“Who?” all five of them asked at the same time.
“Gana, grant me patience,” she said, rubbing between her eyes. “Elena is Imera’s twin. She’s the Goddess of Knowledge.”
“There’s no such goddess,” Zane said.
“Would you step back forone second,” Kaz snapped, “and acknowledge your fancy Athusan education may not have taught you everything?”
“But I’ve never heard of her either,” Altair said. “And as Talon so generously pointed out, I’m old.”
“Phaedros fucking take all of you,” Kaz said. “Can we please go inside so I can tell you how stupid you all are in there? I’m freezing my tits off.”
With nowhere else to put the horses, they walked them inside the library, tying them to a balustrade near the inner doors. A short series of stairs led down to the main floor. Iyana hadn’t known what to expect from the ancient library, but it was so much more than anything she could have imagined. They entered a vast chamber with an open ceiling. All the levels of the library were open in the middle,bridges crisscrossing across the large space. The roof of the library was glass—still intact—letting in light but keeping in the warmth. Bookshelves, railings, columns, and the flooring were all made of rich, dark wood, and books were squeezed into every nook and cranny. Unbound scrolls filled gaps the tomes couldn’t fit into. The smell of old paper and dust permeated the air, tickling Iyana’s nose.
The lower floor had podiums scattered throughout, with what appeared to be priceless artifacts under boxes made of glass. She did not know it was possible to make glass boxes. They were so delicate, like they would break if someone were to sneeze on them. Most of the artifacts were things Iyana wouldn’t have been able to even guess at what they were or their uses. There was a plain wooden box with a broken latch hung at a disturbing angle, eerily reminding Iyana of a fractured neck. It was labeled with Lurra: do not open. Another held a diadem, the jewel in the center glowing an unearthly amethyst, its placard in a language she couldn’t understand. Evil radiated from one in a dark corner—an orb the size of an apple hung suspended within the case. Made of pure black, it absorbed all the surrounding light. Khollo’s Downfall, it said. Iyana gave it a wide berth. Only one near the center of the room was empty, with broken glass scattered around the floor.
Iyana’s companions had wandered off and were all examining different aspects of the first floor; an unspoken agreement not to wander too far on their own.
Hearing the beating of wings, she peered into the upper corners of the room to find a pair of glowing eyes staring back at her. Iyana shrieked, stumbling back. Altair was at her side within less than a second, a stabilizing hand on her lower back. He followed her gaze and laughed deeply, the sound causing the owls hiding in the dark to take flight. Iyana heaved a sigh, releasing her magic at the same time; she hadn’t realized she’d tunneled into it during her brief panic. Feeling relieved, but stupid, she threw a glare at Altair, which only made him laugh louder. She stuck her tongue out at him, effectively shutting him up as heat filled his shining eyes. But she walked away from him, and if she put a little extra sway into her hips, then that was his own fault.
Kaz was standing before an altar on the opposite end of the large room. There was a smaller replica of Elena, the statue with the book that was outside. This one, however, held a book open in her right hand, her left raised in benediction. Little glass jars of various colors held fire, the light flickering and casting a dancing rainbowover the space. Iyana marveled at the magic required to keep those flames burning for an eternity.
“This is Elena,” Kaz said in a reverent tone, never looking away from the altar. “Even to those as old as the stars, she is mostly forgotten, because she disappeared early in history.”
“Disappeared?” Iyana asked, joining Kaz at the altar. Tears streaked down the shifter’s face. “How does a goddess disappear?”
“I don’t know the complete story. I think only the goddess herself can tell the true chain of events, but it is said that as the gods and goddesses were creating humankind, Elena wished to ensure they prized knowledge above all else—power, money, even love. She said it was for the greater good of their creation, and would help them avoid unnecessary conflicts. But, as is true for many bookish people—” she glanced at Zane, who blushed and turned away “—her voice was the gentlest of the pantheon, and she was often overlooked. Otho, God of Victory, and Thelena, Goddess of Triumph, were the loudest and so humans were endowed with a desire to always wantmore.Aaris, God of Marriage, insisted humans would be incomplete without love, and so their creations were given a large capacity for all emotions. Not only love, hope, joy, and sorrow, but also jealousy, anger, and hatred. The other gods and goddesses were allowed to contribute to their creation, and Elena managed to increase their brain size and instill a joy of learning.
“As the humans grew and multiplied, Elena quickly realized that winning, the thrill of victory, was more important to them than gaining a wealth of knowledge. She begged her family to reconsider the construction of these creatures, but they entertained the others and she was brushed off. Dismissed. Her twin, Imera, heard her pleas and gifted some humans with her magic. Those became the healer, in constant pursuit of novel ways to heal the human body. Elena touched a special few with her magic, but it never stuck to a large group as it did with Imera’s. However, she was placated for a time before human wars began in earnest. The amount of death and destruction humans brought about to their own kind appalled her. And so, telling no one—not even her twin—she disappeared. Nobody knows where she went, if she’s still alive, or if she plans on returning. Since she’s been gone, a devoted group of her followers dealt with the upkeep of this library, but as theyplaced knowledge above all else, their numbers soon dwindled and they died out. And so the world has been slowly forgetting her.”
Silent tears spilled over Kaz’s face. Iyana rubbed her back in a show of support.
“How is it you know all of this?” Iyana asked quietly.
Sniffling, Kaz wiped her face with her sleeves. “Like I said, this is only a story I was raised on in Nyr. I always felt bad for her, being forgotten in that manner, and so I made it a point to remember her. Elena’s library has been a place I’ve wanted to visit since I was young, but it was too hard to run away until recently. I hope that wherever she is, she knowssomeoneis thinking of her.”
Iyana wrapped her friend into a hug, Kaz’s arms tight around her waist. They stayed that way for a few seconds, reveling in the comfort a friend could provide, before Kaz’s hands slowly slid down Iyana’s back and onto her ass.
“No,” Iyana said, laughing. They separated from the hug, Kaz now smiling.
She shrugged. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
“Fuck!” The shout came from the middle of the room. Iyana whirled around, magic ready at her fingertips, to find Altair standing before the podium with the broken glass. He didn’t appear to be in any danger, instead tugging his hair at the roots and staring at the empty space.
“What is it?” Iyana asked, crossing the room to stand next to him. The others followed her, creating a semi-circle around the podium.
The plaque was still intact and readable: The Astmina
“Do you know what that was?” Iyana asked Altair. He continued to tug at his hair until she placed a gentle hand on his arm. Iyana had never seen her star so spooked before.
He turned to Zane. “Does your father have something heart related, or has a heart on it somehow? Most likely golden?”
The blood drained from Iyana’s face, and she swayed on her feet. “The clasp,” she whispered. “For his cape.”
The hallucination of the heart in Uther’s clasp enlarging and beating threatened to overtake Iyana. The way the shadows undulated out before spearing into her chest. Fear and pain. She clamped a hand on Altair’s arm in a death grip to steady herself. He looked at her with concern, then tucked her into his side.
Zane turned his attention from the podium to Iyana, taking in her reaction. “Yes, how did you know?”
“I saw it…a couple times. Don’t really want to talk about it.” Zane nodded his understanding, and Altair gave her hip a small reassuring squeeze.
