Chapter 10
MYRA
As Myra wandered the halls, she hesitated when she reached the open doors of the library.
In Ardentol, Myra had never been allowed inside the library unless Kallie had sent her there to fetch a book from the librarian.
But more often than not, Kallie had preferred to go, finding solitude in the quiet.
Sometimes, although rarely because of the paranoia of being caught, Myra would sneak inside, pretending to look for a book for the princess.
When Myra peered inside now, she expected someone to reprimand her for even looking at the books that were held within the glorious room. To her surprise, no shouts came.
She glanced around, but none of the nearby guards moved. Was it a trick?
She ventured closer, placing her feet just before the entrance. She gripped the door frame with her hand, yet the guards remained unfazed.
Myra stepped inside the library, her steps light as if the floor would crumble beneath her for even daring to enter.
When she crossed the threshold, the floor did not quake, insults were not spat at her, and questioning gazes were not directed at her.
She dropped her shoulders in shocked relief, the tension she hadn’t known she was harboring dispersing.
The warm, woody scent of old books and ink scrawled across pages welcomed her.
Similar to the rest of the castle, beautiful stained glass decorated the exterior walls.
With the library facing the east, the sun’s rays spilled into the room, casting an array of broken rainbows across the glossy pine floors.
She wondered how the room would look in the early morning hours as the sun rose, how the glass would be affected by the vibrant pink and orange hues.
When she spotted the librarian, Myra jolted backward and folded into a quick bow. "My apologies, my lady."
The stranger, who had been watering a group of plants, paused. She cocked her head to the side, and her long, slick black hair fell to the side, brushing her hip. "Do you often apologize for silly things?"
Straightening at the woman’s light laughter, Myra blinked. "Pardon?"
"Have you done something to insult me personally?"
"I—" Myra bit her lip and shook her head, suddenly feeling rather ridiculous. "I do not believe so, but if I have, I do—"
"Don’t say it," the woman said, setting the can down and holding out a hand.
Myra chewed on her lip, unsure what to do or say. The only words that sat on her tongue were another apology, which would no doubt upset the librarian even more.
"Ah, you’re the newcomer, right? Her Majesty has informed us you may roam the castle.
You are more than welcome to peruse the library while you are here.
Knowledge should be shared, not hoarded—no matter one’s status," the librarian explained, bringing Myra back to the present.
She held out her hand and smiled warmly at Myra. "Please, come in."
With a wobbly smile, Myra bent into a small curtsy. "Thank you, miss…"
"Magnolia," the woman said. Then quickly added, "just Magnolia. If you’re going to be in Tetria for a while, you should know that most of us don’t go around calling each other lords and ladies."
"Really? How else do you show respect to those with titles?"
"A title does not always warrant respect. Wouldn’t you agree?"
Shame immediately heated Myra’s cheeks. She was fully aware that people like Domitius and Sebastian didn’t deserve to be held above others simply because of their status. Still, the habit had been ingrained in her for so many years that it was harder to break than she had imagined.
Myra made to venture deeper into the library, but before she made it much farther, she turned back to Magnolia. "Are there any books that are off-limits?"
"Off-limits?" Magnolia asked, as if she had never heard the words.
"Any books that are only for the royal family?" Myra clarified.
"Oh." Magnolia chuckled and waved her hand in the air. "No. You can peruse or borrow anything you see. While Princess Medenia often forgets to return the books she borrows, we don’t separate the royal family’s books from the public."
Myra nodded and headed off, leaving the librarian with the plants.
As she searched the shelves, she wondered what a normal life was like in a kingdom that shared knowledge so freely, one where books were not kept away based on a person’s status.
Perhaps instead of inquiring whether there was a need for more handmaidens, she could ask about a position in the library.
Spending her mornings with a cup of hot tea surrounded by old books before the rest of the castle awoke seemed like a rather splendid way to spend her life.
She surveyed the various colored spines sitting on the shelves and soon found herself being pulled to one section of the library.
The sun streamed in through the windows, illuminating the leather-bound books.
Her gaze trailed over the various titles, such as The Creature of the Red Sea, Dragons: Gone but not Forgotten, Legendary Creatures: An Anthology, and The Beasts of Vaneria.
Myra began plucking various books from the shelves, an idea forming in her mind.
She might have been useless with a sword, but she was apt at gathering information.
And that too was important when fighting a war.
Hours later, a messy stack of books covered the table Myra had claimed.
A majority of the books contained only a few sentences pertaining to dragons, if any information at all.
One went into great detail about their appearance and how their pearlescent scales helped protect the beasts from unwarranted attacks.
Another had theorized that the creatures had gone extinct because hunters were killing them and taking the dragons’ scales to form impenetrable armor.
Myra’s stomach had twisted with nausea more than once when she read that particular text.
Set on finding something useful to help fight against the drakonises, Myra returned to the shelves again and again.
As she ran a finger over the leather spines, the hiss of exchanged whispers tickled her ears.
Turning toward the noise, she found Rian and Laurince hurrying past the library with their heads tilted towards each other.
She recalled Kallie mentioning the king’s interest in dragons.
Maybe he would be interested in helping her.
She made to call out to the two men but stopped, not wanting to disturb the other patrons who were quietly reading. Instead, she snatched the book she had been eyeing from the shelf and hurried toward the doors. When she spotted Magnolia, though, Myra skidded to a stop.
"I’ll be back to clean up the stack of books, but can I borrow this?"
"Of course," Magnolia said with a wave. "Borrow as many as you’d like. I’m sure you’ll return them quicker than Her Highness. And don’t worry about the other books. I’ll take care of them later."
Myra gnawed on her lip as she glanced back at the table in the far corner. "Are you sure? I’ll be back. I can—"
"Are you still looking through them?" Magnolia interrupted.
Myra pursed her lips. There was nothing in those tomes worth looking at again. "No," she said, disheartened.
"Then go. If you have any chance of catching up to those two handsome men who just passed, you better hurry."
Myra’s cheeks reddened. "Oh, I’m not—I wasn’t—"
With a knowing smile, Magnolia winked and returned her attention to the books she was organizing, ending the conversation.
When she was in Frenzia, the staff members were constantly giggling and gossiping about Rian’s good looks. Myra couldn’t deny that the king was handsome. Laurince was attractive, too—objectively speaking.
She bit the inside of her cheek and swiftly ducked out of the library before she could give the thought any more attention.
When Myra came to a fork in the hall, she halted, hesitating.
A gust of wind followed by the sharp click of a latch had her turning down the corridor to the left. When she reached a set of beautiful, ornate doors, she pushed them open and strolled outside. Myra stood on her tiptoes and scanned the garden, searching for the men.
With a sigh, she sank back on her heels.
But just as she was about to turn around and head inside, she spotted Rian’s signature wine-red hair peeking over a series of tall bushes.
Quickly, Myra weaved her way toward the pair, her steps light atop the cobblestone path.
When she rounded the bend, though, Myra halted in her tracks as fear wrapped around her.
The book she was holding slipped from her hands and smacked the ground.
She vaguely felt Rian and Laurince’s attention turn to her, but she couldn’t move.
Her feet were cemented to the ground, her entire body going rigid as blood-red eyes snapped to her.
The unfamiliar creature’s nostrils flared. Its leg muscles contracted as the creature stood at its full height. Black webbed wings flared out from either side.
Myra’s breathing shortened as she was transported to the throne room in Ardentol.
Feathered wings weighed down with blood consumed her vision as the ghost of her brother’s agonizing screams filled her ears.
Her legs trembled, and she grappled for something to keep her upright.
She was going to fall. She was going to—
Her body jerked to a stop as wide, dark brown eyes replaced the ruby ones. Lashes brushed across cool, light brown cheeks. Laurince’s lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear a word he was saying. She blinked—once, twice, three times—yet the creature remained.
Laurince’s hold tightened, and he shook her gently. "Myra?"
She leaned to her left, looking past him. Her brows drew together. Was the beast…was it rolling its eyes at her?
"Hey," Laurince said, calling her attention back to him. "Nyrri won’t hurt you."
"Unless she deems you to be a threat, then all bets are off," Rian said a few feet away.
"Don’t listen to him," Laurince said, flicking a rude gesture in Rian’s direction. "You’re safe," he promised with a soft smile, though the stretch of his mouth seemed forced. "Plus, I reckon you would struggle to hurt a fly."
"Is it…is she…" Myra stammered, unable to find the words as she looked between Laurince and the creature.
"A drakonis?"
Myra hummed in response, and the captain nodded.
"She looks different from…" Myra gulped. Images of her brother surfaced again: Mynhos flying across the room, the skin of his back scarlet, the pitch-black wings protruding from the raw skin between his shoulder blades.
"Breathe," Laurince commanded softly.
Myra inhaled a slow breath. Once, twice. Until the nerve-endings finally settled and her brain recognized she was not in immediate danger. Mynhos was dead. He was no longer in pain, no longer Domitius’ pawn.
Once Myra calmed down, Rian said, "I believe Nyrri was one of the first successful experiments Sebastian conducted before he and Domitius had partnered and started experimenting on humans.
" The king’s warm brown complexion turned a shade of green.
He had been too close to being another victim, to becoming the same monster Mynhos had been turned into.
Several yards away, the drakonis settled back down and began licking her paws, from which ivory talons gleamed in the sunlight. Myra’s gaze slipped over the animal’s form, over the fur coating her legs, the small spikes adorning her tail, and the delicate wings tucked against her sides.
"She’s kind of…" Myra hesitated.
"Beautiful?" Rian suggested, staring at the creature with a look of awe.
Myra nodded, though it wasn’t the first word she would have used to describe Nyrri. The drakonis was terrifying, but she was also a sight to behold. It was strange thinking that something beautiful came from the atrocious experiments Sebastian had conducted.
"I think you dropped this," Laurince said, holding out the book.
"Oh, thank you," Myra mumbled. She took the book from the captain. Their fingers accidentally brushed, and Laurince quickly took a step back, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. Myra’s cheeks reddened.
"Doing some light reading?" Rian jested, pointing to the large tome.
Myra turned her attention away from the captain, thankful for the question.
"I was actually researching dragons to see if I could find anything noteworthy in the library’s collection in case it was useful. I recall Kallie mentioning you enjoyed researching, Your Majesty. Would you be interested in joining me?"
Rian and Laurince exchanged glances.
Myra hugged the book tighter to her chest, the pressure a much-needed comfort in the awkwardness.
Before the obvious rejection could come, Myra quickly back-stepped.
"It’s fine if you can’t or do not wish to.
I don’t even know whether the research will help.
But I figured I wasn’t doing anything else and wanted to help.
I’m sure you both have better things to do than spend your days in the library with me. "
Laurince sighed. "Myra—"
"No, really. Time alone would do me some good, I think. Don’t you? My whole life I’ve been under Domitius' rule. Some alone time could be beneficial. It could help me get my bearings, help me figure out what I want to do next. It was a silly thing to—"
One of them said something, but she didn’t hear him.
Realizing she was rambling, Myra grimaced. "I’m sorry. What was that?"
Laurince nudged Rian in the side, but Rian stared at the captain, dumbfounded.
"It wasn’t silly," Laurince said, clearing his throat. "It’s a good idea. Right, Rian?"
"Sure, but—"
Laurince threw his arm around Rian’s shoulders, tugging him against him. "We have nothing better to do."
Rian, hunched over, side-eyed the captain. "Do you even read?"
Laurince jabbed the king in the side again. "Of course I fucking read. I’m not an absolute buffoon."
"At least you know you’re a partial one."
Laurince shoved Rian away, causing him to stumble over his feet. But before the king could hit the ground, Nyrri was there, nudging him upright with her snout. And for once, Myra’s laughter wasn’t forced. Not even a little.