“This is our pride and joy,” she informed me. “Our library.”
The inside had been hollowed out, to make balconies that wound around the tree. Shelves lined the walls with thousands and thousands of books. On these wide balconies were a collection of tables and chairs, where griffins were bent over books. I smelled incense wafting from burners that were placed all along the balconies, and somewhere far below, a choir sang a holy song in low tones.
Suspended from the ceiling on thick chains was a statue of Vesna, the goddess of wisdom. She appeared powerful and intelligent, majestic, even. The same yellow lights we’d seen floating outside swarmed around her, giving her body a holy glow. The statue was huge, hundreds of feet tall.
“This place is called theSwatynia da Vesna, or the Temple of Vesna,” Kiara said. “Our priestesses perform sacred rites here to Vesna, while the griffin scholars study here. Once I graduate from the university, I’ll be inducted here to venture down the path of priestesshood. The griffins protect the Arcanean religion, so I consider it my duty to continue to learn in the temple after I graduate, to pass down our teachings.”
“No wonder you chose her as your goddess,” I said. This beautiful place of knowledge was a griffin’s dream.
“Vesna is the chosen patron of most griffins,” Kiara informed me. “I’m only following the path of my ancestors.”
Kiara took another door out of the tree, which was a shame, because I really wished to stay. We walked for a few more minutes, before she gestured ahead. “This is my sister’s house.”
Siona’s nest was quaint, and had stairs leading downward to her cottage. We wound down the stairs in the nest, and Kiara opened the door to the cottage. We stepped inside, and I pushed aside feathers that were scattered all over the floor with my shoe. Siona had all sorts of knick-knacks and books packed in here that she had collected, placed in piles all over the cottage. I supposed most of them were for the shop.
Sitting at the kitchen table were two people. They looked very young, but by their features, I could tell they were Kiara’s parents. Both of them rose to their feet when I entered.
I knew Kiara’s mom was a sorceress, but her dad was a human. I could tell, too— since spending so much time with the fae, there was something about humans now that just seemed different. They didn’t resonate magic like we did. Still, his smile was kindly, and welcoming.
“How do you do,” the woman began. “I’m Lesedi, and this is my husband, Tumelo. You must be Emma. Kiara has told us so much about you.”
I shook their hands. “The pleasure’s all mine.”
I cast a glance toward the open window, and Tumelo gave a small laugh. “Don’t worry about us. They know we’re here.”
“Technically, we’ve been banished from Malovia,” Lesedi said with a sigh. “But no one much notices if we sneak back home every now and then to visit, so long as we don’t stay.”
I nodded. I didn’t have much to say. I knew Kiara’s mother had been outcasted from the country for marrying a human, and I was concerned what the other fae would do about their presence. But if they weren’t worried, then neither was I.
I sat down, and Siona poured us some tea. Kiara asked her parents what they’d been up to, and Lesedi launched into a story of how they’d just gotten back from China, after having a tour of Taiwan and Japan.
I was hanging on their every word. Kiara’s parents were so fascinating. They’d been so many places and seen so many things. It was like Lesedi hardly missed Malovia.
Halfway through the conversation, Lesedi put down her tea and looked at me. “You’re Unseelie, aren’t you?”
I cast a glance at Kiara, who shook her head, to indicate she didn’t tell them. “How could you tell?”
“I studied Unseelie magic very extensively when I was at the university,” Lesedi said. “I learned how to pick up the magical signatures, which is a forgotten art. You’ve got dark magic in you.”
I shrugged. “I mean… yes.”
“You needn’t hide it around us,” Siona said as she poured me more tea. “Our mother taught us all about Unseelie magic when we were living in South Africa.”
“Yes. You know I have no opposition to crystals, wands, or anything like that,” Kiara said, waving her hand.
“But why?” I asked. “It’s good that you’re not prejudiced, but it’s amazing, because so many Seelie fae are.”
“It’s hard to be different,” Lesedi said, with a glance at her husband. “I knew from when I was young that I wouldn’t be like the rest. It never sat right with me, what the Seelie did to the Unseelie fae. I had hopes we could bring Unseelie magic back, but so many disagreed with my perspectives. Being a griffin, it opened my eyes to multiple points of view.”
“Do most griffins agree that Unseelie magic should be brought back?” I asked, heart lifting in hope.
“I don’t think most would be opposed to it. They would at least try to understand, unlike the other Factions,” Lesedi said.
“Empathy is part of griffin magic, but all of us can be empathic in our own way,” Siona said. “There are things all of us practice, to guard our emotions and keep an open mind.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“You want to ask your god or goddess to shield you,” Lesedi said. “Ask that they will give you protection from the energy of others, and imagine an invisible shield growing around you, defending you from the emotions of other people. At the end of each day, ask your deity to take any energy that doesn’t belong to you.”
