Alix agrees to unlock the Library tomorrow morning as expected. Stunned and depressed, Alix wanders to the Boston Public Garden where her mother used to take her as a child. She searches for the online shop Elizabeth mentioned and confirms that it does belong to her mother. She calls the phone number and hears her mother’s voice with a child in the background. Alix hangs up, feeling that her mother has replaced her. She laments that her mother did not choose her. Beau did not choose her. Even the Astral Library did not choose her. She feels that she does not belong anywhere and begins to cry.

She wanders down a street and finds a little free library. When she opens the small door, she is sucked back into the Astral Library. She finds the Librarian healing but still unconscious. She reflects on the beauty of the place and wishes she could stay forever.

Recalling her mother’s bumper sticker that reads, “They Got the Library of Alexandria—They Aren’t Getting Mine” (238), she becomes determined to fight back. She picks up the library tablet and tries the password. It does not work. She then says that even if the Library did not choose her, she chooses it. The tablet unlocks and reads, “Full Librarian access granted” (239).

With full librarian status, Alix can now contact the Gallerist and Programmer and they agree to help. When they leave to prepare, Alix spends hours reading through the Library’s bylaws, thinking that the only way to win against bureaucrats is to beat them at their own game.

Suddenly, Beau walks in, explaining that he found an entrance in the stacks of his local library branch and asked nicely for it to open. He realized that he should not have abandoned her and asks how he can help. She asks him to just be there with her because she has always been alone during every difficult situation she has ever faced. He promises her she will not be alone this time. He then offers her proper attire for a confrontation: the dress he designed for the Belle actress’s red-carpet debut. It is a “book dress” (248), made from the spines of leather-bound books and vellum pages recycled from books about to be destroyed.

Morning arrives and the Board knocks on the Library door. Alix lets them enter as planned. When Elizabeth and other members enter, they find her standing at the top of the stairs looking like a queen. She announces that she is the acting Librarian and calls the Board meeting to order.

The Board begins with tedious procedures as Elizabeth insists on the reading of the minutes and a board member named Darla proposes a list of books to ban from the Library. Then Elizabeth tries to put the restructuring of the Library up to a vote. Alix stops her, reminding her that as the Acting Librarian and meeting host, she manages the proceedings.

She formally files a complaint against the Board for “barbarism” in their attack on the Librarian. Then she files official statements from the Gallerist and the Programmer and invites Patrons to speak on the Library’s behalf. The Gallerist and Programmer helped her contact potential Patrons willing to speak. She is surprised by how many appear, including Sarah. She feels guilty for suspecting that Sarah had betrayed her.

Patrons take turns sharing their stories of abuse, neglect, or isolation. They explain how the Library saved them and gave them a safe space. Alix highlights the safety they give to children. Darla agrees that protecting children is important, then tries once again to move the Board to ban and censor books. Alix suspects she is the kind of person who also burns books. Several Board members suggest that the Library does not have the legal right to hide children, withhold information from husbands looking for their wives, or interfere in “private family matters” (258). They insist that the Library should “remain controversy-free” (259) and avoid lawsuits.

The Patrons watch in horror as the Board gains momentum and Alix loses control of the proceedings. Alix tries to speak, insisting that a Library is not “an ivory tower; it’s a place for real people with real needs” (262). She gives an impassioned speech about the purpose of a library.

She argues that libraries are not about profit. They are one of the few public spaces left where people are allowed to simply exist without needing to buy things or justify their presence. They are safe spaces for children and women; places where those without access to education can be curious and learn on their own. She says that libraries should be sanctuaries for all people. She warns that “every tyrant of the world […] cements their rule by targeting knowledge” (264), and the Board should be careful not to be part of that history.

The Board is quiet and Alix thinks she has convinced them. Elizabeth suggests a membership model where they charge Patrons to enter and offer different tours of book worlds at different price levels. Alix is horrified as the Board continues speaking, ignoring her completely. Elizabeth suggests evicting the current Library Patrons. Meanwhile, Darla leaves the table and approaches the stacks with a large red “DISCARD” (267) stamp. She picks up Fahrenheit 451 and then stamps it. The book flutters and falls to the floor, motionless. Alix cries out that Darla has killed the book.

Elizabeth announces a forced retirement for the Librarian and says she will take over the position herself. Darla stamps another book with the DISCARD stamp and it falls to the floor.

Alix shouts with rage. Elizabeth summons new simulacra of Chad and Chester to threaten her. The Patrons begin to back away fearfully. Then books fly off the shelves to swarm Chad and Chester, crushing them with a splat. Alix recalls the Librarian saying that books ate intruders before. She smiles and warns Elizabeth that she made the books angry. This is a magic library beyond anyone’s control and sanctuaries have a right to defend themselves. She orders the Board to leave. When they refuse, she takes a deep breath and says “SHUSH!” in large letters that cover pages 274-5.

The library leaps into motion. The books swarm Elizabeth and throw her out of a window into the parchment sea beyond. Darla yells and runs to attack Alix, but another Patron kills her. Alix announces that the Board meeting is over and the others are free to leave. If they try to attack again, the Library will defend itself.

A week later, the Librarian wakes up. The Programmer had moved her to a video game for safety during the Board meeting and Alix visited her every day. Alix tells the Librarian what happened. The Librarian thanks her for protecting the Library. She admits that she tried to resist the Board at first, but she thought their bureaucratic nonsense was silly and if she ignored them they would leave her alone. She was clearly wrong.

In the week since the confrontation, the Patrons have returned to their book worlds. Beau has taken up residence in the Library’s Wardrobe department. He used the frozen time in the Library to finish the book dress for his actress client and now visits the Library in between work.

Alix laments that the Library never chose her and wonders if she has a right to stay. The Librarian assures her that no matter what the Board did, it would not have opened for her unless it wanted to. It chose her as a champion. Alix now realizes that she does not want to hide in a book world anymore and wants to stay with Beau. At the same time, she wants to explore different worlds and keep her connection to the Library. The Librarian offers her a job.

One year later, Alix is working as a Page in the Astral Library, training to become a full Librarian. She spends her days working in the Library and her evenings with Beau. Beau occasionally works in the Wardrobe Department while also maintaining his shop. Alix fears that one day she will have to choose between the Library and her life with Beau, but she decides not to worry about it yet. She is happy for the moment. She is also happy to find that her book dragon form is beginning to appear. She has developed blue scales on her back, though it will be decades before she can shift and fly.

She is also developing a new program. To expand book worlds beyond public domain titles, she hopes to gain permission from authors to use copyrighted works. She has appointments to speak with several major authors including Kate Quinn. Today, she has a meeting with a fantasy author, G.R. Macallister. She knows that “writers are a different breed” who will believe her because they “already know about far-off worlds lying just a tornado ride or a wardrobe door away” (293). She asks Macallister if she has ever wanted to live in a book.