Elowen tried to protest, but he didn’t stay to hear her. He strode straight back into the meeting without a backward glance, leaving her fuming and more desperate than ever.
“Elowen.” Sophia’s voice was hesitant. “Am I right in thinking that the alliance has nothing to do with your need to intervene in Prince Theodore’s recovery?”
A hiccup that would have liked to be a sob escaped Elowen. “I love him, Sophia,” she murmured. “I didn’t realize it until I thought I might lose him. I’ve been a fool, creating barriers that ended up hurting us both. Iwantto marry him. More than anything else.”
“Maybe your father will listen to you, once the meeting is done,” Sophia said.
“Maybe.” Elowen didn’t feel hopeful. “But it might be too late.” Her face set. “We need to take the matter into our own hands in the meantime.” She glanced around. “Come on.”
Sophia followed her down several corridors, rapidly approaching the castle’s library. Elowen had dismissed her guards. She was safe enough in her own castle.
But Theo hadn’t been, she reminded herself miserably. Her eyes flicked to the place near the library entrance where Theo had seen her speaking with Simeon and disapproved. She wished she hadn’t let him get away with saying nothing and pretending he wasn’t bothered by it. There were a lot of times where she wished she’d been more assertive and pushed him harder to open up to her. But she hadn’t known him well enough then to be sure she’d like what she found if she got inside his head. Now that she had no fear of seeing who he really was, it was easier to see that she’d been too passive.
“Elowen, I told you,” Sophia said in a murmur as they entered the library. “I checked in here, I couldn’t find any translation of those words.”
“You said you checked all the languages of the Peninsula,” Elowen said. Her mind went back over what Prince Cassius had said. The serious Carrackian prince had seemed very certain that someone on the continent wished harm on their Peninsula region.
Elowen swept through the sanctuary with steps too loud for the hushed space, ignoring the startled looks from the group of trainee scribes settled next to a large, arched window. She didn’t have time to linger. She would have to be direct. Scanning the large room, she saw a young man in the robes of a record-keeper replacing tomes on a shelf near the center of the space. She marched up to him.
“Good afternoon,” she said. “Do we have anyone in the castle trained in the languages of the continent?”
The man blinked at her, so taken aback that he almost forgot to bow.
“Your Highness.” He took a moment to collect himself, hugging his books to his torso as he thought. “Not as far as I’m aware. We have literature on the continent, but most of it is outdated, given we haven’t had diplomatic relations with any of those kingdoms since the war.”
“So if I wanted to translate something, there would be nothing here to help me?” Elowen asked, crestfallen.
“I don’t know about that.” He scratched his nose absently. “There’s alwayssomethingin here that can help. This is the finest library in Torrens.”
Elowen smiled faintly at the pride in his voice. “Can you help me, then?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” He lovingly placed his books on a table, taking a moment to neaten the little stack before leading her down a few rows of shelves. “We have a few books on the culture and ways of the continent kingdoms,” he said, pulling out the volumes in question. “This is generally considered the best, as it was written by someone who’d actually spent time there.”
“Usually helpful,” Sophia commented dryly.
The young record-keeper nodded sagely, apparently missing her tone. He flicked through the book in question, stopping at a certain chapter.
“He talks about language here. He says there are different dialects in different kingdoms, but a common tongue is used for all matters of trade and diplomacy.”
“Does this common tongue use the same script as our language?” Elowen asked, glancing at the note Sophia held, where she’d copied what was on the labels of the vials.
“It does,” the man confirmed. “It comes from the same root tongue as ours, actually, but I suppose they’ve evolved quitedifferently over time. Ah look. There’s a glossary at the back, with translation of quite a number of common words. You could try there.”
“Thank you.”
Elowen practically snatched the book from him, turning her shoulder on his scandalized expression. She carried the book to a nearby table and bent over it, Sophia’s face close to hers.
The other girl laid the note flat against the table, and the two of them started scanning the glossary for any that matched.
“Here!” Sophia pointed excitedly. “This is almost the same as one of the words from the empty vial, isn’t it? It says it meansunhurriedorat leisure.”
“That doesn’t sound too sinister,” Elowen said optimistically. “There’s another word with it, though, maybe if we find that it will…” Her words trailed off as she caught sight of the word she was searching for.
“Death,” she read. “It means death.”
She looked at Sophia, her voice hollow.
“A slow death.”
