working With a Friend.

The next three days passed faster than Lira expected. With Tessa beside her, the workflow changed quite a bit. What had once been slow and boring work became almost manageable. They settled into a rhythm sorting books: the damaged ones to the cart, intact ones to the shelves, the questionable ones into a growing pile that Lira would decide on later. And they talked to fill the silence. Tessa brought gossip from the kitchens, the halls, the courtyards, while Lira talked about the scribes' tower.

Mostly Small and useless things, but it helped Lira understand the castle more and more. By the second day, Tessa no longer hesitated when sorting. She moved more confidently in her choices, only occasionally glancing at Lira for confirmation. Lira would nod, or shake her head, and the work would continue. By the third, they barely needed to speak at all. The refuse cart filled faster than Lira expected; too many books were too damaged to read. During this time, Hesta only came once.

Lira heard coming from a mile away. The sharp rhythmic footsteps haunted the corridor. Lira's head snapped up when she heard it.

"Tessa," she whispered sharply.

"Drop the book. Now." Tessa froze, then obeyed without question.

"Grab that," Lira added, pointing to a thick wooden beam half-buried near the wall.

"Drag it to the refuse pile, and make it look heavy." Tessa blinked once, then hurried to it, wrapping both arms around the rough wood. She heaved, the beam barely shifting at first. Lira continued to work on sorting the books while Tessa struggled with the weight. The door opened. Hesta stepped in, her gaze sweeping the room with practiced disdain. It landed quickly on Tessa. The girl was bent over the beam, red-faced, dragging it inch by inch across the floor.

The wood scraped loudly, her breath uneven, and her footing unsteady. For a moment, Hesta said nothing. Then her lips curled in a slow, satisfied smile.

"Good," she said simply. She did not look any further. She gave Lira a sharp nod, then turned and left as abruptly as she had come, her footsteps fading back down the corridor. There was a beat of silence. Then Lira dropped her book and joined Tessa. Tessa let go of the beam and straightened, pushing loose hair from her face.

"That thing is actually heavy," she muttered.

"I know, sorry," Lira said, already moving to take the other end.

"Lift." The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Together, they carried it the rest of the way, the weight far more manageable between two. Once they dropped it onto the refuse pile, Tessa let out a breath and then started laughing. Lira joined her a moment later.

"Did you see her face?" Tessa said between breaths.

"So predictable," Lira grinned.

"She did not even look around."

"She saw what she wanted to see," Lira said.

"That is enough for people like her." Tessa shook her head, still smiling.

"I almost feel bad." Lira snorted.

"Do not." They stood there for a moment laughing. Then Lira nudged her shoulder.

"Alright, back to work." Tessa groaned, but she was still smiling when she bent to pick up the next book. A few hours later, they were working through a crate filled mostly with religious texts. The covers were worn but well-kept compared to the rest, each one bearing the same faded symbol, a curling line meant to represent a river.

"Some local river god or spirit," Lira muttered, flipping one over in her hands.

"What's that?" Tessa asked.

"All those books belong to the same temple," Lira said.

"A small cult, I think. One that I have never heard of before."

"I only pray to the mother," Tessa said, stacking another book.

"Some people prefer praying to something they can see," Lira replied. Tessa snorted lightly, then reached for another book. She dropped it almost immediately. The book hits the edge of the table and then falls to the ground.

"Oh… that one is actually wet." Lira frowned, confused. Most of these books had been here for dozens of years. How could one still be wet? Her eyes landed on it, and she knew… she just knew that it was a magical primer, like the fire one. She bent down and picked it up before Tessa could reach for it.

"Hmm… water damage can be delicate," Lira said.

"Let me handle it. I will check if it can be salvaged or not." Tessa only nodded and went back to working on the next one. Lira turned and started walking away from Tessa with the book in hand. It was definitely magical. The leather felt wet under her fingers, yet when she shifted her grip or pulled her hand away, there was no moisture on her digits. Lira's grip tightened slightly on it. She resisted the urge to open it.

Instead, she carried it deeper into the library, weaving between shelves until she reached a darker corner, one they had not yet touched. There, she tucked it behind a stack of broken bindings, out of sight. She would take it to her alcove later, when she was alone. At the end of the day, right after dinner, Lira decided to send Tessa on her way.

"You should go talk to Celene," she said.

"To get reassigned, I mean." Tessa blinked.

"Are you sure?" Lira nodded.

"The longer you stay here, the more the higher-ups will start breathing down my neck, expecting results. And I need time to assess the books we sorted." Tessa hesitated, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"It's not like I mind staying," she said quietly.

"I know," Lira replied.

"Believe me, I would like nothing more than to keep you around." Tessa let out a small breath, then stepped forward and pulled her into a quick hug.

"Call me if you need help," she said, before turning and hurrying off toward Celene's room. Lira watched her go. Her footsteps faded quickly, swallowed by the stone corridors. Lira stood there a while longer. She considered going to the library despite the late hour. No, that would be needlessly reckless. She turned back, leaving the kitchen and heading toward her dorm room. Once there, she let out a slow breath as she lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. She was tired. The magic could wait one more night.

She turned onto her side, pulling the thin blanket over herself, and closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep, her thoughts were already drifting toward the book waiting for her. Tomorrow, she would explore the new magical primer as well as the connection between magic and the language that got her father killed.