“It is a possibility.”
Daniel groaned, wincing. “Great.” He shook his head, waving a hand before Alex could comment. “I’ll...figure something out.”
The rest of what he needed to ask lurked, pressing in on his mind. “Okay,” he said, more softly. “You say you reclaimed memories from him. You mentioned something about...your maker. But then, you were talking like you and Madis are related.” He shook his head. “I don’t get it, Alex. And I’m pretty sure Libraries don’t have relatives.”
For a long moment...silence.
“I am old,” she said at last. “Very old. I think you know that much.”
“Kinda getting that impression.”
She made a noise that might have been her laughing. “Old enough to come from a time when the energies you use, they use, were...commonplace. Freely accessible to all who had the talent.”
“Wait, so…you’re saying-”
“I do not remember much.” Her voice dipped lower, her frustration apparent. “I remember so little, but also...everything. The feeling of my fingers, plunging through the Earth. Filling the world with life. And then…” She sighed. “Something changed. I was shaped into this form, and the balance was broken.”
“Magic,” Daniel whispered. “But then-”
“Don’t interrupt,” she snapped. He stopped. He could almost feel her there in the room with him, drifting around and around as she paced. “When the rivers I used to fill went dry...there was panic. The mages who had once used my strength as theirs rushed to fill containers with the droplets they found.”
“The foci.”
He felt her nod, even if he couldn’t see her. “And when even those rivulets ran dry…” She sighed again. “There was...one who knew. Of my creation. And of the artificer who made me.”
Her voice had softened, creasing with the faintest hint of a smile. Every scrap of that good humor was gone a heartbeat later. “And this man stained his hands with my creator’s blood out of jealousy. Out of greed, for what was slipping between his fingers. To overcome what those greater than him had constructed.”
“Madis,” Daniel said. It wasn’t a question.
“He showed the world that it was possible,” Alexandria said. Her voice was starting to fade, going quiet, as though the edges were blurring. “But we were the first, him and I. By water, and by blood.”
“Water and blood,” Daniel breathed. “The rooms. In the basement.”
“You understand.”
“So, then-”
A knock split the quiet. Daniel froze, his fingers jerking against the smooth stone of the dry well’s edge.
Another knock. The crack of flesh and bone against the flimsy wood echoed around the room.
“Go,” he heard Alexandria murmur, her voice softer than ever. “I am tired, anyway. I would like to rest, now.”
Daniel forced a smile. “Okay. B-Back to work, I guess.”
He stood, lifting the candle against the darkness, and hurried toward the door. The knocking continued, but seemed softer with every hit.
Before they could stop entirely, he flipped the latch free and yanked the door open.
Olivia froze, her hand still upraised. Her eyes met his, softening. “Daniel.”
He took a deep breath. The night...wasn’t quite over, then. “Come in,” he said, turning away. “It’s not much, but take a seat. You probably...want to talk.”
“H-Holy shit,” Olivia whispered. “Is this...are we in Alexandria?”
“Yes.”
“But. It’s...it’s so-”
“Just sit down,” Daniel said, dropping to one of the wooden chairs. He set the candle down on the end table alongside it, watching the flickering light cast shadows over the walls. “I was surprised, when you vanished.”
“Oh.” Olivia hesitated, but took the second chair. “That.”
“The others weren’t happy. They thought you were trying to fuck me again.” He glanced over. “Are you?”
She shook her head, her eyes dropping. “No. I’m...I’m not. Actually, I-”
“Okay,” Daniel said, pursing his lips. He nodded. “Good. Because I kind of vouched for you, and if you were still playing games, I might get pissed.”
“Daniel-”
“I wanted to talk to you about the Booklenders.”
Olivia stopped, her brows furrowing. “Oh,” she said.
“The problem with our feud was always the same,” Daniel said. “Between Indira and me. It doesn’t matter how much we fight. Alex still needs readers, and…” He made a noise, raking his hands through his hair. “It’s hard. I don’t have the infrastructure set up for recruiting like that. You guys do.”
“Oh,” Olivia echoed, softer still.
“So, I was thinking, I at least know you’re not trying to get me killed. Most of Indira’s command structure probably just got wiped out alongside her, but you can rebuild that. The roots are still there.” Daniel stopped, suddenly aware of how fast he’d been talking. “So, uh. What do you think?”
Olivia smiled back at him, her eyes sad. “Of course I’ll do it,” she said. “I wanted to be guildmaster already. You knew that.”
He grinned. “I did have an inkling.”
“I never expected to take the position so soon, but…” She rose, starting to pace. “If no one takes the reins, the whole organization will collapse. That’d be a pity.”
“That too.”
“So...yes,” Olivia said. “I’ll do it. I want to do better than the ones that came before me. Let me fix what they broke.”
That’d been what he wanted to hear. “Perfect. Olivia, you-”
“And so.”
Again, Daniel froze. “And so?”
She turned back to face him, her fists balled up at her sides. “I want you to erase my memories of you, Daniel.”
His mouth hung open. He stared. His ears rang. “What?” he said at last.
“I know you can do it.” Olivia matched him stare for stare, her expression
