He pivoted it back to me. “No trick. I can’t, even if I wanted to. This book is an old magic from long ago. It writes things in it on its own. I don’t ever touch this book much unless I need information.”
I looked back down; the description searing into my brain as both my heart and my mind were running wild.I can’t be the long lost princess. I just can’t.I looked back down again, searching for anything to make this not true. “It doesn’t even have a name, just a description. There might be another woman with green hair…” I trailed off as I know from my experience traveling that I never once bumped into a woman with the same dark green hues I had.
“That’s because you haven’t decided on your name yet, have you? How do you expect the book to pick when you haven’t picked yourself?” His smug voice was making my skin crawl and my magic was humming underneath my skin. I tried to think of anything, anything that could prove that I wasn’t this lost royal we were seeking.
The Librarian looked at me, and then to the book. A smile formed on his lips. “I can prove it.” He looked at the book again, counting off the ticks next to the description. “You are twenty-six, about to turn twenty-seven in two months, correct?”
All the blood left my face as I tried to remember if I told anyone that. I don’t even think I told the boys when my birthday was yet. He continued, “And if you still don’t believe me, all I need is a drop of your blood to fall on this page and if it lights up, you are a direct descendant of royalty, if the blood does nothing, then you are a regular human with a regular life and the book is wrong, defective.”
I liked the sound of that, that the book could be the wrong one. Before anyone could tell me otherwise, I pulled out one of my throwing knives and sliced open my thumb, dropping the blood onto the page.
After two seconds of landing and not glowing, I thought I was right and almost jumped up for joy, very close to putting it in the Librarian’s face. Then the spot where my blood dropped started to glow. My eyes clung to the scene. This can’t be it.
The book burst with light, beams shined out between all the bodies circling around the book, before it settled back down and underneath the blank name spot, where the name still did not appear, there was a small asterisk and small script that formed. We all leaned in and watched as bright red lettering spelled out; raised by Stevos Rocnal.
Everyone slowly turned to look at me as I shook my head, still wanting to deny what was right in front of my face. If this was true, that meant my whole life was a lie. All the training and heartache. All the times I worked so hard to get a single look of love from the man who I thought was my father was a waste. All the hard work I put in to prove I was his daughter meant nothing. He lied to my face every single day. He made me believe I was his true daughter, one of his blood that could handle the world of assassins, but really I was some royal kid that he felt loyal to the family for? Did he kidnap me as a baby? Did he save me from being slaughtered like the rest of them?
Wild thoughts swept and swirled around in my mind, not slowing down fast enough for me to examine. My nostrils flared as a pounding in my ears took over and I clenched my hands. My body filled with this large ball of rage and anger that I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Something I thought I had mastered, but I was learning the hard truth of that today as my body started to tremble, my eyes watered, and I felt like my head was about to explode.
I looked around and saw all of their faces: pity, awe, disappointment, excitement, fear. I saw all of those emotions cross the faces of the people that I cared about and I just couldn’t take it. All I knew for sure was that I needed to leave. I didn’t want them to see me like this… like I was confused and… lost. I felt weak and embarrassed.Mika, showing emotions like weakness gives people access to hurt you. Don’t let that happen. You must be strong, you must-, I clutched my head as I forced my father’s voice to stop.It was a lie, all of these truths I believed were lies!
Zayden, Rykon and Ajax made steps towards me, but I shook my head as I stepped away from them. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want them to see the tears in my eyes spill over until I was completely empty of them. I didn’t want their pity.
I turned around and ran out the door. Voices called after me, but I blocked them out as I raced down the stone steps and pushed out the front door. Not stopping for anything or anyone, as the first tear tracked down my face, as more fell uncontrollably, I kept running until I hit the sea and ran across the water’s edge, running as far and as fast as I could to hide my breaking heart. To hide how my world was crumbling right beneath my feet, all because my father didn’t tell me.
Chapter 25
“Makergodsasshole.”Zayden said as he slumped into a chair, eyes wide as he stared at the door Emerald ran through.
Ajax scowled at the book, turning it towards him as he started to look through it, mumbling about magic being wrong, or something like that. But I couldn’t pay attention to him. All I could do was stare at the door the woman I was falling deeply for ran through.
Zayden scrubbed his hands over his face in exhaustion as he looked off into the library in thought. It was a little bit scary that Zayden wasn’t talking, making jokes and what not. I think we could all use that kind of distraction right now.
Emerald is the lost royal. Those words didn’t even seem possible. She was Emerald, the green-haired assassin that crashed into our lives in the most vicious of ways, tearing down our anger and resentment and filling us with purpose and direction.
Would I have done this, traveled this far to take down a terrible king, if she hadn’t forced me? Hadn’t threatened me with imprisonment and death? No. Rykon back then would’ve blown it off, telling myself that all I had control over was my family and the guild. While they still mean the world to me, I now have a goal for a better future. Not just for myself and my guild, but for Onisea, and it felt… good. It eased some of the poison in my heart from when Mika left, and I didn’t want to give it up. I didn’t want to giveherup.
“So what?” Hemlock said as she looked at the three of us like we were idiots.
Zayden slowly looked at her, his voice calm and controlled for once. “So she is the princess, the one we were trying to find to bring back and rule over Onisea.”
Hemlock shrugged, “and?”
Zayden said nothing after that as he turned away from her, going back to sulking in the chair, and I knew what he was thinking. Why he was sulking and why Ajax was furiously trying to prove the book wrong. If she was the princess, she couldn’t be with us. With some lowly men apart from some commoner guilds, even if we were to be the leaders, we were still not of noble birth. I have never wanted to be a person of high birth, feeling like we were the lucky ones, as well got to live how we chose, but now I found myself wishing that I was. I was feeling left out.
I didn’t even want to think about how happy the prince will be when he finds out. He could marry her and they could both rule together, leaving us three like a memory while we pine for our queen. I could feel myself sinking into a depression, full of despair and self-loathing.
Hemlock stomped her way over to a chair, sitting down with a frown and an enormous exaggerated sigh. The librarian was not moving from his spot, just watching everyone and everything like he was committing it to memory.
Hemlock sighed again before her cruel tone came out to us. “Man. You three really disappoint me. You seemed like formidable men, but now I see you are just scared little boys.” She looked at her fingernails as she flicked her mean eyes at each of us. “It’s pathetic, really.”
Ajax’s face snapped up. “Shut up, you know nothing about us!” His chest heaved as his eyes were laced with pain.
Hemlock kept that cool, cruel tone as she focused all her attention on him. “You’re right, big boy. I may know nothing about your situation, how you got together or why the fuck she cares for idiots like you, but I know one thing.” Her chin tipped down as she gave him a wicked smirk. “You’re not worthy of her.”
Ajax did what he always did, let his feelings take over, as he launched himself at her. The librarian lifted his hand and suddenly a fierce wind blew through the library, circling around Ajax, picking him up and setting him down in a chair. “No fighting in the library. Civilized conversations only.” Then he went back to watching us like we were his entertainment.
Hemlock leaned back and kicked up her feet as she put her hands behind her head. “Are you mad at the truth, boys? Is that what is getting you in the dumps? It’s better you know your failures now than to have to face them later in life.”
