I chuckled beneath my breath, because Vox Vylan, haughty Ice Prince, actually flushed with embarrassment.Aw, poor Voxy.
“Don’t tease the boy, Reeba,” Meela tutted.
Reeba crossed her arms over her chest. “I already told him, Meela. Just not in so many words.”
Rolling her eyes, Meela gave Vox the kind of gentle look you might give a harmless farm boy. “We are the Soul of Ebrus, Vox Vylan. We are the library.”
I frowned.
Vox frowned.
Okay, now I really didn’t feel so bad that I wasn’t making the connection.
But my girl, she’d always been sharper than anyone gave her credit for. “You’re the central library?”
Reeba gave her a proud smile. “Close, child. So close. No, the library in Fortaare, for better or worse, is the central library. We are their vault, where they send the information that is too dangerous to be left out for public consumption, or too precious to be accessed by those who wish to skew the views of Ebrus.” She looked pointedly at Vox, who dipped his chin. “This is where the Librarians are sent to learn.”
I shook my head. “So people know you exist?” How could this be common knowledge, but news to both Vox and I?
“The Goddess sends us her Librarians, by one means or another. We teach. Then they go where the call takes them.” Meela looked pointedly at Celis. She was still standing open-mouthed by the door. “Often, they leave home, not knowing why they are restless. Sometimes they get caught in bad situations, but inevitably, they end up in the village above us.” She petted Kian’s arm beside her. “You were a surprise, but I guess we understand your purpose now.”
I blinked slowly. This was a lot to take in. “Aren’t you worried that someone will break in here and steal all this?” They were two elderly women, and this was an untapped source of wealth. There was a necklace in a glass case on the wall that would probably set up a family for generations.
Reeba let out a cackle that was spine-tingling. “Oh, little Third Line Heir. You should know better than anyone that looks can be deceiving.”
So they knew about my beast. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. Did they also have a beast?
Once upon a time, I’d foolishly thought I knew everything there was to know about Ebrus. Then the Second Line had reappeared, and my Soul Tie could turn back time, and there was a hidden cache of gems and information beneath the Pillago Pass. Apparently, the Goddess wanted me to know that Iknewabsolutely nothing.
“If the Goddess leads all the new Librarians here, then why arewehere?” I asked, because I was many things, but a Librarian candidate wasn’t one of them.
Meela shrugged. “It could be that you were just meant to guide these two here, as was Kian. Or maybe there is information here that the Recreationist will need.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room. They knew.
They knew about the Second Line.
They knew about my beast.
They knew about Avie’s magic.
What magic did these two old women possess?
Vox frowned. “Do you know what information that is?”
Meela shook her head. “No, I don’t suppose I do. But I know where I’d start.” She waved toward the door. “And nothing is so urgent that it can’t be done tomorrow. Come now, I’ll show you to your rooms so you can rest.”
She ushered us out of the underground library, the doors shutting themselves behind us with a heavy thunk.
Seven
Avalon
If you die, everyone you love will follow you. You must fight.
The voice was soft. Familiar.
Zier had his head resting on an executioner’s block, his gaze steady and defiant. People in the crowd screamed, “Traitor!” over and over. The executioner’s axe came down, the sound of Zier’s head hitting the boards making me scream. A sword pierced through my chest, carving out my heart, and I desperately tried to hold it together with my hand.
