“I think he needs a drink,” Grod commented. “He looks thirsty.”
A guard violently snatched a handful of hair at the base of Rawn’s skull and shoved his head inside. The filthy water rushed up his nose and mouth. He gagged on it, spasming against the barrel. Panic and fear wrangled his heart as his lungs burned for air. They held him there, and his consciousness began to slip away.
The sun was warm on his face, the trilling of water soothing to his ears as he carved another piece of wood for his boy. It was a beautiful day by a quiet creek.
“What do you think? Will he like it?”
Fair paused his grazing and neighed in approval. Rawn smiled down at the birth token for his son. Raiden would turn ten years old soon.
They yanked his head out of the water, and he sucked in ragged gulps of air.
Grod hissed in his ear, “Where is the key?”
They shoved him back down before he could gasp a full breath.
Rawn sighed at the stack of books and scrolls set on the table. He was surrounded by rows and rows of shelves that filled the many floors of the Liánhua Library. Stacked with so much knowledge, he would need a lifetime to read them all.
His research had made very little progress in ten years. He was beginning to fear he would never find it.
The Princess of Xián Jing slid into the chair across from him. She wore a fine silk robe in the deepest of red, embroidered with flying dragons and lotus flowers. The sleeves slid down her arms as she linked her fingers together, resting her dainty chin on them. “Why do you continue to search for the blades, Lord Norrlen? You will find no answers here.”
Rawn stood and bowed his head. “Princess, if you wish to revoke my access to your library, I will readily depart.”
The gold combs pinning up her black hair glittered in the torchlight as she canted her head. “Sit, please. I merely wonder about your motivation. You have made every effort and have found nothing. Could your king not accept this?”
He sighed, making the dust collected on the old scrolls waft into the air. “Perhaps, princess, but I cannot. By oath, I swore never to return home until I have the blade in my hands.”
“Would that be so terrible?”
“To do so would be to forsake my wife and son, who await my return. I can think of nothing more terrible than that.”
“Even if continuing this pursuit may end in your death?”
“Even then.”
The shock of the unfamiliar memory pulled Rawn back to reality. He had met the princess of Xián Jing?
But the lack of air stole all focus. They let him up again, and he drew in ragged mouthfuls of air. His lungs spasmed with the effort, and he vomited all the foul water he had swallowed.
“Answer, filthy elf, or you will lose more than air.”
“I…” Rawn rasped. “…know nothing.”
“Lies! We know you’re hiding it!” Grod lifted a club and beat him across the back of his head. Stars flashed in his vision, and Rawn droppedon the ground, a ringing piercing his ears. “The key, damn you! Give us the key!”
The club smashed into his skull.
The princess’s warm brown eyes saddened. Reaching into her robes, she placed something on the table with a faint clink. “You will find what you need on the last floor, in the restricted section. I have approved your access there.”
She rose from the table and strode away.
“I don’t understand,” Rawn said to her retreating back. “Why share this with me now?”
She paused and gave him a small smile over her shoulder. “Perhaps I can respect a father who would go to the ends of the earth for his family.”
His eyes watered, and he deeply bowed. “Thank you, princess.”
“Lord Norrlen, my friends call me Daiyu.”
