Voices come from behind us. People we should avoid. People that might snitch on Will. Not all might be as friendly as Hanya.
“Come on,” I say.
We stride down the aisles, slightly faster than before, slightly more on edge. Soon enough, we stop at a wooden door nestled between bookshelves. The nameplate readsKeeper Einar.
“What’s a Keeper?” I ask. There’s so much about this place I don’t know, it’s overwhelming. I’m starting to feel like I’m caught in the same current that dragged Pigeon away.
“The Keeper is the highest position at the Library. It’s like a head teacher of sorts. If anyone knows about the flowers, it’s him.”
Our eyes meet as Will lifts his knuckles. After Hanya’s reaction, I can tell his belief in finding help here has been shaken. But we’ve come all this way. There’s no going back. He waits for me to take a deep breath, to nod. Then he knocks on the door.
“Enter,” a voice from within calls, and the door magically opens.
Will and I set foot in a square office lined with navy star-covered wallpaper that stretches over the ceiling. The constellations floatacross it slowly as if moving in real time, but I don’t get much chance to study it because a stocky old man behind a cluttered rosewood desk springs to his feet. It’s the professor I caught a glimpse of in Will’s memory—the one who told him he had such potential. The man rushes around the desk to take Will’s shoulders in ink-stained hands. His robes are similar to Hanya’s, with his own twist of long bell sleeves. A curious bronze pin in the shape of an open book with a sword thrust down the spine rests over his heart.
“Willoh!” the old man says, eyes wrinkling.
“Hey, Prof. Bad time?” Will attempts a grin.
“For you, Willoh, never,” he says. “Please.”
Relief sweeps over both Will and me as the Keeper ushers us to two plush chairs in front of his desk. Once seated, the old man smiles at me.
“Hello, I’m Keeper Einar. Welcome to the Library of Heris.”
“Felicity,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
Will crosses an ankle over his knee. “This isn’t a social visit unfortunately.”
“Nevertheless, I am glad to see you. How long has it been since I’ve had you in my office? It must be…?”
“Three years.”
Keeper Einar settles in his tall-backed chair opposite us and presses his fingertips together. His expression is a crestfallen wave.
“Willoh, I must admit, I received a rather alarming message from Alrick recently concerning you. It was supposed to be kept a secret between the professors, but you know how this place is—everyone knew before nightfall. However, I’m certain there is a reasonable explanation. Is that why you came? To seek sanctuary?”
“To seek answers,” Will says, and taps a finger on his leg. “The warrant you heard about is legit, but unimportant for now.”
“Unimportant? Willoh, they told us to hand you over, dead or alive. I’ve never heard such a request!Hereof all places. As if we’d break a thousand years of neutrality.”
“I’m sure it’ll blow over. Fliss has questions,” he says, gesturing in my direction.
The Keeper looks at me, a piercing study that has me clutching my hands in my lap. “Questions, my dear?”
“I collected some rare flowers, and we want to know what they could be used for…” I trail off, nervous now that I’m here.
“Please, go on.”
“There are three—the Feiyan, Odyssa, and Lunarie. I collected them over the past month and a half and delivered them unknowingly to the queen of Alrick.” Now that I’ve started talking about flowers, my confidence blooms. “I’m familiar with the magic of flowers, but these three were the most powerful I’ve ever come across and there’s very little information about them available. We have reason to believe that they’ll be used together at the prince of Alrick’s wedding ceremony tomorrow. Is there anything you can tell us about them?”
Keeper Einar hums thoughtfully.
“Those flowers certainly are rare…. How curious that they bloomed at the same time. Sometimes decades pass without so much as a bud, then the gods give life to all three at once.” He leans his wrinkled chin on his fingertips and studies me. “You’re right that these particular flowers have incredibly potent magic, but what’s not widely known is that not just anyone can find them. Yes, we have information about their locations in books here, but knowing is one thing. Doing so is much different. In fact, even if one were to find them, it would be a trial for most to remove them from their soil. You must have a strong affinity for botany, Felicity, to have found and retrieved them.”
“They felt no harder to pick than any other flower for me,” I say. Sure, getting to their locations had been a near-impossible feat combined with luck and stubbornness, but actually removing them had been the easiest part.
The Keeper smiles.
