“I’ll head back in a bit,” Róisín said, “and discuss things with Eimear and the child, but I’d like to see what’s at the bottom first.” Arianna raised a questioning brow. “Whelan, I believe is his name. The High Lady guards him like a mother hen.”
“Watch your tone,” Liam hissed.
Róisín lifted her hands. “Apologies. It’s difficult when we need information, but she’s unwilling to allow the youngling to help.”
“Don’t demand things you know nothing about,” Sive warned. “Sometimes the risks aren’t worth taking.”
“I’d say every risk is worth it right now,” Róisín countered. Sive didn’t answer. Eimear sometimes had to restrain her visions with iron for her own safety. Arianna didn’t want to imagine how they might affect a youngling.
Arianna followed Raevina and Talon. The stairs were sturdy despite the years. They didn’t so much as creak as their group moved down, down, down, taking one step at a time. Rion followed directly behind. Sive and Liam’s warriors followed, too.
Many branched off floor by floor, all in pairs at Liam’s command. Her father’s warriors joined them, inspecting each area. They’d need so many more people if they hoped to comb through even a portion of the information.
Her eyes scanned the shelves. Hundreds upon hundreds of books sat there, each perfectly preserved. Their history. Theirrealhistory. She desperately wanted to comb through the volumes and learn the truth, an oddity given her aversion to the subject.
Artifacts caught her attention in passing too, and Arianna couldn’t help but wonder if any had belonged to the original Divine. Perhaps the female’s legacy was stored somewhere in the pages. Maybe even her real name. If they won the war, Arianna would comb through everything with the hope of finding something written by the female herself. Maybe she’d left a guide.
Ifthey won.
A sacrifice.Eimear’s haunting words floated back, but what did they mean? There were so many possibilities. Arianna had read all about it in her books. Her first thought had been herself, but that seemed too obvious. And what would she sacrifice herself for? It wasn’t as if her death would lead to their redemption. If that had been the case, then the previous Divine wouldn’t have failed.
Arianna watched one of Liam’s warriors wander toward a smaller shelf beside the stairs and pick up a book. He flipped through a few pages, then set it down and walked down another aisle.
“I never imagined the Fae of old had such a strong relationship with Weavers,” Sive commented, running her fingertips over the carvings set into the railing. “This entire place was built by both Weavers and Fae.”
Talon followed her gaze, then looked upward, taking in the domed ceiling. “I’m willing to bet the history is down here somewhere.”
Sive nodded. “I intend to find it once this is all over.”
“Do you think they moved to the northern continent because they wanted to, or because they were forced?” Arianna asked.
“I’m not sure, but given the way Vairik has reacted to everything else, I’m willing to bet we were early on his extermination list. We’re not as impressionable as the Fae or humans. Our ancestors probably broke through his glamours too easily.”
“One genocide after another,” Talon said.
Arianna clenched her fists. “He’s not going to get away with it anymore.”
“Agreed.” Arianna looked over her shoulder to Rion, noting the set in his jaw. He appeared just as determined as she felt. They could win. They just needed the right tools and strong allies that hated Vairik just as much as they did.
The sconces along the staircase grew less frequent as they continued to descend, replaced instead by the blue light from the carvings that surrounded them. The room grew colder and Arianna shivered, cradling her arms against her chest for warmth.
Silence fell over their entire group when they passed the final floor. Arianna glanced over the railing to find a circular space with swirling blue patterns carved into the floor. Five stone pedestals stood evenly spaced in the center of the room, forming a small circle. Each one held a different colored squarecushion with a matching silk cloth that covered a spherical object underneath.
Arianna shivered again, wondering if the hidden objects were the reason everything had grown so cold. A slight breeze rustled Arianna’s hair, and she swore she could hear … something coming from each of the spheres. She inclined her ears to listen, but the sounds were impossible to distinguish.
Talon and Raevina paused on the final step. Róisín pushed to the front. Talon moved aside, allowing her to kneel and examine the runes. She pulled out a journal and traced the patterns onto a blank page.
“What do they say?” Talon asked.
Róisín chewed on the end of her pen. “I—it’s difficult to make out.”
“It’s a warning,” Sive answered. They all turned to her. She wasn’t holding the edge of the railing any longer and Arianna swore she’d gone a shade paler.
“Another one?” Raevina asked, impatience lacing her tone. “After everything they just did to open the door?”
“Yes,” Sive confirmed. “Apparently more caution was warranted.”
“Can we approach?” Arianna asked, turning toward the pedestals again. Something about them called to her. She noted how the pedestals themselves were carved from the very stone, one with the floor beneath them. Almost as if they’d been raised. Arianna glanced toward Rion, noting the way his magic still moved at his feet.
