XLIX | FEIGNED
Somehow, being reckless led to less fallout—that she knew of, at least. She lowered herself to lay flat against the bookcase, keeping her gaze trained on the scene below. The guards had congregated in a circle in the area outside her aisle, murmuring amongst themselves.
She pushed herself down the other side of the bookshelf, sliding down the wood and coming to a halt a few feet below the top, but her muscles trembled at the strain.
She'd trained herself in similar situations for her acrobatics practice, but those didn't involve dangling a hundred feet off the ground, grasping for books.
Her fingers shook as she tightened her hold on the bookcase, using the sparse light to examine the rows of books.
Or rather, scrolls etched with black chicken scratch.
Celvene squinted to read the text, and to her surprise, one read Ziel Rui's—the woman she met at the ball—with extra writing she couldn't make out.
So Risis labeled every scroll. That's convenient.
Celvene smirked and pulled out the scroll, stuffing it into her pocket. She didn't know what it was, but having dirt on any worker affiliated with Aleksandr was bound to help her.
Glancing toward where the guards had last been heard, she could see their shadows stretching across the increased illumination.
She had a hunch they wouldn't instinctively look upwards if they backtracked to her aisle, and would rather search the ground first—why would someone be dangling from the bookshelves?
If they were, it would be in their best interest to conceal themselves as much as possible, anyway.
It was undoubtedly difficult to see anyone on the shelves from the ground.
She continued searching, running her hand over the scrolls as she quickly read each title. There was at least one scroll for countless members of the upper castle: counts, barons, army colonels—the list was endless. And she had heard of next to none of them.
Curiously, she couldn't spot anything on any scholars or the Royal Council.
Celvene didn't know how long Oriel had been with the castle, but she imagined it was long enough to rack up some morally questionable deeds, if they leaned towards that.
She wondered if the scholars and council truly were that honest, or if one of them had managed to sneak their way into the restricted area and steal any incriminating evidence.
She scooted down the aisle, frowning as her hand ached. She ignored the pain as best she could and thumbed through the scrolls. They were sorted by ranking and section within the castle, and she'd entered the military section.
It was alphabetical, so she continued to push herself down the aisle. She could hear the mutters of the guards growing louder, though she couldn't tell if it was them looking for her or her simply getting closer as she shimmied closer to the aisle.
Her eyes flitted through the scrolls, and finally came to a stop on Litvinski. In total, there were five scrolls, all of which Celvene grabbed with a smile. Aleksandr's reign as a fake king was finished.
"There they are!" a guard shouted below her, and the light grew brighter, acting as though it was a spotlight. She shielded her eyes and didn't look down, hoisting herself up as fast as she could while pocketing the remaining scrolls.
She could get out of here without magic.
And unless one of the guards happened to be able to fly or could bypass the magic disruptor, they weren't going to be able to reach her in time.
That was, assuming they weren't granted special permission to use magic somehow, but Celvene had never heard of a disruptor that allowed certain people to cast spells—it was all or none.
And she'd studied the subject as part of her required curriculum.
She climbed to the top and stopped for a moment to catch her breath, glancing below. The guards had assembled in a line and were screaming unintelligible insults at her beneath their helmets.
As much as she wanted to taunt them for their lack of preparation, she didn't want them to recognize her.
Whether that was from her appearance or voice, she didn't care; she didn't want to take any chances either way.
So she pivoted her attention to the bookcase in front of her.
It was obvious she couldn't drop to the ground now, so she braced herself for the stupidest idea she'd had that day.
She lunged off the case, pushing her legs off as much as she could. She soared across the gap, and when she crashed into the other bookshelf, a gasp escaped her lips. Her hands, however, were able to find a hold on the shelf, and she wasted no time in jumping up and crossing the next gap.
Her heart raced, and now sweat was pouring down her face.
The rumble of the guards' footsteps grew louder, and she knew she had to be faster.
Her area was dark, so they wouldn't know where she was, and she hadn't made any noticeable noise.
She could use a distraction to make them think she'd made a mistake, then climb down.
Celvene had made it to the aisle closest to the door, so once she'd recovered, she pulled out one of her daggers and walked to the edge of the shelf.
After she made sure none of the guards could see her, she chucked the dagger as far as she could, and a few seconds later, she could hear it clink as it hit the ground.
She sprang into action, descending the last bookshelf with no care. She nearly slipped twice, but was able to right herself out of sheer panic. Once she'd reached the bottom, she raced out of the aisle, glancing towards the guards. They'd all dispersed, likely looking for her.
Should've guarded the exit.
She ran out the door, and when light flooded her vision and her breathing cleared, she almost cried from happiness. She hadn't realized how stuffy the restricted area was until she'd left.
Celvene could hear a few of the guards yelling to one another behind her, but she disregarded it and headed for the front. Their voices grew softer and softer, until they were finally silent. Before leaving, though, she had to clear Elas of any obvious guilt.
She climbed down the next bookshelf to the ground and prepared to cast a spell. While she didn't know the spell Oriel had used, she did know how to summon illusions, thanks to Korvin's insistence that she learned how to feign some card readings.
She hadn't ever made illusions of humanoid figures, though, and while it was going to take a lot out of her to try, she couldn't waste any time.
She was too close to mess it up now. She drew the rune and thought of Elas with a handful of books before casting it; Celvene had made sure the illusion spawned on top of two books so it could hold and check them out without issue.
Ahead of her, she could see an illusion materialize, and thankfully, none of the guards took notice. She downed the invisibility potion without hesitation, relief washing over her as her body disappeared.
Who would've known Oriel's potion could be useful?
She led Elas's illusion to Risis's desk, and he held up the two books in his hands. Celvene inched her way towards the door, but stayed close enough to hear what Risis would say.
She said nothing, but the slow narrowing of her eyes told Celvene she was wary of the illusion.
Celvene hadn't seen the fine details of her spell, but she'd been praised by Korvin for her seamless illusions; she'd had to stay up night after night perfecting the small details.
Yet the glare of Risis had her second-guessing her abilities.
"The books weren't where they were before," the illusion said, scratching his head with one hand. He nearly dropped the books clutched against his chest, but caught them in the nick of time. "Did you reorganize? I noticed most of the books weren't in the same spot."
"No," Risis replied, eyes gliding over the books' titles. She scribbled something down on her parchment, then waved off Elas's illusion. "Leave. I have other matters to attend to."
When Risis's face lifted to the direction the forbidden section's entrance was in, Celvene knew she was talking about the intruder. Even if Risis was suspicious of her, she made no moves to stop Celvene's illusions, and that was good enough to satisfy Celvene's sense of safety.
And Elas had come from the opposite direction of the entrance soon after with actual books. Most people sneaking out of the library would have faked the books; Celvene was lucky Risis didn't ask to touch them, or else her illusion would have broken, even if the books were real.
"Thank you, Risis," the illusion said before walking away. Celvene hurried out with it, and once it placed its hands on the door, Celvene did the same, breaking her invisibility. She slipped out into the hallway, finally letting herself breathe before pulling out every scroll. They'd all made it.
She'd talk to the librarian after she became queen and absolve Elas if he did decide to come back to Aizasea.
Sure, maybe Risis would hate her after she told her, but Celvene planned to return the books eventually, and she'd be the highest power in the kingdom with this knowledge coming to light. It didn't matter if Risis hated her.
She knew with the information she'd gathered, she'd have more than enough evidence to prove Aleksandr to be a sham who was using the position of king for his own unknown, selfish desires. She'd be able to take down Aleksandr and take her rightful place on the throne, and bring an end to this war.