“I don’t know, but look.” Vi took the book back from Deneya’s hands and rested it on the table, flipping through. “These plans are incomplete… There are sections missing. Doors lead to nowhere and hallways crop up from nothing.”
“How can you tell?” Deneya shifted, looking over her shoulder.
“I just can. See, here, there’s—”
“I’m going to stop you there; I’m not going to understand anyway.” Deneya laughed. “I trust you.”
“I don’t know how you can understand how to make leather and smithed goods, but claim you can’t grasp architecture.”
“We all have our strengths.” Deneya held out her hands and shrugged with a small smile, but her expression turned serious once more. “So where does this leave us with the crown?”
“Adela successfully stole it, of that I’m confident.” Just saying it aloud made Vi’s toes curl with howrightit felt. “She must have fled to Oparium. It’s the largest port near Solarin.”
“Makes sense for the most infamous pirate the world has ever seen. Tiberus followed her in pursuit and… built a house with incomplete architectural drawings?”
“I don’t understand that bit either,” Vi admitted. “But that’s a mystery for another time. The first order of business is to make sure Adela actually got the treasure out of the palace. We have to rule that out with as much certainty as possible before we go chasing another lead.” Vi doubted that Taavin would go with her on a gut feeling when it came to this. She needed more proof of her theories before they took action.
“If she didn’t get it out of the palace, wouldn’t someone have already found it?”
Vi glanced back at her collection of books—a wealth of history on the Solaris family. Theirs was a bloodline that ran all the way back to the eldest son of the Champion.
“No,” Vi said. “This place is old, very old, and it’s been built on time and again. Who knows what may be hiding in its depths?”
Chapter Six
The moment Deneya left,Vi summoned Taavin. He barely had time to orient himself before she asked, “Do you know where Adela’s room in the Tower of Sorcerers was?”
“Excuse me?” Two emerald eyes blinked at her in startled confusion.
“Adela’s room, when she was a student of the Tower… do you know where it was?”
Focus crossed his face and Taavin shook his head. “A moment.” He held out his arms and murmured the chant that connected him to all the knowledge of their past iterations. As the light faded from him, he shook his head again. “This isn’t something you’ve asked me before. Why do you need to know about Adela?”
“I think she’s the one who took the crown—well before the point at which the world is being rebuilt time and again. The crown’s location has always been variable. Her stealing it may have been a stone in the river, but everything else about how she did it—”
“Changes,” Taavin finished thoughtfully. “Adela would be an agent of chaos in the world.”
“Exactly. I need to figure out if the crown left the palace or not.” Vi filled him in on all her discoveries—the books, Deneya’s records, her gut instinct. “If it’s here, we have it. If I’m right, and it’s not… then it’s either in Oparium, or with Adela herself.”
“Let’s hope it’s not the latter.” Taavin sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, I don’t know where her room was.”
“Do you knowanythingabout her? Beyond the obvious? Any memories of her, no matter how insignificant, might be helpful.”
“You seem desperate.”
“I am.” Vi folded her arms. “Victor might be ahead of me in the hunt for the crown. I’m not sure.” She shook her head at the whole situation—at the mere thought of Victor getting his hands on the crown. In her world, when he had, he’d used the crystals’ power to challenge the Solaris family in a bloody coup. He’d become known as the Mad King for his twisted ways, and any effort Vi could make to thwart or postpone his nefarious tendencies would be effort well spent.
“I see.” A pained look crossed his features. “I’m sorry, Vi. I don’t have much knowledge on Adela beyond what you likely already know.”
“It’s all right.” Vi crossed to him and took both his hands in hers. She gripped them tightly. “The knowledge you’ve given me has already done so much. I can take care of this.” Leaning forward, Vi placed a chaste kiss on his lips, quickly pulling away. Now was not the time for romance. Deneya’s revelations had lit a fire in her. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
“Where are you—” She’d dismissed him before he could finish.
“Sorry,” Vi murmured to the empty air and left her room. The night was young, and the iron of her mind was hot—ready to strike.
She wound about halfway down the Tower to a central room. Long tables stood empty, projects scattered about them, waiting for their Waterrunners to return in the morning. Around the outside of the room were narrow doors that led to private workshops.
Vi peered into the darkness, imagining Adela here. The woman was sixteen, or maybe just seventeen. She had the same icy blue eyes. Her hair was blonde, not white. She was younger, but as confident and arrogant as the Adela Vi knew. She sauntered around the Tower and this room like she owned the place.
