As she flipped through the rest of the pages, the light in the library flickered, and suddenly went out.
Elizabeth glanced up in surprise, closing the book with a snap. Could something have happened just by just opening this book? Not daring to breathe, she slowly opened it again. A wisp of darkness lazily drifted out, like steam curling over a hot mug of tea.
Swallowing her gasp, she slammed the book shut and slid it back onto the shelf.
She looked around, her palms suddenly sweaty.
Even the drapes had somehow been shut.
Flustered, she expelled a breath. It was likely Asmodeus or one of the other demons in the castle, playing a trick on her.
At least, she hoped.
Warily, she threw open the drapes and took a lit torch from a bracket in the hallway outside and relit all the torches in the library, and soon all looked as it had before.
Giving the entire aisle a wide berth, she returned to the section of the library written in Common. She was delighted to discover many books in both fiction and non-fiction. A treasure trove of new reading material, and a gift for someone trapped in a castle with nothing to do.
She passed through yet another aisle entirely devoted to books on witchcraft and cringed.
What would her mother do if she saw her here, like this? Up to her elbows in books on magic and demonic rituals. Illegal, all of it. Even being here in this library could win her a one-way trip to the dungeons.
Her eyes lit on a set of history books, the kind that the late king, Queen Rowena’s father, had ordered burned.
New history books had been written, and all the old ones were destroyed before her time, removing any historical text that had ever mentioned magic.
These might be the last copies to ever exist.
“A History of Witches in Asteria,”she read aloud.
She bit her lip. Her governesses had always given her a heavily redacted version of history about how the gods had formed Asteria many ages ago, then time jumped to the events of the last century. Whenever she had asked her governesses what had happened in between, she had been told not to ask too many questions.
She glanced back at the shelves. Her fingers itched to open them, eager to explore parts of their world that had long been forgotten.
Making sure she was alone, she gently slid the book from the shelf and opened it to the first page.
An Introduction to the History of Witches
Witches are not human, nor are they demons. Witches are a product of human and demon offspring, which is in part, why they are so hunted by the Temple of the Gods. Demonic heritage conveys the ability to have magical powers. In current times, most witches are several generations removed from those with magical abilities, and their craft lies more in healing herbs, astrology, and rituals. Some witches of the current age retain the ability to cast spells, but many have lost nearly all magical ability. Magic can take a variety of forms and usually requires an incantation, or herbs and rituals, to cast a spell. When King Benjamin the Fourth outlawed magic…
She closed the book. She knew the rest and didn’t need to see the grisly illustrations of poor women being burned at the stake for the suspicion of being a witch.
Her father would never have let her or her mother be caught dead with a book like this.
Back home, ladies were always encouraged to be soft spoken and demure—qualities that were the furthest thing from trickery and witchcraft.
Confidence and barely tamed wildness, like her friend Charlotte often displayed, was quite unusual. Those traits were a testament to her friend’s bravery. Elizabeth often envied Charlotte’s ability to roll her eyes at the court gossips and express her opinions exactly as she desired without an ounce of fear.
Not all were so brave.
Elizabeth flipped through the first few pages, gaining confidence and becoming engrossed in the book, when several pages slipped out and spilled onto the floor. Drawings of pentacles and detailed diagrams of human bodies scattered across the marble.
Flustered at the idea of being caught, she hurriedly inserted the pages back in the book and quickly returned it to the shelf.
At least no one was around.
She took a deep breath, and her shoulders relaxed.
“Interesting choice of reading material,” came a voice from behind her.
