It took several seconds for him to shake his blank expression, for his eyes to regain clarity. The man pushed himself away from the chair, standing with a start. “I feel like I want more.” With that, he abruptly left the office.
“Victor we haven’t even—” Aldrik tried to call after him, but was met with a closing door. “What’s gotten into him?”
“He’s likely just jealous of your prowess,” Egmun said.
“Well, he and I are on the same page. I want to practice more, too.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Egmun returned the box to its hiding place. Vi’s focus remained on the door. “But that’s all we are going to work on today.”
I want more. The words stuck with her. As soon as he’d said them, Victor had stormed off with purpose. A dangerous question crept into Vi’s mind:Had Victor already located the crown?
Vi set down her notes and made her way out as Aldrik and Egmun spoke. Egmun gave her a questioning look. “Please excuse me, I just remembered an appointment I must attend,” Vi said hastily and left the office.
She couldn’t waste any time beginning her search, especially now that she knew Victor might already be ahead of her.
The Tower hallway was empty. She strode down the spiraling pathway, keeping her eyes peeled for Victor, but there was no sign of him. She’d waited too long to follow.
Cursing softly, Vi headed toward an unmarked door on the outer ring of the tower. Behind this door was a narrow path—a secret passage that connected the Tower of Sorcerers with the palace proper. Vi emerged into a servant’s hall and, after orienting herself, started for the Imperial Library. She hadn’t seen much that would be useful in the Tower Library, and the Imperial Library’s collection was easily ten times the size.
On entering, she stepped hastily between shelves, easily avoiding the attention of any library staff without the need of flashes of Lightspinning. The last thing she wanted was someone asking too many questions about what she was doing.
“Histories… Histories…” Vi murmured to herself as she passed between the towering bookcases. Eventually, she made her way to a section dedicated to the histories of the Solaris Empire, organized by dates and rulers. The history of the Solaris Kingdom was tucked away in a corner of the tallest shelf, requiring her to climb one of the rolling ladders to reach.
Vi plucked the first book and skimmed the pages.
“Too long ago.” She returned it and grabbed the next one. “The crown of Solaris was bestowed on the eldest son of the original Solaris. It was a boon given to him by the Mother, ordaining him to rule this land,” Vi read aloud.
The wordsboon given to him by the Motherwere underlined in mostly faded blue ink.
Vi flipped ahead a few pages. More words were underlined in the same pale ink.
…a powerful Waterrunner, the crown bestowed the Mother’s blessing on him.
…then he crafted the first Solaris castle entirely of ice…
His son did not have magic. However, with the crown, he could inspire loyalty in those around him with powers unlike any other…
The book was littered with faint blue lines scribbled throughout. Some were dotted, some were double lined. A few passages were even circled. Vi furrowed her brow and ran her finger over a note at the end of the book. Scribbled in the corner on the back of the last page, it read:
One - Blue.
“One, blue,” Vi read aloud. “What does that mean?” A frown crossed her lips. She didn’t know what kind of notation system or code this person was using. But she did know one thing with confidence—someone else was tracking the history of the crown.
Vi just hoped it wasn’t Victor.
* * *
Vi’s head jerked up as she was startled by a knock on the door—three fast raps, followed by two slower ones. Rubbing her bleary eyes, Vi glanced out the windows. The midnight oil was burning in the mostly dark city below and that meant she’d been at it for at least five hours straight.
Putting down the book she’d been combing through, Vi opened the door without hesitation. Only one person knocked that way.
She was met with the face of a Tower apprentice—a pale-skinned young woman with straw-colored hair.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone,” Vi said with a tired smile.
“Well, when you become a hermit for a few weeks, you run the risk of people seeking you out.” The young woman’s eyes darted down the Tower hall. “Now, let me in before someone sees I don’t belong here.”
“I doubt that would happen. For how secretive they are, the Tower doesn’t seem like it has the best security.” Vi stepped to the side to let Deneya enter, and she watched the illusion vanish from her shoulders.
