“And you search through the books on behalf of my father? Books filled with the art of the mystics?”
I nod again, watching his features close off.
“And you’ve done that for the past two years? On my lands, in the cities of Dardar and Varon and Dalloway?”
“Yes.”
The Prince goes absolutely silent. I try to move my legs away from his grasp but he keeps a firm grip, holding me in place.
“Are you upset?” I ask quietly.
“Yes,” he lets his sharp eyes land on mine as I hold my breath, “I’m upset that it was done in secret, that it is still being done in secret. I have no problem letting you enter our libraries if my father had only asked.”
“But the Old World rule?”
“Could care less about it,” he scowls, “what I do care about and what has me upset is that that these travels were never brought to my attention. I’m also angered at my brother and his general lack of prying, now wondering if he knew about your travels and kept them hidden from me.”
I shake my head, “I don’t believe your brother knows. It is my understanding that only Cal, Holis, Mana and I are aware of the arrangement with your father, and even the three of them don’t know exactly what I do within the library halls…”
I glance at Keane softly, “but also, why would you expect Desmond to pry? In cities filled with thousands, why would it be commonplace to keep tabs on the libraries there?”
“It will be now,” he looks back at me with more seriousness.
“We don’t hide our travels, Keane,” I shake my head again, “but we also don’t flaunt them. We’re just travelers passing through like any other.The only ones in the city that know we are there on behalf of the King are the four of us and whatever Discerni greets me to take me inside.”
“Brave,” he replies, brown eyes holding mine.
I shift at the comment.
“I know what the mystical libraries of our Old World contain, Alexis…”
I bite my lip and look to the side, not wanting to think about it.
“And now you’ll be traveling into foreign lands, to a city you’ve never visited before, only to be shuffled into another foreign library alone…”
I nod slowly, the anticipation of my trip not lost on me.
“Brave, Alexis.”
I don’t know how to respond. I certainly feel brave every time I leave the group behind me and walk into the unknown halls, but not so much when I feel the glares of the Discerni librarians as they’re forced to help a human girl with the books they covet so deeply. I also don’t feel brave when the darkness from the depths and the texts start to consume me. Some of the stuff I’ve read…
I shake my head with a grimace.
“Why the Shadow Oak?” the Prince asks quietly, pulling me away from my clouded thoughts. I look back to see him glancing up to the dark limbs as he takes in the oak.
“What do you mean?” I pass the flask in his direction.
Keane sighs, grabbing the whiskey to take a small swig before he lays it next to him. He lets his hands drift back to my calves and traces small circles against the leather of my boots.
“Most people tend to avoid this oak...”
“They’re idiots, then,” I frown.
The Prince just keeps his eyes on the branches above us, watching as a small black leaf falls gently through the air. My own sigh is small as I offer him a better answer.
“I saw the oak waving to me from afar yesterday. I had no idea what it was that I saw, only that I knew that I had to greet it in return. So when I passed through the woods and saw its mass standing in front of me, greeting me in its darkness yet still so warm… there was nothing, Keane, no gesture or smile or sway in my body that could properly greet it back. I felt ashamed at first, recognizing its beauty and being unable to respond with the appropriate respect it deserved. I think I even started crying at the sight of it. But the oak just continued to stand over me, it’s branches welcoming me into its dark embrace. It reminded me so much of the oak I love back home, though it wasn’t quite the same at all…”
I take a deep breath and slowly lay my back on the ground, crossing my arms behind my head as I look up in thought.
