Page 60 of Crown of Briars
There sat a scroll, a quill, and an inkwell. I smiled again. “Thank you for providing for my needs,” I said to the castle before dipping the quill in ink and jotting down my notes for later.
I spent most of my day in the library. After the first book, I asked the castle for books on spells, curses, and enchantments, particularly regarding the magic of the Shadow Fae. But I couldn’t tie any of the information to an enchanted rose. If anything, the magic of the Shadow Fae seemed more tethered to mist and darkness, not flora. I grew frustrated the more and more I read.
Truth be told, it would make more sense for enchanted roses to exist inmykingdom. I had heard of magical gardens throughout the kingdom. The Terrona Castle had a magnificent garden, although since we lived in caves, it wasn’t quite as grand as others I’d been to over the years.
I frowned, rubbing my eyes as I returned my sixth book to the table. Stifling a yawn, I asked, “Castle, can you send me a book about relations between the Shadow Court and the Earthen Court?”
I waited for the shelves to rattle like they always did, but nothing happened. Only silence met my request.
My pulse quickened. “Castle?” I called, uncertain.
Still nothing.
Perhaps the magic was spent for the day. Did the library have a limit to how many books it could provide in one day?
“Can you give me a book just about the Earthen Court?” I amended.
The shelves rattled again, and a thick crimson volume appeared on the table.
Strange. So, either this enormous library had no information about relations between my court and Varius’s, or the castle was somehow forbidden from providing it.
Interesting.
I gathered up the hefty tome in my hands, wiping dust from the leather-bound cover as I made my way back to the chair. It was clear no one had perused this book in years, but that wasn’t all that surprising. Why would anyone from the Shadow Court need to know about the despicable human court?
The thought instantly soured my mood as I thought of Varius and his blatant disregard for my people. Sure, sacrifice as many human brides as was necessary, as long as the precious unseelie remained unharmed. The humans were too stupid to trust with this information anyway. What would they know about breaking curses?
My hands tightened, gripping the book so tightly the edges of the cover dug small grooves into my palms.
“Damn you, Varius,” I whispered. He always accused me of harboring prejudices against his people, but he was doing the exact same thing with mine.
I forced myself back to the task at hand, thinking it might be useful to study whatever information the Shadow Court had about my own people. Perhaps that would help me puzzle this all out.
My stomach growled as I read, but I ignored it, my brow furrowing when I came across something about Earthen witches.
Witches? I knew of no witch clans in our lands. I had heard of them in others, though.
The most powerful witch enchantments were anchored to an object or person, which fueled its power, allowing it to survive as long as the object or person remained healthy and intact. Trinkets, coins, heirlooms, and gemstones were commonly used. The rarest of spells were able to harness the power of a witch’s lineage in order to fuel the magic.
My eyes snagged on the wordgemstones, and a chill raced down my spine.
Was it possible that some of the gems I’d collected were anchored to a powerful spell?
I shook my head. This had nothing to do with shadow magic, so I moved on, continuing to read.
The Earthen royals emerged from a bloodline of witches who mated with humans, mingling their blood until nearly all magic was erased from the populous.
I snorted. Well,thatwas untrue. Father would have been horrified to find out this was what other courts thought of us. To have our bloodline tainted by witch magic would have been the worst offense, second only to being tainted by unseelie blood.
But… if the Shadow Fae believed this about my kind, perhaps it could help me understand their magic better.
Another two hours passed, and I had to rise to stretch my legs and roll my shoulders back, my body tense from remaining in the same spot for too long. My stomachcontinued to growl angrily at me, and when a brief bout of dizziness swept over me, I acknowledged it was time for me to eat something.
I no sooner had the thought than the door opened. I tensed, expecting to see Varius.
Instead, I found Ramia approaching, holding a tray of sliced meat, buttered bread, and fresh fruit.
My mouth watered at the sight, and I smiled gratefully at her. “Thank you, Ramia.”
