XLVIII | SHADOW PLAY
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Ahead, she could see a few smudges of black; guards, she assumed, based on the way they were moving.
They hadn't turned around when she'd entered, and they still hadn't noticed, so Celvene didn't pay any more attention to them.
She needed to be fast, and she wouldn't be able to do so if she spent time ogling at the guards.
She headed into the first row of books, and thankfully, it wasn't nearly as large or tall as the main library. The books looked far more aged and ragged, like they'd fall apart at the seam if Celvene so much as touched the spine.
With one hand, she unsheathed one of her daggers, and with the other, she grabbed one of the weak orbs that flickered with light. It struggled in her hand; the illumination brightened and faded in rapid bursts.
Frowning, Celvene tightened her grip, and the light gave a defiant twinkle before it stabilized into a dull glow.
She needed a light source, but she didn't need an unstable torch that would give away her position.
And while the amount of light the orb was providing wasn't optimal, it was better than nothing.
At least she'd be able to manipulate it.
She thumbed through the contents of the shelf, keeping an eye and ear on the aisle. The contents were useless. She couldn't understand most of them, which were written in the languages of the kingdoms she had never lived in.
A few books caught her eye, discussing the four rulers of the four kingdoms. But they weren't particularly enlightening, given they covered basic history about the formation of the kingdoms and gods—Celvene had learned all this years prior.
If anything incriminating was in here, it would be in Aizasean.
All castle communication was written in Aizasean, which was the standard language for staff.
Celvene had heard employees speak other languages, but it was so rare that she could count the amount of times it had happened on one hand.
Even those with broken Aizasean tried to speak the kingdom's language.
Based on what she could derive from this section, it was for the forbidden practices related to magic. She wasn't going to find anything here, unless the librarian had purposely mixed up the books to throw off any intruders.
The slow, steady pace of footsteps approaching the aisle alerted Celvene to be on guard. And when a guard passed by, she stuffed the orb into her pocket and practically dove behind a thick ladder leaning against the wall, moving her body so it fit the shape.
She didn't dare to move or breathe, and when the guard stopped at the center of the aisle, she could've sworn her heart stopped. Still, she bit her lip and closed her eyes to calm herself.
The footsteps neared her hiding spot, and as she cracked an eye open, a pool of light approached her. It stopped a few steps away and didn't move. Celvene didn't know if the guard could see her, but she refused to move to look.
The light danced around the ladder, but most people wouldn't be able to bend themselves to fit a ladder's shape with what little space there was between the ladder and the wall.
She wouldn't blame the guard if they walked away, and after a few more painful moments, the light turned away and she could hear their footsteps fading. More light flooded the narrow strip outside of the aisle; they were suspicious.
She let out the breath she was holding, thankful for her lithe figure and acrobatics training from the circus.
It wasn't going to be possible for her to go back out into the hallway, so she'd have to get over the shelves somehow.
They were tall, but they weren't fixed to the ceiling, and it looked like the top was thick enough to get footing on. She could climb over.
She released the light from her pocket, which illuminated enough of the area for her to see where to go. But she knew she had to work, and fast. There was no telling if the guards would look down here while she was in the middle of scaling a bookshelf.
After climbing the ladder as high as it could reach, she hooked herself onto the shelf. She struggled to gain purchase with the glossy finish on the bookshelf, but the dust layering the top helped her hold on a bit more.
Celvene scaled the towering shelf as fast as she could while still keeping an eye on the books, making sure not to kick any of them out. If she made a sound, the guards would be on her in an instant—if they could reach the top, at least.
The light around her dimmed, and though she could still see the area around her, her heart jumped at the sudden detour. Her grip slipped, and she almost gasped as her hand flailed. She leaned against the shelf so she wouldn't fall, then inspected the wood for any nooks she could latch onto.
Of course, when her weight shifted, her foot slipped out from beneath her.
Cursing to herself, she searched for ground, her foot dangling in the air wildly before she found an ajar book to put her weight onto.
She pushed herself up, and with awful realization, could feel the book free itself off the shelf and fall out.
She could do nothing but wait for it to hit the ground. A few seconds later, the sound of leather slapping the floor made her cringe.
She needed to move even faster. That was going to be difficult so high in the air with no magic.
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