Chapter 9
Nine
V aelor led me down the spiral staircase. I ran my hand over the intricate floral gold-leaf design that covered the railing. The soft velvet carpet muffled my footsteps as we came to the grand front foyer.
He took me to the side hallway I had explored just a few hours prior. In their might and glory, the statues of Vaelor’s progenitors regarded me. I found myself pondering about Vaelor’s past, contemplating his youth spent under the scrutiny of such effigies.
He stopped facing the same double doors where I had overheard Erlinen and Vaelor speaking.
I paused and glanced up at the torn painting on the wall as I had before, my gaze drawn to the ragged shreds of canvas.
Vaelor opened the doors. “In here.”
I found myself occupied with reassembling the ripped parts of the painting.
I reached out and took the loose edge of the torn canvas and pushed it up.
Then another edge. It appeared to be a female, a demon female.
She wore an elegant blue dress that came off her shoulders, her wings gracefully arched outward.
Her eyes glistened with a soft yellow light.
She was beautiful.
A snarl sounded from behind me, and he grabbed my wrist and tore it away from the painting. “Do not touch anything in this hallway.”
I stumbled back, startled. “I was only curious. Who is she?”
“ She is none of your business,” he snapped.
I squared my shoulders and returned his glare. “It’s hard to trust you if you refuse to answer my questions.”
“I have answered your questions.”
“Not all of them,” I challenged. “Not the personal ones. The ones that might lead me to know you .”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak, just watched me with that intense, glowing gaze. Finally, he released an angry huff. “She was my Bloodbound.”
“Bloodbound?”
“My wife.”
I froze, an iciness seeping into my veins. “She’s dead?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He glanced away, the shadows from the flickering candlelight playing on his features. “She was killed to teach me a lesson.”
“Who killed her?”
“It doesn’t matter.” His face turned up toward the painting, his expression dark and wings pulled too tightly against his back. “In the end, she died because of me.”
“And the rose?” I motioned to the preserved flower in the jar that sat on the table beneath the painting.
“A reminder,” he rumbled, “that beauty has its cost, contentment is a lie, everything has a downside—and if you choose to ignore it, death will follow.” He moved to the doors, aggravated. “No more questions, or I’ll take you back to your room.”
I stared at the artwork and the rose a second longer, unsettled by how much Vaelor had left unsaid. His wife. I shivered.
An odd feeling came off the flower as if dark magic clung to the preserved bloom, heavy and grief-soaked. The sadness of such a great tragedy settled under my skin.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said quietly.
He rounded on me, fury kindled in his eyes. “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, human. I want to show you the damn library.”
His nostrils flared and his body was tense—like trying too hard to contain his rage, so I retreated and proceeded to the doors. Vaelor’s breaths sounded heavy as he tracked my every movement.
When I entered, I gasped. When he mentioned a library, I pictured a small, study-sized space brimming with books.
This was no study.
The room spanned away from me, larger than the dining room, larger than my bedchamber.
I craned my neck to peer up at the books that lined the walls.
Moldings of winged creatures embellished in gold filigree filled the corners.
The carvings in the ceiling comprised of elaborate arches.
Closer to the floor, an enormous fireplace sat beside a pair of cushioned benches, candles flickering along the hearth.
I pressed my palms to my mouth in wonder.
Vaelor’s anger seemed to have faded as he observed me. A small smile played on his lips. “Do you like it?”
I lowered my hands. “This is the most amazing place I’ve ever seen.”
“Most demons aren’t very academic. That being said, we understand the necessity to preserve knowledge, if for nothing more than staying informed about our enemies and their weaknesses.
The library in Saeritos, the Aeria capital, has the grandest collection.
But outside of that, my home boasts the largest assortment of books and scrolls found anywhere in the kingdom. ”
“And this?” I approached the book that lay open on a desk. A ribbon marked its place. I shut it and scanned the title. A History of Spiritu Malignos.
“I’ve been having Erlinen flip the pages for me,” he said.
“May I read it?”
Vaelor didn’t answer right away, and I looked up at him, recognizing the magnitude of my request. This book might expose the vulnerabilities of spirits. Perhaps ways to defeat them, though I expected a person required magic to do such a feat and I was no hedge witch.
“You may read any book in this room,” he answered.
Another sign of his willingness to win my trust. Letting me near anything that might reveal his weaknesses had to cost him something. He was likely confident that whatever I found wouldn’t be enough to defeat him.
“I’ll let you explore in peace,” he said. “You can take any book in this library on our… journey . But pack light. I won’t have you weighed down by books, or I’ll dump them in the first river we come across.”
“Not everything you say to me has to be a threat, you know.”
He looked a little startled. But then he only grunted. “There are extra candles on the mantel along with a striker if you need more light. You may stay in here as long as you wish.”
He swept out of the room, leaving me alone.
I’d once accompanied my mother on one of her herbal visits to an official’s home and found myself in a room full of books.
My fingers had itched to take one, any one, and stick it under my skirts.
My mother occasionally accepted books as payment for her services, and I’d devour them before passing them along to Gerand and the other children in town.
Now the options were limitless. I inhaled the scent of dusty old parchment, savoring it.
I perused the shelves, wondering how I’d only choose a few. Perhaps Vaelor’s threat was warranted.
I pulled a book from the shelf, its spine embossed with curling vines and titled Spells of the Hedge Witch. What was Vaelor doing with this? The old binding let out a loud creak as I opened it.
The first page was covered in hurried, scrawling script.
A hedge witch's power lies in her blood.
Hedge witches were usually humans who wielded nature magic, drawing power from the living world around them. Many demons dismissed their abilities as insignificant, while humans often distrusted them for practicing a form of magic considered uncomfortably close to that of demons.
I turned the page and skimmed the table of contents. The book was divided into three sections. The first covered defensive and nature-based spells. The second cataloged plants and their uses. The title of the final section made me pause. Spells to Unravel a Demon.
Ways to defeat demons? Damn it. If only I had magic.
I set the book aside to take with me. Most of the plants growing in the demon lands were familiar, sharing much with those found in human territory.
Yet during my months as a slave, I had come across several species I couldn't name.
Perhaps the book would shed light on the stranger flora of these lands and the purposes they served.
Now, I needed a book with a map. It took me a bit longer, pulling out different history books until I came across an updated military tome. I opened it. Yes, it showed the demon kingdoms in the demon alliance and their major cities. I set it with the hedge witch's spellbook.
I sighed. It would be unwise to bring much more, and I needed to start on the book about Spiritu Malignos.
I settled onto the cushioned bench next to the window, cracked open the cover, and started reading.
I awoke in my bed as Erlinen burst in. With a frown, I looked around. How did I get into my room? Last I remembered, I was in the library reading by candlelight.
“Time to wake up,” Erlinen moved to the curtains and threw them open, letting in the first rays of morning light. “You must get ready to go.”
“Go?” I sat up, startled. I glanced at my side table, and my three books lay stacked there. Vaelor must have carried me to bed after I fell asleep and then had my books placed on the table. I blinked. That was oddly… considerate of him.
“The Final Proving begins today,” Erlinen sniffed. “Let me help you out of the dress and put on these clothes.” She held up a white shirt and a pair of brown pants.
I stared at them in surprise. “I haven’t worn pants before.” The thought of putting them on made me feel uneasy for some reason.
“You want to be out in the wilderness in that?” Erlinen huffed, motioning at my fancy dress.
Survival was more important than comfort at this point. “No, I’ll wear them.”
Erlinen worked on unfastening the gown and then handed me the shirt. I slid it over my head. It was large and long-sleeved, but someone had hemmed the sleeves with uneven stitches.
“And the pants,” Erlinen held them out to me.
“Did you alter these?”
“We don’t carry clothes in human size around here.”
I stepped into pants and pulled them up. Gods, this felt strange. “Did Lord Vaelor order this?”
She nodded as she yanked the ties on the pants tight, and it cinched about my waist. “Being dressed as a man will help you from being recognized by the demon army.” She grabbed a large man’s cloak and settled it around my shoulders and lifted the hood.
“Keep your hair tied back and the hood raised.”
She picked up a bag, limped over and put the books inside, then she handed it to me. “The food in there should last you five days. If you ration it,” she added.
That was only half of the ten days Vaelor had to find a body and return. “What about the other days?” I asked.
She shrugged. “You’ll figure it out.”