“The king has a library?” A kindling flame of warmth circles in my stomach. “With books?”
“No. A library with animals. Of course, with books,” Axle chides. He props the manuscript in his lap. “Lots of them. Ancient as ancient gets, but most of them are still legible.”
“Take me there!”
Axle draws back at my eagerness and shakes his head. “You can’t, Kyla. I have to sneak in and sneak out with these. However, even if I am caught, they won’t punish me. I’m a shadow-killer. You’re a Kelban, and if you’re caught in there . . . the punishment is cruel, I assure you. Just take this, and I’ll get you another when I can.”
In two days we are leaving. He cannot get a book fast enough for me to read. I will have to take one. I know better than to tell that to Axle, though.
“You don’t understand. I have to see it. It’s been so long . . . so long since I saw a place like that. Please, Axle. Please . . .” I reach out to touch his arm. He draws back. No amount of convincing will break his decision.
“I’m sorry, Kyla. I can’t. It’s too risky.”
I shrug. “Fine. No problem.”
After a few uncomfortable minutes of awkward silence, Axle launches into a topic about red-heads and how much “ginger” they possess. I feign amusement and try to act like I’ve forgotten about the library.
Shade stares at me from his place by the fire, never flinching, never saying anything, but he doesn’t have to. He knows me better than Axle. He knows I am stubborn.
He knows I will go to the library.
And, in the middle of the night, when Axle has fallen asleep and is snoring on the rug, he tells me exactly how to find it.
Chapter XXX
King Arkan’s private library is hidden behind two private lounges and four guarded doors. The guards, however, all switch at the same time, leaving five minutes for me to get into the library, which I do without any trouble. I hear the guards come back and resume their places. I have two hours before they rotate again and, if I am quiet, I will learn a good deal within that time.
King Arkran’s library is, by no means, as fancy as Celectate Wood’s. The shelves are carved out of the stone mountain itself and give the entire room a crude appearance, despite the fifty foot ceiling and colossal, glass window that provides a perfect view of Smoke. To make matters worse, most of the books are in ill-repair. Pages are torn. Spines disintegrating. Covers mutilated or missing. I wrinkle my nose in disgust at the smell of mold and decay.
Treasures like these should be valued and cared for like fine jewels, and King Arkran has let them shrivel into ruin.
I begin my search. Some of the newest additions include one of Goldbrow’s tall tales forged about the Wilds and its inhabitants. Others resemble certain manuscripts I’d seen and read in Celectate Wood’s own collections. In a far corner of the room, wooden shelves have recently been added to the room’s furnishings. Scrolls, neatly rolled and tied with bits of garnished string, fill the space they provide.
I rifle through them. Most of them are letters of old between ancient diplomats, long before the destruction of Kelba. They speak of creating havoc or ruining a lord’s reputation to take his place. Of back-biting and malice. At least, times were not too different before the poisons came.
But one of the letters is different. It smells of perfume – a scent unfamiliar to me. The words are written in thin, black ink and scrawled out across the page. The author wrote it in frenzy. It’s a poem.
I was alone and judged among the living,
Unwanted and unclaimed among the dead.
Where in this life could I find my place?
Go to hell,” my persecutors said.
What place is there for me,
In this world I’ve come to know
Cares nothing for the living
But for the grief and strife they sow.
I was foolish, and my eyes were blind
To the truths they hid from me.
They cursed and tore me down,
And, like a fool, I did not see.
And then my eyes were open
Lo and behold, I saw
The answers to the questions
That bled my heart raw.
The time is coming.
The hour is near.
The doors of hell will open,
Their worst fears will appear.
The grief and strife they’ve sown,
Will be restored tenfold.
The lies and tales they’ve spread
Will become whispers of old.
Hear my warning
Hold it close.
Bordas equistia selentia vermana
The poem is untitled and the author unknown.
I recognize the last few words. They’d been carved into the mountainside in Shade’s secret lair. Ancient tongue. Foreign tongue.
Undefinable.
Shivers skate along my spine. I don’t know why . . . but the words fill me with dread. Like the person who wrote the poem knew about something evil, but was afraid to say what it was.
The doors of hell will open . . . Their worst fears will appear.
Whose fears?
The click of the door handle behind me startles me so badly I drop the parchment onto the ground. I hear one of the guards chuckle as he greets the newcomer. I duck behind one of the shelves and press myself against the wood. I can see the door through the slits created by the scrolls. It opens halfway, revealing a tanned hand, followed by an equally tan, young man with a clean-cut jaw and light blue eyes.
Prince Ivan.
He shuts the door solidly behind him and steps towards the ornately carved table resting in front of the colossal window. I hadn’t noticed the modest carafe resting on its surface, nor the small iron cups. He pours wine into two of them.
“Are you going to come out? Hide and seek is a rather dull game to play by yourself.”
I hold my breath. Maybe he’s talking to someone else.
He turns and stares directly at my hiding place and holds out one of the iron cups. “Well, m’lady?”
I reveal myself and take the glass he offers me. “Your highness.” I incline my head.
“Please, Kyla, we’re both nobility. No need to be so formal.” He gulps down some of his wine, eyes staring at me over the rim of his cup. They don’t leave me. “So . . .” He wipes the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “Are you going to tell me why you’re so interested in my father’s private library? Actually, hold on a second . . . ignore that last question. I’m more interested in how you got in.”
I shrug nonchalantly. “Luck, I guess.”
“Or one of your savage friends?” He regards me with a furrowed brow.
I open my mouth, and he holds up a finger. “No need to explain. I’d much rather ignore the fact that those bastards can come and go without punishment anywhere they choose merely because my father thinks they’re our saviors.”
I remember the look he and Axle had shared in the courtroom. “Not friends, I take it?”
He snorts at the word. “Maybe once . . . before Axle became a sarcastic asshole with no manners and no regard for nobility. Shade . . .” He shrugs off the name. “We’ve barely shared two words in the past five years.”
He eyes me curiously, luridly raking me from head-to-toe. “I really am curious.”
“What?” I cross my arms over my chest.
“Which of them is fucking you?”
Raging heat blossoms in my neck. “I should slap you for that!”
He shrugs. “Can you blame me? They never leave your side. Perhaps . . . are they both . . .”
“Finish that sentence,” I growl, stepping towards him, a fist at my side. I don’t have to touch him to silence him. I could wrap the invisible line of my power around his neck and strangle any following ridicule from his mind. But, of course, he doesn’t know that. “I dare you.”
I wish he would. I want to choke the noble arrogance from his perfect face.
&nbs
p; He shakes his head. “I’m no fool.” He bows. “My apologies. A test, m’lady, to see if you’re really the spineless bitch everyone is saying you are. It seems the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?”
He sits on the edge of the table and slaps a hand on his knee. “Where do I begin? You killed a razor on your own. You saved the life of an Agronite from a shadow. You discovered one of the ‘cursed’ in Gavrone, saving hundreds of lives.” He grins at me, revealing a mouthful of straight, white teeth. Is everything about him perfect? “In short, you’ve become a very interesting case for me, Kyla Bone.”
I ignore his attempt at charm. “So you’ve decided you want to try and seduce me?”
His smile widens. “Who said that?”
An amused laugh echoes from my mouth. “I lived around noble brats like yourself for nearly eighteen years. I know when boys like you want me in their bed.”
“Give me a proper chance, m’lady, and I will show you I’m no longer a boy.” He steps towards me.
I step away from him. “I’ll have to decline your offer.”
“You should learn, Kyla Bone,” he whispers in a low voice as he approaches me, “that when a nobleman offers something, you take it.”
Bastard.
He grabs my arm, and my knuckles clip him underneath his jaw. He stumbles back and falls against the table. Blood drips down his chin from his lip where he bit himself. He presses a finger to it and stares at the red droplets staining his hand.
“And you should learn, Prince Ivan, that when a lady says ‘no’, she means ‘no.’”
Rage dances in his eyes. “I can have you flogged for being in here!” he snaps. “Killed, even.”
I smile and approach, leaning close to his ear so I can whisper, “And the same fate awaits you if I tell a certain someone what transpired between us in this room.” I draw back, giving him room to stand straight.
He chuckles. “So you are fucking them?”
I shake my head. “No one fucks with me. Least of all, little pricks like you.”
“No one, eh? Rumor has it that your Shade’s new pastime. Let me give you a word of advice . . . after you’ve satisfied his hunger, you’ll be nothing but a piece in his endless collection.” He tweaks my chin. “River. Now you. A shame.”
River?
“What do you mean?”
“Two years ago, when the three of them showed up in this very palace, desolate and without a penny to their names, who do you think kept Shade’s bed warm? Why wouldn’t he fall prey to my sister’s infatuating charms? Because he already had a whore . . . he was fucking his best friend’s sister right beneath his nose. And when I called him out on it . . . when I told Axle about his friend’s deception . . . do you know what they did? They beat me bloody. Stripped me naked. Threw me in a pit. And they left.” He sneers. “Ask them and they’ll deny it. They’ll tell some shit tale about how I made it all up. But it’s true. Just wait. Once they’ve both gotten you naked and laid you a few times, watch how they change.”
I feel like he’s punched me in the gut. River always did admit that Shade was attractive. She certainly showed that she cared for him. And Shade was always nice to her. Protective. Kind. Was it because she was his best friend’s sister . . . or because she’d been more?
Ivan watches me intently. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Shut up,” I growl, trying to think. To sort through everything I can remember transpiring between River and Shade. Nothing comes to mind. All I can remember are a few moments of friendly kindness and understanding.
And the way he’d touched me – the way he’d kissed me – the way he looked at me – he never looked at River like that. He never looked at River at all, come to think of it.
I glare at the prince. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?”
“You don’t know Shade like I do,” I whisper. “He would never do that to Axle . . . for a number of reasons.”
“They’re both messed up bastards. You’ve no idea what they would do,” he argues.
The palms of my hand burn with the urge to throw him halfway across the room. To smash his head against the wall. To make him trip and hit his head on the table. I curl my fingers into a fist. “We’re done here. Thank you, your highness, for tolerating my presence. I’ll take my leave now.”
He grabs my arm as I step past him. “I’ll say when you’re leaving!”
“The hell you will,” I snap and slam a palm to his chest. He surges backwards like a gust of wind in a sail and falls on his ass. I relish the crack of bone upon wood. He shrieks.
The door slams open. A guard in an iron helmet peers inside, “Your highness . . .” He gapes at me.
I glare down at the prince. “Tell him to leave,” I snarl in a low voice. “Tell him to leave or when I leave this room, I’ll go straight to your father and tell him of your behavior.”
He sneers. “Go ahead. I’m his son.”
“And I’m his connection to Kelba,” I retort. His face falls. “Tell the guard to leave.”
He gestures for the guard to return to his position. The door closes once more.
“What do I need to do to make you be quiet?” he asks.
I allow myself a triumphant smile. “Which of your books contains the history of the Wilds? I’ll be relieving you of it.”
I meet Axle halfway to my rooms. He’s leaning against the wall, waiting for me. He sees the book in my hands. A feral growl emanates from his throat.
“Damn it, Kyla! I told you not to go there.”
“You forgot to mention that the prince likes to enjoy solitude among manuscripts as much as I.”
His shoulders stiffen. “What did he do?”
“Oh, he was positively charming,” I say in a voice much too high-pitched. I wave my hand theatrically at the book. “He let me keep this – for nothing. Such a gentleman, wouldn’t you say, Axle?” I make sure to narrow my eyes at him.
He clears his throat nervously.
“Unless, there’s something you’re not telling me – again!”
“What would that be?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter.”
We walk in silence for what seems to be ages. Guards stare at us as we pass, no doubt smirking behind the iron helmets.
Did everybody really think I’d taken both boys as my lovers?
“He didn’t ask you to do anything for him, did he?” Axle’s voice is a bit too low.
“Like what?” I stare at him pointedly as we walk.
His cheeks grow red, but he blunders into an explanation. “Like spread your legs, okay? There! I said it, damn it!”
I continue to stare at him blankly. “Whatever makes you think he’d ask such a thing?”
Axle shakes his head at me, irritation evident in the hard line of his jaw. “Because he’s a prick. A noble brat who thinks he has the right to everything because his father’s the king and he’s charming and handsome and rich. And because he thought he had rights to my sister.”
I’d waited patiently for that information to come out. I’d been fairly certain Axle and Shade had a reason for whipping and stripping him. They wouldn’t have wasted time on a bastard like him unless he’d done something to warrant the ill treatment.
“Did he . . .?” I can’t finish the sentence. The thought of Ivan touching – hurting – River makes my blood boil. I can only imagine what Axle felt when the situation occurred.
“He tried. She refused him. Many times. One day he cornered her in the library. Forced himself on her. Shade and I had been dispatched on patrol. We came back a week later. There was a bruise healing on her cheek and marks on her neck. Her lip was split. She’d fought him and gotten away. The king interfered in the matter and said there was no harm done. Prince Ivan had looked at me smugly. He knew he’d get away with it. But I wanted him to know – to know that he couldn’t lay hands on my sister without severe consequences. So Shade and I waited for him after he went into town for easier conques
ts of the female variety and ambushed him on the way back. We took our time. Broke his arm. A couple of ribs. As a final wound, we stripped him and threw him in a pit near the corner of the city. When daylight came, everyone saw him. Everyone mocked him. It was a fitting justice. The king knew he had to get us out of Smoke before we clashed again. So he sent us to Agron to defend the border. We’ve been there ever since.”
“I’m sorry. At least she was okay. It doesn’t seem to have affected her.”
“Why should it? A handsome man found her attractive and went a little too far. That’s what it is to her. Only Shade and I know the truth. That he’s a lust-crazed fanatic who would bed anything that possessed curves.” He swipes a hand through his mangy hair before looking at me. “So, Kyla, I’ll ask you for the last time . . . did he do anything to you?”
“No. He didn’t. Honestly, Axle, I find your lack of faith in my abilities quite offensive.”
His eyes narrow.
“No. He didn’t,” I repeat with finality.
“If you say so.”
Silence again. Until we reach his room. He invites me in and pours us both a glass of wine from the decorated pitcher.
“Let’s drink to tomorrow, where we will leave this shitty place forever.” He downs the beverage.
I do the same.
“Now,” Axle says, “let me see that book that you went through so much trouble to get.”
Chapter XXXI
One moment I am breathing clean air through my nostrils, and the next, the frighteningly close stench of leather is assailing my senses. Something hard closes over my mouth. The smell envelopes me. My eyes fly open, adjusting immediately to the dark. To the faint light provided by the fireplace. And to the dark figure kneeling over my sleeping form, a dagger in one hand and the other over my mouth.
Ostracized (The Ostracized Saga Book 1) Page 52
