Chapter 37
CHAPTER 37
LOVIA
When I open my eyes, the first thing I notice is the stifling stillness. The air is thick and musty, heavy with the scent of aged parchment and something darker—like ash and decay. Shadows dance across the stone walls and towering bookcases, cast by flickering, sputtering torches mounted high above. My arms ache, my wrists bound by cold, unforgiving chains that bite into my skin. I tug instinctively, but the iron holds fast as I look around.
I’m in the Library of the Veils.
I’m home.
The realization sends a chill down my spine. This used to be one of my favorite places to be in Shadow’s End. I would come here often when I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the castle. Rauta used to sit by the Book of Runes at the entrance, guarding it, but he would often follow me around as I wandered through the stacks, running my fingers over the endless array of books, each one harboring countless souls in the pages. Even though I wasn’t supposed to, sometimes I would take the books down and find a comfy spot in the corner and flip through the pages, marveling at all the lives these mortals have lived.
But now, this place has taken on an insidious gloom that permeates the literature. It’s full of evil and black magic and suffering.
I glance beside me and spot my companion in misery.
Sarvi, the skeletal unicorn and my father’s loyal aide, lies crumpled on its side beside me, a once-proud frame bound by iron chains. Its skull is tipped at an angle, hollow eye sockets seeming to regard me with dry humor even in this dire state.
About time you woke up , Sarvi’s voice enters my mind, dry and sardonic. I was starting to think I'd have to endure Louhi's endless monologue alone.
“Sarvi!” I whisper. “You’re here.”
I wouldn’t sound too excited. That also means you’re here and you have to listen to her too.
“Great,” I mutter under my breath, wincing as I shift my position. “A two-for-one special. My mother and her theatrics.”
Sarvi chuckles weakly. Careful, child. She’s been in a mood, and it’s not the fun, dramatic kind that runs in your family. More the grind-my-horn-into-a-potion variety.
I’m about to respond, ask how the hell one can be so glib after they’ve clearly been tortured, the sawed off horn proof of that, when the sound of footsteps echoes through the library. They’re slow and deliberate, the heels clicking on the hard floor. My heart sinks.
Louhi emerges from the shadows, her elegant yet imposing figure shrouded in a black gown that seems to writhe like living smoke, wrapping up and over her horns like a cloak. Her pale green-grey face is expressionless, but her sharp eyes gleam with cold malice. In her hands, she holds a mortar and pestle. My stomach turns as I realize it must contain the remains of Sarvi’s horn.
“Ah,” Louhi purrs, her voice as smooth and cutting as a blade. “You’re awake, Loviatar. Good. It would have been a shame for you to miss the final stages of my preparations.”
“You mean desecrating Sarvi?” I sneer.
Her lips curl into a faint smile. “Sarvi’s horn contains remnants of divine magic, tied to both your father and the underworld. It’s a rare ingredient, and as much as I find its commentary tiresome, the creature has proven useful.”
Flattery will get you nowhere, Louhi, Sarvi’s voice cuts into my mind.
Louhi’s smile tightens, but she ignores them. Instead, she walks to a stone pedestal in the center of the room. Upon it rests the Book of Runes, its pages rippling faintly as if alive. Shadows writhe around the edges, curling like smoke. Like everything else in here, it appears to be corrupted.
“Do you know where you are, my daughter?” she asks, her tone almost casual.
“Obviously,” I reply. “Do you?”
“Mmmm,” she says, setting the mortar down with deliberate care. “Each soul, each memory, each whisper from the dead is contained within the pages of these books. Do you feel them watching you? Listening? Wondering if you’ll join them?”
I let out a growl of frustration. I’m running out of time and I’m already tired of her talking. “I’m not here for story time.”
Her eyes narrow, the faintest twitch of irritation breaking her composed exterior. “You don’t even know why you’re here. You’re here because you’re a pawn, Lovia. A mere piece on a chess board you don’t even comprehend.”
“Tuonen is dead ,” I spit out venomously, wanting it to hurt her like it hurts me. “Did you know that when you kidnapped me?”
She freezes, her eyes widening briefly. For a moment, just a second, I see a flash of sorrow or remorse, her wings lifting. Perhaps she didn’t know.
Then she lifts her chin and her bat wings fold back against her. “He brought that on himself. If he had stayed in the dungeon where I had kept him, he would have stayed safe.”
“Well, he didn’t. Because he didn’t know if he’d end up like Sarvi here. He left to help save the realm, to help my father, to save all the souls who’ll end up here one day. He died a hero, even if it was at the hands of your own father.”
She swallows thickly. Could it be she didn’t know it was Rangaista that killed him?
“Thankfully, his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Rangaista is now dead,” I add. “And it was Hanna who killed him,” I say, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. “You’re down one major piece, Mother. Maybe you’re the one who doesn’t comprehend the board.”
Her face hardens, and for a moment, there’s a flicker of something in her eyes. Rage, perhaps. Or fear. “Rangaista’s death is…inconvenient,” she admits carefully. “But it’s far from the endgame. You think your precious mother-in-law’s victory matters? It changes nothing.”
I open my mouth to retort, but before I can speak, the large metal doors to the library creak open. The air grows colder, the light dimmer, as another figure steps into view.
Salainen.
She’s Hanna’s reflection, her dark twin. Where Hanna radiates warmth, especially now, Salainen exudes an unsettling chill. Her dark hair is twisted into harsh, sharp waves, and her black eyes gleam with cruelty. She moves with predatory grace, her presence commanding and terrifying.
“Mother,” Salainen says to Louhi, her voice low and venomous. “I trust all is ready?”
I nearly snort at that. Mother. Salainen’s real mother is the black magic that Torben called upon to create her, in a baffling attempt to hide his affair with P?iv?t?r. But Louhi raised Salainen in secret, creating her to be a weapon of hate, so I suppose she’s my sister in a way. Not that I’ll recognize it.
Louhi nods, gesturing toward the pedestal. “The potion is nearly complete. When the time comes, I will lead the strike. Tuoni and Hanna will come for their precious daughter, and when they do, well, you know what to do.”
I tense, my heart pounding. Louhi turns her gaze back to me, her lips curling into a sinister smile. “You see, Lovia, your father is predictable. They’ll walk straight into my trap, believing they can save you. But they’ve underestimated Salainen. She’s stronger than Hanna ever was.”
I highly doubt that, I think, but I keep that to myself. I don’t know how much my mother knows about Hanna’s new status as the Goddess of the Sun, but if it can remain a surprise, then we might have an advantage.
Salainen steps closer, her eyes locking onto mine as she takes out a selenite knife, the same one that belonged to Hanna. “You’ve served your purpose, Lovia,” she says, her tone cold. “You’re bait. Nothing more.” She gives me a sour smile. “Now do you understand what it’s like for your parent to turn their back on you? To cast you aside when you no longer provide any use?”
She’s trying to hurt me in the way she was hurt by Torben, make me feel something over the fact that my mother clearly doesn’t care if I live or die. But the truth is, I don’t feel any different.
No, actually I do. My mother might not care if I live or die, but I just want my mother to die . And if by my own hand, the better.
I lift my chin, refusing to let them see the fear they crave. “My father loves me more than you’ll ever comprehend.”
And Hanna’s stronger than you think.
Salainen’s laugh is sharp and mocking. “Perhaps. But that love won’t last forever, not when I send them to Oblivion.”
Louhi picks up the mortar again, grinding Sarvi’s powdered horn into fine dust. “Salainen will ensure that neither Hanna nor Tuoni leave Shadow’s End alive,” she says. “And once they’re gone, the final components of Kaaos will fall into place, locked in for eternity.”
My chains clink as I shift, glaring at her. “You’ll never win, Louhi,” I say through gritted teeth. “You think you’re in control, but you’re just clinging to power that doesn’t belong to you. Power you conjured and corrupted, power you’ll never be worthy of. It only makes you look cheap.”
Her eyes flash with fury, and she steps closer, her shadow looming over me. “You’ll see how wrong you are, daughter,” she says, her voice low and dangerous. “When the time comes, you’ll wish you had never been born.”
I don’t respond, meeting her gaze with defiance. Sarvi’s voice cuts through the tension. I’m starting to think a mother’s love is overrated.
As Louhi and Salainen turn away, speaking in hushed tones, I take a deep breath, steeling myself.
I may be chained and outnumbered, but I’m not defeated.