Chapter 12 #2
What did he want? Probably kill me if it wouldn’t be painfully obvious that he was the culprit.
His gestures grew more annoyed as he continued to signal for me to join him at the edge of the dining area.
“I think I’ll hit the hay, guys,” I said, getting to my feet with a silent, irritated huff.
“Goodnight, sunshine,” Felix smiled, giving me a sideways hug.
I walked slowly towards the man who looked at me rather impatiently from a distance. “What?” I said the second he was in earshot.
“If you want to learn sun magic, you have to study too. I can’t teach you all the practical stuff if you don’t know the basics.”
I looked around us, then raised my eyebrow at him. “Do you have it written on a stone table or something?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “We have a small library in the strategy room. You should be able to find what you’re looking for there.”
“Except I don’t know what I’m looking for,” I retorted, crossing my arms. He mimicked me, folding his own heavily tattooed arms over his chest.
“Perhaps a book about sun magic, Prudence. Remember, eight o’clock tomorrow.”
“Yes, boss,” I scoffed as he walked off. I made a face at his turned back, then left for the library.
When I reached the strategy room, I met Verena craned over the table, brows furrowed in concentration.
“Hi, Verena,” I said, looking around for the bookshelf.
“Prudence. What do you want?” she asked distractedly, not taking her eyes off the map before her.
“I need to find the library. I need a book about sun magic.”
She nodded distractedly, tapping her finger on a spot on the parchment before placing a little red pin in its place. “I’ll show you.”
She guided me to a conjoined room I hadn’t noticed before. The door was hidden behind a curtain at the back of the room.
I gaped, stunned by the sight that greeted me at the other side of the door.
Huge bookshelves reaching from floor to ceiling lined two of the walls.
The shelves boomed with books of various sizes and states, their surfaces covered in a thick layer of dust. I walked to the nearest shelf and ran a shaky finger across the different titles.
Daegal’s definition of a small library was infinitely different from mine.
“Grab whatever you need. Just make sure to close up when you’re done. If you’re staying long, I’d suggest you light the fireplace, as it gets quite dark in here,” Verena said, stifling a yawn. “Goodnight, Prudence.”
Before I could turn around to respond, her short purple hair had whipped around the corner and out of sight.
I scanned the room for the fireplace. It was built against the wall furthest from the entrance and already stacked with wood.
A big, soft rug was spread out on the floor in front of it.
The shelves were coated in dust, except for a select few spots. I walked to the nearest ones and studied the books that had obviously been read lately.
The Dark War.
I grabbed the book and flipped it open, a curdling sensation of horror coursing through my body.
I knew all the published accounts of the war were written by suncasters. The book in my hand was surely no different if the title was any indication.
I knew how the old stories spun the war into a fabricated tale of good and evil. About how, in a state of heartbreak and greed, King Erebos attacked King and Queen Sols’ kingdom in an attempt to overthrow and conquer their part of the land.
In a counterattack, powered by the sun's force on its most glorious day, God Helio had freed them from the evil deeds of the darkcasters. The Sols had overthrown King Erebos’ lands instead, forming the solitary kingdom of Erobred.
King Erebos and his army were killed, but Erobred and the surrounding towns were left in flames.
King Sol presented himself in the highest tower of his castle and vowed to protect his people from the sinister darkcasters who had tried to take his kingdom.
The Solar Crown perched high on his head, he grasped his queen by the hand and cursed every darkcaster into exposure so that his army could easily distinguish the culprits from the innocents.
The crown shone a blinding light upon the entire kingdom, sealing the fate of an entire nation into exile. No matter your stands, no matter your loyalties, if your skin turned inky blue at your fingertips, you had used your dark powers against the King’s orders, and you would face punishment.
Nothing had changed in those years after the war. But as I stared down at the browning parchment, I realized that because of the rebels, perhaps it would.
Guilt gnawed at my stomach as I imagined my actions ruining their entire operation and everything they’d built, only to keep Boaz from harming my little sister. I was no better than him, I realized. Because I knew deep down, I’d burn this entire place to the ground for her.
Snapping the book shut, I shoved it back into the crammed shelf. For Lili. My moral discomfort didn’t matter.
Then, a thought occurred to me. Perhaps they’d hid the crown in here. I’d never seen anybody else here except Verena, Hannan, Daegal, and a few other council members.
Scanning the room with renewed anticipation, I looked for anything that stood out. I started pulling books out at random and checking behind them, but the bookcase wasn’t deep enough to hide anything behind them.
I walked to the fireplace and ran my hand up and down the worn bricks. Nothing.
Desperately, I pulled the blanket from the floorboards to check for a trap door, but the hardwood floor stretched all the way beneath it.
At least ten minutes went by before I’d checked every corner and nook of the library for the crown. It wasn’t in here.
I’d abandon the search for now and focus on learning sun magic. Returning to the bookshelf, I decided to look for the books Daegal had told me about.
I ran my finger over the spines, mumbling aloud the many different titles. My pulse quickened as I noticed a promising book—its cover was light orange with ornate golden suns. Sliding it from the shelf, my heart rate continued to climb.
Light Magic — A New Age Guide
Horror gripped me as I flipped to the first page and saw his name.
This book belongs to the Boaz library
My head spun violently as images of those cold, hard eyes flashed in front of me. Why would the rebels have this?
I shuddered and flipped desperately to the next page, if only to spare myself from staring at his name a moment longer.
Chapter index
1.How to channel your powers
2.Know the basics
3.Whip of light — A Defender’s signature move
4.Chain of sun — contain your enemy
5.Orb of light — Protect yourself
6.Reveal the concealed — locate the perpetrators
My excitement soured when I realized what this was—a guidebook to becoming a Defender. I almost tossed the vile thing across the room, but I also realized that this book might be my best hope of learning this cursed magic.
Scowling, I marched to the dead fireplace and sank onto the soft rug with one leg crossed over the other. If those idiotic Defenders could learn, so could I.
With the heavy book open in front of me, I read the first few chapters. The tone of the book was night and day compared to King Erebos’ guide.
The language was curt and almost vicious. Every spell was either an attack, counterattack, or protection. The whole text read as superior, as if the narrator no longer cared to portray the lightcasters as the victims.
As uncomfortable as it made me, I focused on tapping into my anger like the book advised.
I willed the urge to destroy to fill me up, squeezing my eyes tight to imagine all the things that made my blood boil.
Visions of Kenric’s superior smirk and Elio Boaz, the King’s Right Hand and Chief Warden, as they both tortured me with those same whips of light I now had to try to create.
I ran my finger over the pages, forcing myself to remember the moment Boaz forced me to betray the people I’d spent most of my life trying to find.
Power tingled at my fingertips, and burning heat spread around me like a hot gush of wind. I got to my feet and planted them solidly into the rug, focusing all that energy on the untouched log in the fireplace.
A grunt escaped me, followed quickly by a loud gasp as the sunlight burst from my hands in an unrefined mess. Instantly, flames licked from the fireplace, creeping up the walls.
My eyes widened, my mind completely void of a solution. All I could do was back away from the intense heat to distance myself from the rising blazes.
“Oh Goddess,” I mumbled, frozen in terror as the flames licked closer. I should leave and get out of there. But the books… I couldn’t let the library burn to ash.
The door burst open, and a figure stormed inside. Eyes met mine and my heart sank as Daegal’s gaze narrowed on me for a second before he stormed forward. As he raised his hands, a powerful surge overcame me.
“Jax,” he yelled over his shoulder. “Hurry!”
A second figure came running, hauling a massive bucket over his shoulder.
As Daegal contained the flames, Jax dumped water to snuff my huge mistake.
Dark skin faded into pale at his elbows—another mooncaster.
The wooden floor hissed aggressively, and the rug laid a crumbled, melted mess on the floor.
Daegal wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. Jaw visibly slumped in relief as he blew a few dark locks out of his eyes. My heart kept hammering so uncontrollably that I was afraid it’d give out.
His eyes locked on mine, and I realized his ordinarily amber eyes glowed golden in the flickering light from the dying fire.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted, lifting my hands in defeat, ashamed of the damage I’d almost caused. The loss of the Rebellion’s entire collection of books, plans, and maps would’ve been devastating.
“It’s ok,” the man named Jax said, giving me a reassuring smile.
“The hell it is,” Daegal growled, his piercing gaze not leaving mine as he closed in. His jaw tensed, and fury was etched into the hard angles of his face. “She could’ve cost us irreplaceable knowledge.”
I knew Daegal had every right to be angry with me, but hot, coiling fury erupted inside me. “You’re the one who told me to come here!” I snapped, prodding him in the chest so hard my fingernail dug into his skin beneath his shirt.
“To study, not to set fire to the most important building we have!” he retorted, grabbing the hand that poked him and squeezing my fingers together painfully.
I yanked at my hand, but he didn’t budge, continuing to berate me as his grip only tightened. “Now I know; next time, you need to be escorted in and out.”
Jax placed a firm hand on his shoulder, pulling him backward. “Let it go, Dae. Nothing happened.”
The men faced each other, and for a moment, I feared a fight would break out between them.
“What book were you even reading?” Daegal snapped, retrieving Boaz’s book from the floor. Amazingly, the book survived with only a few scorch marks. His eyes widened for a moment before his expression molded back into the pure mask of dislike he always wore when I was around.
“Why would you even think to practice sun magic inside?” he hissed. In three long strides, he towered over me once more.
“I didn’t think.” My fists balled at my sides. “I-“
“That’s right, you didn’t think,” he interrupted, shoving the book into my arms. “Just take this and read it.”
I rolled my eyes, sick of his lecture. “Fine. Can I go now?”
“You’re suddenly asking for my permission?”
Jax stifled a laugh from the corner where he watched us, grey eyes dancing with amusement. “How will the two of you ever work together?”
“That’s my headache,” Daegal huffed, storming toward the door. “Five tomorrow morning. You clearly need the practice,” he said before disappearing around the corner.
Jax walked toward me and patted me gently on the shoulder. “This was a great first impression of you. Glad to have you join us.”
I gaped at him, baffled by his seemingly constant chummy mood. Yet his hearty laugh seemed to ease the tense muscles in my body. “I’m only joking. You seem alright. But I think Daegal would actually kill me if I let you stay here any longer.”
“Thank you so much,” I uttered as I followed him out the door.
“Don’t mention it. Seriously,” he shook his head in amusement as he led the way back to the huts. “You should come to training. I can teach you to combine the combat skills you learn from Felix with your moon powers.”
“That’d be great, thank you,” I smiled back at him, marveling at his kindness. “Well, this is me,” I said as we stopped by my door.
“I know,” he laughed. “Daegal has been complaining about you constantly.”