Kaylin did—but she’d spent enough of her formative years in the dark. True, that dark often included moonlight and starlight; here, the library ceiling shed nothing. But light had come from natural sources in her youth; the cost of less natural sources, even candles, had been beyond her.
And the Ferals were drawn to light, where it existed at all.
She felt Severn’s wordless concern. Had she been in any other room in this building, she would have remained beside Bellusdeo and behind the Arkon. But the library meant something to the Arkon. He never left the palace, except in dire emergency—but it wasn’t an emergency that had driven him here. He’d practically left on his own, determined to find Killian.
Determined, she thought, to find this place: the library. Kaylin wasn’t certain that the library itself wasn’t magical, wasn’t the product of Killian. The library in the Imperial Palace was normal architecture, if impressive. But she thought the palace library was an echo of this one.
This was what he wanted. Perhaps this was what he had always wanted. The Imperial Library seemed now like a substitute, an attempt to rebuild.
Fighting here was not an option. She had rarely seen the Arkon’s eyes take that color; had never seen that expression distort his features. She’d been told that there were certain things that could drive Dragons to madness. She believed it now in an entirely visceral way.
Yes.The voice wasn’t Severn’s; it was Nightshade’s. Shorn of amusement, she could feel the weight of his focus and almost turned her head to look back at the two Dragons. She didn’t; the impulse lessened.You are correct. There is a danger here.
Do you have any idea who could be attacking? That’s Arcanist fire.
It is Shadow fire. Not all Arcanists would be capable of casting that spell; I do not believe An’Teela would be.
“Terrano?” Kaylin whispered. Silence. Disembodied Terrano didn’t reply. On days like this, she sincerely wished Mandoran had been allowed to give her his True Name.
The fire hadn’t been directional; it had sprouted beneath them. The Arkon had had enough warning to give Bellusdeo a single command. Kaylin had seen nothing—and felt nothing magical—until Bellusdeo had summoned her protections. The fire had come from beneath their feet.
She wilted.
An interesting idea.
Can you ditch lunch?
I have tried. I have found at least three men I recognize in the halls.
Have they found you?
If they have, they have not chosen to acknowledge me. It is my belief that they have not yet differentiated me from the general student body.
They’re not part of that student body?
They are, but they appear to have more freedom of movement—as I said, the day seems to follow the same loop, and it is clearly a day on which they do not have classes.
Kaylin frowned. The frown deepened. The fire that had come from beneath their feet could have been a trap, much like an Arcane bomb—but she doubted it.
Oh?
No one who wanted to take control of this building would want to start a literal fire fighthere.
No one who wanted what the Arkon wants would, no. But knowledge, if it is power, is also a weapon. It is quite likely that if the depths of this knowledge could be plumbed, those who sought it would desire exclusivity.
There’s no way they could have learned everything this library contains.
You are not goal-oriented, Kaylin. They might very well feel that they have learned everythingof valuecontained herein. Ah. Lunch is over. I believe we are to head to our classes now.
Kaylin frowned. She remembered the rough layout of the library she had glimpsed in the Arkon’s light and reached out. Her hand touched shelving. She’d reached a wall. Her fingers passed over something that felt like a collection of book spines, and she exhaled.
Did you get to choose your classes?
No. I was deposited in them as if I had been a student for longer than I have. There are children—literal children—who are in the classes with me. One at least does not appear to find the material confusing.
Which one?She attempted to dredge up the features of the boy from missing persons.
Yes. That would be the one.
