Chapter 38
Rylee
“Wow.” My astonished whisper echoes through the near-silent expanse, drawing a few dark glances.
I duck my head, trying to hide behind Pierce, who chuckles softly. The thirty or so Occuli working in the massive library go back to their books, some shuffling wooden carts back and forth, others scribbling on rolls of parchment with a variety of tomes open and spread on tables.
I can’t help but gawk. There’s no other way to react to this library. It’s the biggest I’ve ever seen, and I thought the one in the palace was impressive. You could fit two hundred of the palace libraries in here, maybe more. I can’t see it in its entirety.
The rock walls go on for ages, almost like some magic has multiplied the amount of available space the mountain has, and they’re so tall, I have to arch my neck to even attempt to look to the top.
The walls hold rows upon rows of books, with massive ladders that roll both directions.
Several Occuli are on them, grabbing books and propelling them down by magic.
Pierce tugs on my hand, leading me deeper into the space. Stacks of shelves make up a mazelike center of the room, and the smells of parchment, ink, and leather fill my nose as we explore.
“Okay,” I whisper, overwhelmed by the possibilities. “This was worth the trip regardless of what Gem and Eni say.” Even if it has taken them days to go over our proposed treaty.
Pierce laughs, our bond humming with our shared excitement. I open his door, breathing deeply as his power spirals down the bond and toward him.
He sucks in a sharp breath, then grins down at me. You’re getting so much better at that, he says directly into my mind.
It helps that you’re touching me, I say, indicating our joined hands. It’s not like I could send Axl his power right now. I wish I could.
You’ll be able to soon enough. I have no doubt.
Such confidence.
In you? Always.
We make our way through the stacks, admiring the shelves of books. The deeper we go, the older the books get, until soon there’s nothing but rolled parchment stored inside iron canisters to keep them from rotting.
“Vleyica,” Pierce reads aloud. “Cardrayton, Silvac . . . Lumathyst.” He drags his fingers along the inscriptions resting above the rows of iron canisters, then turns to me.
“These are the histories of the realms,” he says in astonishment as he lingers in front of Lumathyst’s.
“I thought we possessed the oldest recorded histories,” he continues.
“But these look much older than the ones the historians keep in the palace.”
I tilt my head. “Maybe they’re copies? Didn’t they do that for all the histories?” I vaguely recall mention of that in my younger days of mandatory school in the Ashlands.
“They did,” Pierce says, returning his attention to me. “Though, if I remember correctly, I know some of Lumathyst’s were lost in a fire.” He reaches for one of the iron scrolls decorated with intricate swirling designs—
“There you two are,” Altair calls, drawing our attention. “The Gemeni want to see you.”
“Have they finished reading our proposal?” I ask, eager to get out of this lingering waiting mess.
“They didn’t deign to tell me.”
I nod, motioning for her to lead the way.
Pierce looks curiously at the iron again, almost like he’s reluctant to leave, but hastens to follow us after a few moments.
We make it back into the meditation room, this time finding it empty save for Gem and Eni. They’ve elected to sit in a pair of wooden chairs near the glowing pool today, a table resting between them with our proposal atop it.
Pierce and I take the chairs opposite them, and I can’t help but look at the luminous liquid with a little wariness. The last time I entered a glowing pool of water, I met the goddesses and a premature death. Of course, it wasn’t the Athanry doorway that killed me, but still. It’s oddly similar.
“You’ve swum in the Steorra before,” Gem says matter-of-factly.
Pierce looks to me, then back to Gem. “The Athanry,” he says.
“Yes,” Eni responds. “You didn’t think your kings conjured that doorway, did you?” He laughs. “Lumathyst fools. They’re constantly making their people believe they’re capable of so much more than they are. Why do you think they cling to their Occuli so tightly?”
Gem shakes her head. “What would your kingdom look like without our help?”
“You’re not the only ones with magic,” I remind them. “Or power.” I don’t say it maliciously, just factually. I understand their contempt for the kings likely better than anyone, but only someone naive would underestimate them. “There are others who can create magic.”
“Demis,” Gem says. “Blessed by your goddesses as we are blessed by the gifts from our Fates. Are we so different?”
The question is a pointed one that I dutifully ignore. “What do you think?” I ask, nodding to our parchment on their table.
Gem and Eni share a look before glancing back toward us. “It’s a pretty story.”
“It’s not a story.” I take a breath. “It will happen.”
“If you take the throne,” Gem says. “We don’t like to deal in ifs.”
“So, you’re rejecting our terms, or do you have something else in mind?”
“We like you,” Eni says to me. “You have something that calls to us. But these words, while painting a harmonious, downright generous future, are just words without validity.”
I sit back in my chair, a bit defeated. “How do you propose we prove our intentions to you?”
If they give me another damned trial, I may mentally break. I speak the words down the bond, knowing Pierce is listening, still holding control over his power. It moves unhindered between us now, with every moment easier and easier down our shared bond.
They won’t, he says.
Are you reading their minds?
I’m trying, but they’re not like the people of Lumathyst. Their minds are cloudy and protected—
“It’s not kind to have a conversation where others can’t hear,” Eni says, smirking a little. “Don’t look so shocked, Legend. While I can’t read minds like you do, I can sense power. You two are dripping in it.”
Pierce casually rests his ankle on his knee. “Apologies, Eni,” he says smoothly. “You’ve yet to answer Rylee’s question.”
Eni leans into his sister, whispering something in her ear.
“Now who’s not sharing?” Pierce calls them out.
They both laugh, nodding.
“All right,” Eni says, tapping the parchment. “Truly, these are far more generous terms than we expected. After the last set of terms we felt prematurely tricked into, you can understand our hesitance to trust.”
Baydel had made the language of the previous terms very vague, ensuring that Occuli who traveled to Lumathyst would be bound to the royal service whether they liked it or not.
Dalfon had explained as much during our studies on the way here.
Luckily, he’s been able to spend most of his time here catching up with old friends and not needing to heal me. I feel stronger every day.
“We are not the kings,” I remind them. “We want different things.”
“Clearly,” Gem says. “But who’s to say this isn’t all a trick to magically bind us again for fifty years?”
“Again,” Pierce says, “you never answered my mate’s question.”
The twins share a look. “We will sign your terms,” Eni says. “On one condition.”
I hold my breath, the silence stretching into an eternity.
“That is?” I finally ask.
“You leave collateral,” Gem says so plainly I’m sure I’ve misheard her.
“Explain,” I say.
“You can return to Lumathyst with our signed support as allies, but only if one of you stays behind here in Silvac. After a certain amount of time passes, and our lands aren’t flooded with Lumathyst enforcers determined to steal from our Source or demand services from our people, we’ll conclude you’ve upheld your end of the terms, and we will let them return. ”
I gape at the two of them. “Collateral? How long?”
They share another look. “A month.”
My chest tightens. It’s already agony being away from Axl, Kal, and Jax, and it hasn’t been much more than a week. Separating any longer than necessary is going to hurt.
“Is there any other way to prove—”
“No,” Gem cuts me off. “We know the price of what we’re asking, which is why it will prove your intentions. Sacrifice for the good in the long term.”
“And if we don’t agree to it?” Pierce asks, deadly calm, those deep brown eyes of his calculating.
Eni shrugs. “Then we don’t magically bind ourselves to Lumathyst as allies and we go about our lives separately. We’ll be open to ally with anyone we choose.”
I blow out a breath, my heart racing.
Pierce visibly swallows, looking at me apologetically.
I can hear the words before he utters them like a haunting melody. “I will stay.”
I close my eyes.
What else is this world going to take from me?