Shade carried Mia on his back as he and Daniste crossed the "starry sky" that had appeared in the air, arriving before the Holy Silver gate. Together, they recited the incantation written in the Wordless Black Book:
"May The First Silver Moon bless me beneath the starry sky of the long night."
Three rectangular indentations appeared one after another from top to bottom along the seam of the gate. The three stone slabs then floated toward the two solemn doors in sequence, fitting perfectly into the indentations.
The Silver Moon stone slab was positioned in the very center. Brilliant Silver Moonlight spread from it both upward and downward along the seam. Once the moonlight had saturated every inch of the seam, the left door, engraved with stars and a moon, silently opened a crack—though only a crack.
Beyond that crack was the familiar dense fog, writhing like white cotton fibers.
Daniste took Shade's hand. After giving him a slight nod, the two stepped inside together.
White Fog enveloped them, and its warmth made it feel as though they had returned home. The wonder of that moment slowed their souls, as if they had thrown themselves onto a soft bed after a day of exhaustion.
As specks of starlight slowly emerged within the White Fog, "her" welcome sounded beside their ears:
Outlander, you have entered the Silver Moon Library.
Silver pinpricks of light stretched from beneath their feet toward an unseen distance. Along both sides of that starlit path, the backdrop of an endless Star Sea emerged around them. Bookshelves outlined in starlight appeared in neat rows, just as they did when Shade cast spells, continuously expanding outward from the pair.
Below their feet, above their heads, before and behind them, to their left and right—they seemed to be