Chapter 35 Empty Graves
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
EMPTY GRAVES
ADELINE
“Is this going to be our new reality?” Ardruna is muttering. “Are you going to be changing everything we’ve always known and giving it new forms? Or return it to its older forms?”
“I don’t know,” I say under my breath. “It’s not my job.”
“Is it Roane’s, though?”
“No,” I say, “Roane’s would have been to send all these creatures straight back into the books they escaped from, before they had the time to distort into different shapes.”
“You make it sound like it’s his fault. He inherited this world such as you see it and is doing his best to keep it from falling apart.”
I don’t say, ‘He’s doing such a shitty job of it,’ because sure, that would be unkind. It only piques my curiosity more. What in the hells happened to this world? Why can’t Roane fix it? Why doesn’t anyone seem to know?
And why doesn’t Roane want to talk about it?
He probably feels guilty. You are already judging him. If he did something wrong, if his librarian magic has failed him, he may be beating himself over it already.
Assuming he’s a good person. A decent person. Which is what Ardruna claims, but you have a few doubts about it.
The meadows give way to low, rolling hills. We aren’t near the river this time, and I keep an eye out for snakes—and griffins, goblins, and other assorted little horrors—when Ardruna stops.
“Look. He’s here.”
“Who?” But I know already. The cemetery is a grove of tombstones and he’s kneeling before one of them, head bowed, long black hair hiding his face. He cuts a stark, lonely picture, and a pang grips my chest.
I’d ask what he’s doing here, but it’s self-evident. Only…
“Has he lost someone?” I whisper.
“He’s never mentioned anything of the sort,” Ardruna grunts. “But now it makes sense why I met him here. I wonder if he visits this tomb sometimes when we think he’s out hunting. Huh. Well, you should tell him what happened with the horses.”
“Yeah…”
As if in a dream, I walk through the cemetery, my shoes barely making a sound in the grass covering the gentle hill slope. It’s a beautiful spot, green and fresh. The standing stones look old, covered in lichens and mosses, but the one he’s visiting looks clean, scraped, and scrubbed.
I walk among the tombs, silently reading the names inscribed on them. I know a few. Naida has mentioned them in passing once or twice, the few times she talked about the Library of Areon.
“The names of warrior librarians who passed from this place,” I whisper. “Marked by the coats of arms of their houses.”
Ardruna trots beside me. “I haven’t been here in ages. Well, since I met Roane. I wonder where Talton is.”
“You three are kind of inseparable, aren’t you?”
“We’re a family,” she says simply.
No wonder she’s defending Roane with everything in her power.
“Families are important,” I agree. “My adoptive family means everything to me, too.”
“Adoptive?”
“They found me as a baby. Raised me as their own. My brother Eiras accompanied me on this mission, but I was attacked by a dark fae who tried to steal the book from me. I just hope Eiras made it back home safely. I hope Naida and Brogan are all right.”
“Naida and Brogan?”
“My adoptive parents. Brogan had an accident and can’t work.
” My throat closes, because I try not to think too hard about what will become of him…
If he’ll fade away under the blankets. “And she’s a storyteller, a healer and an herbalist, but that can only bring in so much coin. I used to… help out.”
“With the herbs?”
“Yeah. But also by stealing.” Heat rises to my face. “Small things. To make ends meet.”
“Stealing, huh?” Ardruna sounds like she’s laughing.
The heat in my face intensifies. “I’m not proud of stealing. I know it’s a bad thing. My family doesn’t approve, either.”
“But you were feeding them. Keeping them alive. That’s important.”
“You don’t disapprove?”
“You became a parent to them,” she says softly. “Needing help isn’t their fault, but doing what you could wasn’t your fault, either. It sounds like you were a victim of circumstances.”
Surprised, I glance at her, but she’s not looking at me. She’s looking at Roane. He’s still kneeling there, at that specific tomb, as if he hasn’t noticed us.
“We should stomp a little while approaching,” I muse. “Not to startle him. I value my life.”
“Startle Roane?” Ardruna laughs out loud. “His hearing is as keen as mine. He must have heard us coming from miles away.”
As if on cue, his head turns and he nails me with a glare.
Oh joy. He’s upset with me again.
“Why won’t you go home, stay there and keep safe?” he snarls. “Are you seeking out more monsters I need to save you from?”
“I don’t need your saving,” I say stiffly. “And the library is not my home.”
His jaw clenches. “Be that as it may, you should take cover, not walk out in the open.”
“She has me with her,” Ardruna objects.
“As if you could protect her in case of an attack, Druna.”
“Ro, you’re starting to annoy me,” Ardruna growls. “Just because you stepped in to help earlier, that doesn’t mean I didn’t have it covered. As for you, why are you here? When I first met you, I didn’t think much of it, but now I have to ask you… Who is buried in this tomb?”
“Nobody you know,” Roane says curtly.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the best you’ll get, so drop it.”
The lioness pads closer to him. “What’s the matter, Ro? Are you sick?”
“Fucking drop it, Druna.”
She growls, baring her teeth. “If you weren’t like family to me, I’d have eaten you by now, clothes and boots and all.”
“You’d get heartburn,” Roane says, unconcerned. “Trust me.”
“Because of the knives?”
“Because of my mood,” he snarls.
“Finally, some wisdom from you.”
I listen to them with half an ear, thinking, Is this what she meant about him being nice and funny and teasing? He sounds mostly sarcastic and snide, but my attention is caught by the tombstone. It’s unmarked. Blank.
“Is it an empty tomb?” I hazard.
“You got that right,” Roane says, turning his attention to me. “An empty tomb.”
“And the reason you’re standing here is…?”
“I love empty tombs, don’t you? Much better than filled ones.”
“Haha,” I say drily. “And now the real reason?”
“It’s a nice tomb. I’m reserving it for myself when my time comes.” His mouth stretches into a sharp, mirthless grin. “Then I won’t have to dig one out. That thought gives me great pleasure.”
“And again, the truth might be nice.”
He shakes his head, gathering his long dark hair to his nape. I find myself staring at his long fingers twined in that fall of night-black, the way they twist the rope of hair into a bun and secure it with a… knife?
I blink.
Then I quickly look away before he catches me staring. It’s hard to avoid looking, dammit. He hurts my eyes like a bright light.
“So this is where you met Ardruna as a pup,” I say.
“She was never a pup. She popped into life fully armed and growling.”
Ardruna sighs. “She wants to know where I came from, Ro. Do you have any idea? Did I slip through a crack in the cavern walls and found this place?”
“It’s none of her business.” Roane gets off his knees and I think I catch a wince on his face. “I told her not to poke her nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“That’s harsh,” Ardruna says. “Besides, I would also like to know where I came from.”
“You never cared about it until she started asking questions.”
“And what’s your problem with questions?” I ask. “Unless you have something to hide.”
He laughs. It’s not a pleasant laugh. “Now moving on to accusations, I see. What would I have to hide?”
“I don’t know, Ersil, warrior librarian,” I mutter. “You’re so transparent and forthcoming with information when one asks, aren’t you?”
“While you came here to deliver a book and chose not to do so for undisclosed reasons,” he snaps.
With a huff, I turn away. “I’m going to find those herbs.”
“What fucking herbs?” he grouses.
“She came out of the library to gather edible herbs,” Ardruna says quietly.
“And you let her. She’s leading you by the nose.”
“Gods, Ro, you’re insufferable today. If you missed out on sleep, go home and rest.”
“You’re not my mother, lioness.”
“No, your mother would have boxed your ears and kicked your ass for behaving like a brat.”
He makes no reply. As for me, I set off and as I walk out of the cemetery, I find myself grinning.
“Aline,” Ardruna calls out, “wait up! Show me those herbs. I want to learn more about this world.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather stick by your sullen friend?”
“He can find his own way home.”
“Just so you know,” I say, “I won’t stop asking questions.”
She barks a laugh. “Good.”