“Maybe in the history section? We could look at old editions of the Keeper’s Khronicle. Oh! And the fiction section might have some good stories. Maybe they shelve some fables there….”

An hour later the pair of them had found several promising tomes. As they roamed the adventure section searching for more books of legend and myth, Barclay couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Havener, the librarian in Dullshire. He felt a fresh tug of homesickness in his gut. It seemed the more he swore not to think about Dullshire, the more everything reminded him of it.

“What’s wrong?” Hasu asked, noticing his gloomy expression.

“Oh, nothing. I just used to go to the library a lot, back home—I mean, back where I grew up.”

Hasu gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry you miss it. I miss my home too.”

“I don’t miss it.” Then, hoping she didn’t spot the telltale heat creeping up his neck, he asked, “When was the last time you were home?”

“Since before our Exhibition, which was a year ago. My parents send me letters, but I still miss them a lot. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go to an Exhibition in the first place.”

“You weren’t?” Barclay thought everyone who grew up in the Wilderlands dreamed of becoming a Guild apprentice.

Hasu shook her head. “Shazi, Viola, Cecily… they’re all so different from me. Shazi spent a year planning on bonding with a Scormoddin like Saif. Viola is the smartest person I’ve ever met, and she’s always wanted to be Grand Keeper one day. And Cecily is really powerful even though she never had formal training until after Midwinter.”

“You’re really powerful too. Your spatial Lore is amazing.”

“Thanks. But it was my parents who convinced me to bond with a Beast as strong as Bitti, and who wanted me to become Cyril’s apprentice. My mom especially—she’s the High Keeper of the Jungle.”

“It wasn’t what you wanted too?” Barclay asked, surprised. Hasu always seemed to enjoy their lessons, and she was proud to have the Horn of Dawn as a teacher.

“I don’t know. I love Bitti, even if she’s the opposite of a busy bee and spends all day napping. But I’m not very good at being sure of things. I get scared too easily. And I’m most scared that I’ll never be good enough.” She met Barclay’s eyes, biting her lip. “What did your parents think about you becoming Runa’s student?”

Barclay cleared his throat and made a show of scanning the shelves of books. “My parents died a long time ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. You must really miss them.”