Chapter Ten
The once brightly gleaming white walls of Veritim Palace had transformed into the black maw of a ferocious beast, waiting to swallow Silas whole. Soot-stained stone formed jagged teeth. The heavy, wet scent of scorched wood and rain mingled into foul breath.
The man standing next to Silas handed him a lantern.
“You won’t find much,” he warned. Strider Morten was a contractor who worked with the Merchant’s Guild, helping business owners recover from all kinds of disasters.
He was tall and broad like Archer but significantly more verbose.
“The books would have gone fast, adding fuel to the fire, and once the ceiling caved in, everything else was crushed.”
“Do you still think the fire started here?” Silas asked.
“From the way it spread and the layers of rubble, yes.” Strider waved Silas forward and they stepped through a broken wall to enter the ruins.
They paused at the edge of a huge stone pile, twice as tall as either of them. Silas tilted his head back and looked up through an equally large hole in the ceiling, all the way to the clear blue sky.
“You see the state of this stone?” Strider asked, drawing Silas’ attention back to him.
“How it’s not as charred as the rest of it?
If the upper floors had caught fire first, they would have been exposed to it longer and shown more damage.
Instead, it looks like the stone ceiling snuffed out some of the flames when it fell.
From what I’ve seen so far, the upper floors also show less damage than the lower ones, implying the fire started on the first floor. ”
“Do we know what started it?”
Strider shook his head. “A candle or overturned lantern is the most likely culprit. Neither would leave evidence behind.”
“What about Blasting Jelly?” A few weeks ago, Silas had stumbled across a large collection of jars filled with the explosive in the armory. The soldiers had used it when they’d blown up the prison to help Varro escape, so Silas wondered if it had also been used on the palace.
“It’s possible,” Strider conceded. “Blasting Jelly is formulated for a quick bang, and, in a controlled situation, it won’t spread a fire. That brings us back to the books. One stray spark and this is the result.” He gestured to the ruins.
If it was Blasting Jelly, that would lend more support to the theory that the soldiers set the fire as a distraction. “Would there be any residue left behind?”
“No. The best way to confirm that as the source would be to find a witness who heard an explosion.”
“What about any other evidence it might leave behind? A crater or something?”
“It depends on how much they used and where. Would you like my team to keep an eye out for any signs of arson?”
“Yes, report anything to me immediately.” Wanting to see the rest of the library, Silas walked around the pile of rubble rather than over it.
His foot struck a stray rock, and he bit back a hiss of pain.
He glanced down at the ground to watch where he stepped but paused as a sparkle caught his eye.
Bending down, he picked up an oddly shaped stone.
Only the size of his thumbnail, bits of blue peeked out under the black soot.
He cleaned it off with the edge of his shirt and held it up to the light to examine it better.
The blue was as light as the sky, hidden underneath a chunk of melted metal.
Once the metal was chipped away, it would probably resemble a teardrop.
Where did this come from? Silas rarely wore jewelry, and he certainly didn’t leave precious stones lying around.
Most of them were kept in the Vault, only to be taken out for formal occasions.
The only person he knew who wore jewelry on a daily basis was …
Eight years old and trying to escape his tutors again, Silas had snuck into his parents’ bedroom.
If his father caught him, he’d simply drag Silas back to the schoolroom, where he would have to sit through the day’s lesson on geography.
If his sister caught him, she’d take him down to the kitchens first for a treat, then not-so-subtly try to teach Silas herself.
He never quite understood her ramblings on the historical connections between countries, but lessons were much more fun while eating a tart.
Of all his family, he hoped his mother would catch him.
She’d never caught him before, but he pictured her gently pulling him out from beneath the bed to set him on top of it.
Maybe she’d hold him close, they could snuggle together for the rest of the afternoon, and she’d tell him what it was really like to run a kingdom—all the fun parts, none of the stuffy, boring legislature.
He had vague memories from when he was younger of someone tucking him in close for bedtime stories. He couldn’t remember the content of the stories or even the person’s voice, just a sense of peace and warmth that he wanted to feel again.
The door swung open as someone entered.
Silas tensed in anticipation, wondering how long it would take his mother to spot him.
The door closed and his mother sighed. “Honestly, Miri, I can’t stand him lurking around. When does he leave?”
“Next month, I believe. After His Highness’ birthday.”
“Damn, is that next month? I almost forgot.”
Silas’ heart sank and his little fist clenched. It’s all right. She didn’t really forget, just almost. The thought offered him little comfort.
“He’s getting quite big, isn’t he?” The fondness of his mother’s voice cheered him somewhat.
“I rarely see him,” the other woman replied, her tone subdued.
“Come now, Miri. Don’t look at me like that.” His mother’s skirts came into view as she sat at her vanity. “You know I don’t like it any better than you do.”
Another set of skirts appeared as the other woman stepped up next to her.
The queen’s skirts were a beautiful, shiny blue with little hand painted flowers all along the fabric.
Everything was clean and neat and new. Miri’s skirts were a darker blue, the hem older and frayed, and short enough for Silas to spy the edge of a worn shoe. “Claire, I—”
“What do you think?” his mother interrupted. “The pearls or the aquamarine?”
After a long hesitation, Miri said, “The aquamarine.”
“Yes, you’re right, they match the dress better.” His mother fumbled around for a moment and then something softly clattered to the floor. “Shit!” She bent down to search for it. “Miri, do you see it?”
The other woman sighed and got down on hands and knees to search.
No longer wishing to be found, Silas crawled further into the shadows of the bed, watching both women fumble along the floor in a frantic search.
Miri gave up first. “I’m sorry, Claire, it must have fallen in a crack.”
“Gods dammit,” his mother hissed. “Those were my favorite pair! I can’t only wear one of them!”
Both stood up and Miri’s voice softened as she soothed his mother. “You can turn it into a pendant instead. No matter what form it is, it will complement your beauty.” Miri continued to console her with soft murmurs as they exited the room.
Once the door closed, Silas scrambled out from under the bed and began searching the floor for his mother’s lost jewel. He didn’t know what an ‘aquamarine’ was, but if he found it, his mother would praise him and hug him close.
He spent two hours looking for it and only stopped when his father found him and dragged him back to his tutoring session.
Examining the gem closer, Silas remembered his mother wearing a teardrop necklace on occasion, and he had some vague images of earrings before that. Which one am I holding now? he wondered, rolling it between his fingers.
“Your Majesty?” Strider waited until Silas looked at him to continue, “Did you want to see anything else in the library or should we move on?”
Silas slipped the stone into his pocket. “Yes, I want to see the Records Room.” It was a separate room within the library intended to keep all the kingdom’s records safely locked away. Although it wasn’t as protected as the Vault, he hoped some of the documents had remained intact.
Since he was more familiar with the library, even in its devastation, Silas led the way, with Strider guiding him around the worst areas of damage. As they neared the room, Silas paused. The steel door hung open. “Have your people already explored this area?”
“Yes, to examine it for structural damage.”
“Was the door already open?”
“Yes.”
Silas stepped into the room, knowing he would find only ash. The Records Room had fared as badly as the rest of the library, nothing left behind.
“Your Majesty?” Strider ran his hand down the edge of the metal doorframe. “I think we found your evidence.”
Frowning, Silas stepped up beside him. A chunk of metal was missing from the doorframe, melted away. He looked back into the Records Room, a black, smoky mess. Who could tell whether the records were burned or stolen? Maybe the fire was more than a distraction after all.
Files were moved to the Records Room once they were no longer needed for active review.
Things like old staff files, accounting ledgers from previous years, trade agreements, and other historical documents.
Whether they were copies or originals depended on the document, but Silas suspected anyone desperate enough to break down the door would not be after mere copies.
Silas’ first thought was that someone was after the old council’s files, either to recover information or protect someone’s secrets.
But those files had been moved to the Council Chambers for an investigative committee to review.
The only document that should have been kept in the library was the librarian’s record of the files taken from the adviser’s offices.