Gooseflesh covered her arms the moment they crossed the threshold and Vi let out a sigh of equal parts delight and awe. They went into a side hall that wound around the throne room and receiving area. Her breath hitched as they turned a corner, the room opening into a sitting area. Vi delicately lifted a hand, feeling the fitted stones of the wall.
She touched the masonry of the palace like she was greeting a long-lost friend.
Every twist and turn of the candle-lit halls thrilled her. Every stairwell that rounded back on itself, overlooking Solarin on each landing, sent shivers up her spine.
She knew this castle better than anywhere in the world, even though this was the first time she’d stepped foot in it. She knew the pathways that would head to the royal wing, guarded with a stunning gold gate. She knew the secret servants’ halls her mother spoke of and that she’d delighted in finding on her maps.
She knew the moment they laid eyes on the library doors.
The heavy door glided over the plush carpet silently at the guard’s slightest push. The smell of leather and parchment filled her nose. Vi’s eyes settled on the gold-gilded cherry wood bookcases that lined up in rows down the center hallway of the library. She stared at the center circulation desk, and the ancient looking man behind it who didn’t even so much as look up from what he was working on.
With a soft click, the doors behind them shut, and Vi was snapped back into reality.
“It’s just as she said,” Vi whispered. She was drawn to the books as if by a trance. Her hand closed around one of the metal sliding ladders that allowed people to reach the tops of the dizzyingly tall shelves.
“What is? Who?” Deneya asked.
“My mother.” Vi ran her fingers along the spines. She looked ahead to the outer wall she knew was lined with windows. Her mother had spoken fondly of a particular window where she would always sit to read. Would Vi be able to tell which, even though Vhalla had yet to step foot in the castle in this world? Would she feel it in her marrow as keenly as she could feel Yargen’s magic? “She always said she wanted to introduce me to her friends here.”
“I doubt your mother’s friends will show up for a few years yet.” Deneya laced her fingers, placing them behind her head as Vi let out a soft laugh.
“Her friends weren’t people… they were books.”
“Books? Your mother sounds like a dull person.”
Vi grinned at Deneya. “My mother’s life was anything but. You’ll see soon enough.”
They reached the end of the bookshelf and Vi looked down the long line of windows. Each one had a seat carved out beneath its glass. Cerulean pillows turned them into comfortable reading nooks.
Vi couldn’t tell which one had been, and would become, her mother’s.
“So, now that we’ve met your mother’s ‘friends’ and I somehow ended up with a job that will involve literal shit… it’s your turn.”
“Yes.” Vi tore her eyes from the windows. “You wait here while I—”
“I’m not waiting with a bunch of books.” Deneya’s tone reminded Vi of the woman’s disdain for reading. “I’m going to explore the city and begin to get a lay of the land.”
“Where will I find you?”
“In the closest pub to this frosty library, I’d bet.”
“Are you exploring the city or getting drunk?” Vi asked dryly.
“It’s been a while since we had the comforts of a city.” Deneya grinned.
“Keep your head about you and the gold in our pockets, please.”
“I always have my head about me. And I have ajob, remember? I’ll be spending my coin how I please.” Deneya stepped away with a wave and vanished among the rows of books.
Vi watched her for a moment before going in the opposite direction. She’d made it into the castle. Now it was time to break in to the Tower of Sorcerers.
Chapter Three
There werea few principles Uncle Jax had taught her since Vi was a little girl. Right at the top of the list was that the South hated sorcerers above all else.
Vi hadn’t understood why when she was younger. She’d merely accepted it, as children do. But experience had taught her that the hatred went all the way back to the original, magic-less settlers of the Dark Isle, fleeing persecution on Meru. While that history had long been lost on the general public, it established Vi’s expectation for her time here.
Starting with finding the Tower of Sorcerers.
