They spent hours studying the walls. There were six sets of four runes, with each set being hit every thirty minutes. That was as far as their research took them before the sun outside set, leaving them in the company of shadows and the chilling breeze seeping into the tower like water dripping from a tap. They might've been safe from the snow, but the cold was inescapable. The torches and candles lit around the cavernous space weren't doing anything apart from providing faint parks of light.

Teeth chattering louder than she would've liked, Makaela tightened her jacket around herself. Her brain currently felt like mush, and her body didn't feel much better. With an exasperated groan, she launched the book of runes in her hands as far as she could. It hit the ground with an echoing thud before sliding across the smooth tiles, eventually making its way to the foot of the white statue up ahead. The still face of the unmoving figure stared at her with an air of disapproval. She could've sworn it was mocking her too. Face twitching in an attempt to mask her anger, she decided to distract herself by checking in on the others.

The others didn't seem to be fairing much better.

Han was hidden behind a mountain of books, most left open on random pages. Karin and Ismael had tackled an entire shelf; with the help of a few vortex charms, they cycled between floating books in search of an answer.

They weren't making any progress.

If they were to figure out what the sequence needed to unlock the puzzle was, they needed to crack the code of the walls. That was easier said than done, though, especially since none of them had any expertise in rune making.

Ismael was the only one who had any knowledge in the subject, and even his wisdom was barely applicable here. Out of the twenty-four unique runes etched carefully into the stone walls, only seven of them had been deciphered. Each was a fragment of a larger phrase or riddle not yet solved.

Makaela didn't have the slightest idea what the missing portions could be. The possibilities were endless. They needed more of the runes. They needed more of the puzzle. But the sun was gone for the night. There wasn't much else they could until its reprisal.

"Alright," Karin said as she slumped in her seat. "If I have to look at another rune, I'm going to lose my mind." The books floating in the air above her dropped to the ground as she banished the air funnels holding them up. They hit the floor like dead flies. Han did the same, though, he made sure to catch the books one-by-one instead of letting them fall.

"Agreed," Han said. He emerged from behind his mound of texts and joined them at their table.

Ismael rubbed his head and sighed. "We should rest for the night. We'll pick this back up in the morning."

Makaela nodded. She didn't intend on resting for long. As soon the first inkling of sunrise crept through those windows, she would be up and at it again. They were going to need every second of sunlight. Eventually, they would make a breakthrough.

She would solve this puzzle. She just hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

Ismael retrieved his enchanted bag and pulled out a few blankets along with a bundle of pillows. There weren't exactly any comfortable places to sleep within the lower level of the tower, unless someone found lying across hard tile for hours appealing. Everyone picked a spot and settled in for the night. The tiny flames used to ignite the dozens of candles they had been using for light were extinguished with a simple flick of Karin's wrist.

"Show off," Han said. He had disappeared into the black. They all had.

They were fully enveloped by darkness now.

Makaela shuddered as a chill slid down her spine.

As she laid down on her blanket and pillow, she knew sleep wouldn't be coming to her anytime soon. While it only took a few minutes for snores to fill the air, she found herself wide awake an hour after she had taken to the floor to sleep. There was far too much on her mind. The tower's puzzle needed to be solved. And with the Shades hot on their tail, she knew they didn't have much time to find the answers they needed. She could practically feel them breathing down her neck.

If Thorian showed up with them the next time they attacked, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to fend him off this time.

He had gotten stronger—more dangerous—since the last time they spoke. She wasn't sure how, but she could feel it. Even in their brief interactions in her dreams, she knew. The dark god inside of him was almost in full control. His body might've still be intact, but the head of House Tenebris wasn't there anymore. He was different, something else entirely.

The Black Lotus had bloomed.

Every hair on her body stood at attention at the mere thought of him exceeding his already ridiculous state of power. Their last fight nearly ended with her dying. Had it not been for Dorian's sacrifice, she would've never escaped to Tenzin.

A grimace twisted her mouth as the memories flooded in her brain.

That couldn't happen again. She thought her training with Madame Alizeh and the monks would've bestowed her with the confidence to face him, but the more she thought about their inevitable rematch, the more dread filled her veins. It replaced her blood, making her skin cold to the touch. Her training had been cut short by the sudden need to locate Lumi's tower. While she had reconciled with her Nightling, she wasn't sure if that would be enough.

If she wanted to save everyone, she had to get stronger.

As she stared into the darkness around her, an idea popped into her head.

There were thousands of spellbooks shelved in the bookcases housed by the tower. Hundreds of spells. Even more charms and more wisdom curated by magicians before her. If she wanted to get stronger, she was in the perfect place to do so.

She carefully rose to her feet and held out her palm. A dim ball of light—bright enough to illuminate the immediate space around her—bobbed above her hand. She glanced at her companions. They were all fast asleep on the ground, their light snores filling the air. The faint sound of wind reached her ears as well.

She wasn't sure how much time she had until the moon would be replaced by the sun, but she didn't care. She'd make the most out of her night until it ended. With a curt nod, she took to the nearest bookshelf and began assembling her arsenal of knowledge.

#

Makaela's head shot up from the opened scroll she had faceplanted in. She rubbed the sleep welding her eyes shut and blinked groggily as she waited for her tired eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Once her vision shifted from indescribable blur to tolerable fuzziness, she glanced down at her study material: ancient lightweaving techniques from thousands of years ago. Previous members of House Lumai used to channel the sun's infinite power directly, manipulating the pure essence of sunlight rather than relying on their vitalae.

Makaela didn't even know magic like that was possible. She had been taught everything they created came from within; obviously, that wasn't true. The past few hours had taught her many things, but there was one lesson in particular she had fixated upon. She didn't know anything.

Sure, she had memorized hundreds of spells and had mastered a few fighting styles, but she knew nothing. There was so much to learn. Too much, even. The mere thought of it all sent her brain into shutdown mode. Thorian was older than her by a few decades. Had his training led him to this realization as well? Or did his bond with Mauvorin allow him to absorb much more information than she thought possible?

The man was an enigma. She would never truly know anything about him, and that was surely by design. He was darkness personified. And what was she? Glancing up from her scroll, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the brass candleholder sitting on the edge of the table. Her golden eyes stared back at herself, searching and probing as if trying to find the answer to the very question she had just asked herself.

Who was she really?

The early streaks of dawn pushed their way through the high windows, manifesting in puddles of gold throughout the tower's base level. Through the glass, Makaela could see blue skies. The brilliant rays began reflecting off the spinning ball of metal again, reigniting a few of the runes on the wall.

The sun had returned.

Her eyes widened as something suddenly clicked in her head.

That was it.

"I got it!" she shot up from her seat and scrambled down from her perch. As she bolted to the center of the room—well, as close to the center as she could've gotten before tumbling into the hollowed space cutting through the middle of the tower—her companions awoke from their slumbers.

"Why are you shouting?" Karin grumbled.

Ismael, who never looked tired, arched an eyebrow at her. He looked past her and at her impromptu workstation. A sly smile graced his lips. "Someone's been busy."

"The puzzle," Makaela said, nearly out of breath. She pointed at one of the walls. "The runes...it doesn't matter what they say, but I think I know what they want us to do."

Han folded his arms. "Well?"

"The sun always comes back," she continued. "Even after the darkest night, the sun rises again. Just like Lumi. That's what we're here to do—we need to help her rise again. And that thing," she paused to point at the sphere of metal, "is the key."

"How'd you figure that one out?" Karin asked. She frowned. "Also, that doesn't really tell us much of anything, you know. Okay, so the sun is supposed to rise, whatever the hell that means. What now? What do we do?"

Makaela suppressed a sigh. She wasn't getting it. None of them were. And they wouldn't anytime soon. Not like this.

She would have to show them.

Stepping forward, she held her hands toward the sky. She recalled what her father said in his letter.

"Seek the sun at the top."

That was the floating sphere above—the sun at the top of the library. But a sun lit up the earth until it set. The armillary wasn't lighting up much of anything apart from the runes it managed to touch on the walls. But with her help, it would touch every rune and every wall. It would touch everything.

She called upon the vitalae swimming in her blood and the power from the Illumio. The energy flooded her veins, causing her eyes to roll back into her head. She bit down on her lip and unleashed a torrent of light from her palms. It arced from her hands and hit the spinning sphere above. The light hit the eldricite, illuminating it before more streams of gold split off in a hundred different directions.

The meaning of the runes never mattered. She knew that now.

What matter was that the sun's light hit them all—like it hit everything underneath its warm glow. For now, she was the sun. With the armillary's help, she'd activate every rune. She wasn't sure what would happen when she did, but the feeling bubbling in the pit of her stomach told her it was their only course of action.

She just hoped the tower wouldn't self-destruct or any magical guardians hiding in the walls emerged and attacked them.

Her companions stood behind her and watched with awestricken expressions as the entire library brightened with golden rays. Slowly but surely the yellow streams hit every wall. Each rune carved into the white stone lit up like burning torches, the magic woven into them long ago finally reignited by Makaela's own power.

Sweat trickled down her back as she felt her energy draining quickly. Even with the Illumio's help, summoning this kind of sustained power wasn't easy. And it was only getting more difficult by the second. Within a few seconds, she had dropped down to one knee. But she didn't stop. She kept her hands pointed to the sky. The magic continued to pour from her hands.

Grunting, she pushed herself even further.

Whatever it takes.

Her head started to feel light. Spots dotted her vision. The inside of mouth tasted like static—which confused her to no end. Only once her sight started rocking as if she was on a boat, did she hear her friends exclaim behind her.

They pointed above at the painted ceiling.

Lumi's face cracked and split, the golden paint raining down like hail. Blocks of the stone retracted, giving way to a hidden room at the tower's apex. Makaela couldn't help but smile. She lowered her hands, gradually cutting off the supply of light from her hands streaming into the sphere hovering overhead.

"Woah," Han said.

"Woah is right," Ismael parroted.

Karin appeared next to Makaela. Grinning, she helped the golden-eyed magician up and wrapped her in a tight hug. Exhausted and elated, Makaela hugged her back. The pair released each other and peered up at the hidden room above.

The key to saving Lumi and defeating the Order of the Black Lotus was up there. Her destiny was up there. Makaela didn't know how she knew, but she did. She could feel the pure energy diffusing from the opening in the ceiling. It called to her, beckoning her inside like a lighthouse called to ships out at sea.

All she had to do now was find a way up there.

But, seeing as there weren't any stairs leading up to the hole in the ceiling, they'd have to come up with another way inside.

She turned to Ismael and Han.

"Anyone know how we're going to get up there?" she asked.

The two men shrugged at her. Her shoulders deflated. They were so close. But of course, another problem had arisen.

Karin tapped her chin. "I have a loose idea."

Makaela frowned. "That sounded like a question."

"I have an idea." Karin smiled sheepishly. "But you guys aren't going to like it."

The remaining three exchanged apprehensive looks. With a sigh, Ismael gestured for the girl to explain. Once she finished, Makaela realized the girl was right.

She wasn't going to like this. Not one bit.