If anyone had told Carlos he would get tired of a place full of books only a month ago, he would've asked if they were cursed by the gods to be that stupid. Now he knew better. Because as much as he loved the library and the promise of knowledge it carried, he was sick of not finding answers day after day. The threat on the lives of his pack didn't help either.

A soft groan drew his attention back to the table and he watched Jay roll his neck before hunching back over his book. They were all scared, even Jay. Scared enough to finally risk asking for a little help. During his free period on Wednesday, Carlos had finally taken Ben up on the offer of teaching him the library system so he could find things without having to ask the librarian. Thankfully, the prince had been more than happy to help and hadn't asked too many questions. Later, Carlos could teach the system to the rest of the pack, but for now he could at least narrow down the search area.

After talking with Evie and Mal, Carlos had narrowed their search to the sections on magic and geography. From what he could guess, they were the best places to start. Magic was obvious and he was hoping that maybe knowing more about the physical isle itself could help them figure out a way to break the barrier. Evie was always saying how much nature tied into magic. Geography was part of that so maybe it would help… It was the best he had.

Unfortunately, a lot of the magic books were more technical so he and Jay were no help there and geography wasn't exactly exciting. Soon, Jay would need to take a break from it. Carlos could already see the tension and frustration building under Jay's skin. It was in every twitch. Every breath. Every move of his jaw. And if Carlos was honest, he needed a break too. Something he wouldn't dare do if Mal was with them and not in class.

As if reading his thoughts, Evie said, "Take a break, Jay. Do a quick patrol then stand watch for a bit," without looking up from the book on magic in front of her.

"Thank the fucking gods," Jay groaned, pushing away from the table and stretching. Carlos winced at the way his back popped.

"Los, would you mind putting away the books we're done with?"

"Sure," he nodded.

By the time he'd collected the two books they'd managed to get through, Jay was gone. Smothering a yawn, Carlos left to return the books. After sliding the last one into place, he stretched and looked around the library. Several different groups of students clustered around tables covered in books, notebooks, and pencils to work on projects. A few students were on their own, noses buried in books, pencils between their teeth, and notebooks open in their laps. Probably working on essays if Carlos had to guess.

Not ready to face the endless and hopeless search, Carlos wandered the bookshelves. Trailing his fingers over the spines, he scanned their titles. Most of it was boring, though there were a few he wished he had time to read. The Life of Arthur Pendragon. How Aladdin Discovered the Lamp. A Collection of Villains and Their Deeds. From Man to Candelabra and Back Again. A Life Under the Sea.

Wait.

Curious, he went back a few books until he found the one about villains again. It was newer than a lot of the books he usually saw in the library: the leather still a bit shiny, the spine free of cracking, the pages still more white than yellow. Were their parents in it? Maleficent. Grimhilde. Jafar… Cruella. They were some of the most well-known and powerful villains. If this really was a collection of villains they had to be in it. Slowly, he touched it. There was information about their parents in this book. Information they might not know. Information that would help explain what Auradon saw when they looked at the children of the villains trapped inside a barrier and listed between pages.

Did he really want to do that? Was he ready for that?

He took it off the shelf.

Finding a secluded corner with a comfortable chair, Carlos curled up with the book and, taking a breath, opened it. The first several pages contained a list of all the different villains and he was right; their parents were in it. He almost turned to the section about Jafar before changing his mind. No. He…he wasn't ready to face their parents yet. But he was curious about some of the others. There were a lot of names he didn't recognize on the list. Were they older than their parents? Or at least his, Evie's and Jay's? Was that why he hadn't heard of them? Or were they from other parts of the world?

Shan Yu. Morgan le Fay. Clayton. The Horned King. Lyle Tiberius Rourke.

There wasn't enough time to go through all of them–he had to help Evie research–and he was not about to check it out. The librarian would definitely cause problems if she saw him checking out a book about villains. He barely made it out of the building with a few books on dogs and that was only because Ben was with him. Maybe if it was interesting he could come back to read it. For now he only had time for one, so he flipped to the section of Morgan le Fay. She didn't sound as boring as Clayton but she also didn't sound as interesting as the others so he wasn't as likely to lose track of time reading.

"Morgan le Fay, or Morgan the Fairy, was an enchantress during the Arthurian era. Said to be capable of such incredible magic she could rival Merlin, Morgan was for some time a seemingly neutral fae who would on occasion aid Arthur in his endeavors. One such example comes from when she provided King Arthur the Holy Sword Excalibur when his sword broke in battle.

However, Morgan ultimately revealed her true intentions when she made an attempt to raze Camelot and its people to the ground. Upon realizing that there would be no negotiating with the fae nor a way to kill or contain her, Merlin set himself the task of creating a prison that could hold her for all of time. In his research, he discovered an isle and crafted a barrier that would ensure no magic could be practiced within it. And thus he made the prison and it was known as the Isle of the Lost.

After several years of long and bloody war, Merlin at last overpowered Morgan le Fay and banished her to the Isle of the Lost where she would spend the rest of her days."

The Isle of the Lost. Morgan le Fay was the first villain ever sent to the Isle! She was the reason the Isle was made in the first place! This was it. This was the clue they needed.

Book tucked under his arm, Carlos sprinted back to Evie.

"Los?" she frowned as he pushed the book in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"I found something," he told her. Flipping back to the page, he pointed to the line about the Isle of the Lost. "The Isle was originally made by someone named Merlin to be the prison of a villain named Morgan. If we can find more information on them, maybe we can find what we're looking for."

Wordlessly, Evie took the book from him and read and reread the passage. Then her beautiful blue eyes met his gaze and she beamed. "You found it," she breathed. "Pup, you found it. Our first clue." Before he could reply, she pulled him into a hug and kissed him. "Okay. Go find every book you can about Merlin and Morgan le Fay. And tell Jay that we have an idea of what we're looking for."