The Book That Wouldn't Burn

To avoid suspicion, Livira and Arpix stash the stolen book on a random shelf in Chamber 1. Livira then summons Volente, hoping that he can unlock Chamber 7. After a few attempts, Volente leads them not directly through the door but to the immobile winged assistant. When Volente barks, the figure comes to life and attempts to communicate in various languages before finally settling on canith, which Livira has already taught herself to speak. When Livira asks for the Raven’s name, he tells her that it is “Edgarallen,” then becomes dormant again. Livira uses the name to summon the Raven. With the Raven’s help, they finally enter Chamber 7.

Evar leaves the city as it burns and retreats to the safety of the library, where he meets the indifferent assistant again. He realizes that she is unbothered by the impending destruction because she perceives time differently. He enters the pool and emerges into the Exchange. There, he finds Livira. While only a day has passed for Evar, Livira has been separated from him for seven years. She mentions Arpix, who entered with her but has since vanished. Livira and Evar explore the pools in hopes of finding a moment free of war; this time, they jump in while holding hands to avoid being separated.

Livira and Arpix retrieve the assistant’s blood, hoping that it will allow them to create a portal back to the Exchange. With the Raven guiding them, they locate a quiet, deserted area in which Livira draws a circle with the blood. She steps through into the Exchange, but Arpix fails to appear with her. She eventually finds Evar, and together they step into a portal.

On the other side of the portal, Livira and Evar find themselves at a library entrance shaped like a wolf’s head, surrounded by hundreds of assistants. Two sets of child-sized bloody footprints lead down the mountainside. They follow the path down to the seemingly empty city below. On the way, Livira experiments with their ghostly state and learns how to fly.

Evar and Livira race through the sky above the city. They land together in front of a temple-like hall filled with stained glass, marble columns, and elaborate carvings. Inside, Evar is both awed by the building and increasingly aware of his attraction to Livira. Livira takes his hand and pulls him into a kiss.

Livira breaks off her kiss with Evar, and they continue to investigate the eerily vacant city. As they walk, she questions how much of what they’re seeing is real, including each other. Finally, they find that all the people in the city, along with the attacking “sabbers,” died upon the release of a chemical weapon that was brought into the city. Evar and Livira realize that the portal has taken them to a time free of conflict, but only because everyone is already dead. Livira has a fleeting glimpse of a living, entirely white child. She wants to help the boy, but Evar reminds her that they are only spectators in this time and place. The pair decides to leave, but when they enter the Exchange, they find a canith charging at them. Evar attacks, but the canith is revealed to be his sister, Clovis.

Livira suddenly realizes that Evar is a canith and that his appearance was altered in her eyes due to the influence of the Exchange. Evar holds Clovis back, giving Livira time to escape through her own pool, but not before her leg is scratched. She returns to the library and is met by Arpix. While she at first questions whether Arpix is himself, he eventually convinces her to allow him to tend to her wound. Livira realizes that the creatures she calls “sabbers” once held the city, and that humans attacked, which was what Evar saw in one of the pools.

Livira begins writing in the labyrinth’s books again as she tries to make sense of what has happened. Most of her prior writing focused on fictional adventures with Evar, but she is now disgusted by the thought. Afterward, she explains what happened to Arpix.

The two canith follow Livira through the pool, but Clovis is unable to attack her further because Clovis is now the “ghost” in this time and place. Clovis turns on Evar and demands to know why he is protecting the human woman. She then insists that the Exchange manipulated him. Although Evar asks her to wait, Clovis pushes him back through the portal.

Livira realizes that, in the ruined city, the strange white boy had actually seen her despite her being a ghost at the time. She goes to Arpix and they discuss it, though he offers little insight.

The next morning, Livira leaves the library and looks at the remnants of the wolf’s head gate. She then goes to Yute and asks if he had seen her before their meeting at the allocation hall. Rather than answering, he talks about the library, discussing Irad and Jaspeth and the eternal conflict between peoples. He explains that the library is a compromise: a blend of truths and mysteries, a place of knowledge that remains full of barriers. Livira finally confesses that she kissed a “sabber.”

Evar faces the wrath of his siblings after Clovis drags him back from the Exchange. She sees his actions as a betrayal and is determined to find a way to kill Livira. The Assistant explains that any interaction with the past won’t alter historical outcomes, but Clovis is fixated on bringing Livira into their present in order to get her revenge. The Assistant dries up the pool to prevent any of them from entering.

Evar retreats to reflect on what happened, but Starval and Kerrol soon join him. They tell him that they want to help him return to the Exchange and to Livira. They also want to go to experience something real, as opposed to the Mechanism. However, they need to find a way to bypass the Assistant and the Soldier.

Canith forces attack the city. Yute begins packing his belongings, but Livira catches him calling humans and canith “your peoples” (439). She confronts him about this and insists that Yute was the boy she saw in the portal. Yute admits that she is correct.

As the canith breach the city walls, Malar arrives with a group of people, including those from Livira’s settlement, to escape into the library. As they climb the mountain, they see the city ablaze below. Once inside the library, Livira, Malar, and Yute prepare for a final stand. As they move through the halls, Yute reveals that the head librarian, Yamala, is his wife.

As canith forces breach enter the library, Yute insists on reuniting with Yamala and advises Livira to find other survivors. Though she is reluctant to let him go, Livira parts ways with him. Accompanied by Malar, she finds the bodies of trainees and guards: victims of the invading canith. She and Malar also find Jella, a former trainee who is now a bookbinder, still alive with a group of her fellows. With them in tow, Livira pushes on to the librarians’ quarters, where she finds Arpix and Meelan being shielded by Volente.

The group reunites with Yute and Yamala at the library’s main door. However, they learn that the library’s doors respond only to specific species; this means that the canith brought along a human whom they raised as a “key” to gain access. Yamala implies that the library’s design requires cooperation between the species, but Livira sees only exploitation.

The group of survivors, led by Yamala and Yute, passes through the library. Yamala summons a male assistant by cutting her hand. One of the survivors notes that Yamala was also able to make a portal using her blood. The group is then attacked by the Escape-corrupted assistant. The two assistants fight and ultimately immobilize each other.

The group then goes to the labyrinth to hide. As the group rests, Livira seizes the opportunity to retrieve the pages of her story and collect them in a stolen cover. Distant sounds of combat finally reach them, along with smoke.

Yamala leads the group toward Chamber 7 in hopes of finding an escape from the flames. However, their journey grows frantic as smoke fills the air. In desperation, Livira tells them about the portal that she and Arpix made to access the Exchange. They push onward, encountering soldiers who are retreating from the blaze and canith descending from the shelves. Chaos erupts, and the soldiers, civilians, and canith all converge as Livira frantically searches for her friends.