Silvie glanced up at Billos, who was distracted by the tree line. A Shataiki bat was up there somewhere, having shown itself once before retreating into hiding. There was nothing they could do about the black bats. Surely the Roush would chase them off.

A tussle and a shriek high to their right was evidence of precisely this. Darsal and Johnis looked up with Billos.

“Chased off,” Billos said.

They returned their attention to the books.

“So, there they are,” Billos said. “What about it?”

“My mother’s alive,” Johnis said.

“You don’t know—”

“I have no choice but to assume I am right! And these books may help us find her.”

“Us?” Darsal asked. “No offense, Johnis, and Elyon knows that I was a fool not to trust you before, but our task is to find the missing books.”

“He’s lost his mother,” Silvie said. “Go easy.”

“And I’m sorry for that. But we can’t forget our mission to find the other five missing books. We should stay on point.”

She’d become a true believer in their quest, Silvie saw. Billos, on the other hand, was still more interested in the trees than the books.

“We’ve only been home a day,” he said. “Heroes aren’t meant to rush off the moment they receive their glory.” He grinned and winked.

“We aren’t heroes,” Johnis snapped. “This isn’t about us; it’s about . . .” He stopped.

“The books,” Darsal said. “That’s my point; it’s all about the books.”

Johnis stepped closer to the two books and studied them. “Then we should see what the books say,” he said softly.

Billos was suddenly interested. “Open them?”

“I thought that was forbidden,” Silvie said.

Johnis leaned closer to the boulder. “No, we can’t risk opening the books. Only Elyon knows what would be unleashed. But there is something else we can do.”

He reached out and touched one of the leather covers with his fingertips, tracing the grooves made by the etched titles. Stories of History.

He looked up at them. “We made a vow last night, right?”

“Yes,” Silvie said, and the others dipped their heads in agreement.

“So then we have to trust each other with everything we know.”

“You’ve held out on us, Johnis?” Billos demanded.

“Before the vow, yes. But I have your word to stay true to the books now. Correct?”

“Do we have yours?” Darsal asked. “True to the books, that is,” she said. As opposed to your mother, she was probably thinking.

“Of course.”

Such a true heart, Silvie thought. She didn’t doubt that he meant it, even though he was clearly distracted by the discovery that his mother was alive. An idealist to the core.

“Of course,” Billos said.