Page 195 of Golden Queen
Other chambers were massive libraries where books lined shelves from floor to ceiling on multiple levels. The tops of the stacks looked almost hazy—as though clouds formed at such a great height.
Huge ladders set on rolling tracks were moving down the rows of books though no hand could be seen manipulating them. Others were still, and I could see crimson-robed people climbing the rungs to reach a higher shelf.
I chuckled as I spied one of the ladders in motion carrying a red-robed young man, his face lit with excitement as he held on with one hand and rode the tracks silently down the row of shelves. He was suspended so far above the marble floor I knew he would never survive a fall from such a height.
The deeper we went into the citadel, the more numerous the red-robed people became.
"They are the scholars," Io told me quietly after I asked him about them. "They have devoted their lives to the simple pursuit of knowledge. The ones wearing the gold chains are magi—magic scholars. The rest pursue different fields of study. master scholars wear black.”
He went on as I looked around at the people appraisingly. “Students will be in regular clothing. Some of them are noble children from all over the world, but most are common children who come here with no tuition simply because they have a thirst for knowledge or a particularly clever mind. Some of them will eventually become scholars themselves. Others will go back to their lives with whatever they’ve learned here." I enjoyed seeing the way his face lit with excitement to explain the Citadel Academy, but there was particular pride in his voice as he spoke of the students.
"Taiger was offered a place here when he was old enough, but it quickly became obvious that there was no place for him except with the dragons. He still takes lessons here when he can be dragged away from them." He turned to me with a grin. "I'll show you that later if we have time—the caves and the nursery. You'll love it as much as Taiger does, I think."
As we walked, I asked him another question I had been saving for later. Later had come, and I wanted to know. "What made you give me a dragon?" I asked. "I did some research of my own in Albiyn, and I couldn't find a single other instance in history where Darkwatch gifted a dragon to anyone."
He stopped. We were in a hallway of tall arches lined with thick-looking doors. We were relatively alone even though we could still see people milling about in the chamber we had just left.
"I've asked myself that question a thousand times, Sera," he said. "I don't know what possessed me to do it. I had already decided to go with the trade delegation, with Juriae, to Windemere. Jhol had been there three times already failing to get answers about the Withian children, and I had decided to go myself—with no intention of ever setting foot inside your castle."
My look must have registered surprise at the revelation, because his answering half smile came just before he ran his thumb across my chin. "I heard about the princess in Windemere who was looking for a husband. Word of your uncle's summons came even as far as Darkwatch."
He looked up as though trying to remember something. "I think it said something likePrincess Aelia of Windemere has reached her majority and remains unwed and ineligible for the throne. The Steward of the Godsgrass Kingdom welcomes all eligible nobles from across Alterra to the King's Day celebration in hopes that an advantageous alliance can be made."
My eyes went wide with shock at that bit of news. "He did not!" I cried, feeling embarrassment heat my cheeks even then. I had no idea that Markus had done something that made me look so utterly foolish.
Io laughed. "He did."
"You must’ve thought me an imbecile," I said, closing my eyes and groaning.
"Far from it. Jhol had already told me enough about you to prove that was not the case."
My eyes shot open. "What did he tell you? How did he know anything about me?" I demanded.
"I told you Jhol is something of a spymaster. He told me that you're strong and beautiful and viciously smart—though I have no idea how he knew. So when that summons came, and it looked like they were auctioning you off to the highest bidder, it made me a little angry. That's when I decided to give you the dragon. I wanted you to have claws and teeth if you had to live in a world where you were not even allowed to come into your own power without a husband. Eroa had just hatched, and I had never seen a hatchling who looked like her. There had not been a white dragon born in Darkwatch in my lifetime. And Sera, Jhol never told me about your hair. I had no idea the gift was as perfectly suited as it was."
His smile was dazzling. It took my breath away in such a sweet, aching way to know he had been seeking to arm me even before he knew me.
"I thought I would be handing off a baby dragon to a young princess. I hoped the bond would help her navigate her way through a harsh world. I had no idea that what I was really doing was giving wings to a fierce anddeadly queen who would end up being more important to me than anything."
The words further humbled me, along with the knowledge of what his gift had meant to him. I wanted to kiss him, but there were people striding down the hallway toward us. I smiled, taking his hand, trying to convey what it meant to me through the simple gesture.
His smile told me he received the message as that dimple appeared beside his lovely mouth.
"Amon, my boy!" a voice said from behind us.
I dragged my eyes away to see a short, austere looking man with steel-gray hair and a wide, friendly smile approaching us. He wore the long, black robes of a master scholar.
"Cassius," Io said, reaching out to shake the man's hand. Io turned to me, preparing to introduce me, but Cassius' eyes went wide.
"Could this be Aelia of Windemere?" the man said, pushing past Io and reaching for me.
"I am indeed," I said, returning his smile as he clasped my hand between his papery soft fingers.
"It is delightful to see you here, Your Majesty. You must come, you must see!" He turned, pulling me down the hall, his face a mask of excitement.
I looked at Io for reassurance, but he shrugged and followed as Cassius led me through a door on the right.
The room beyond was a tangled mess of green with plants on every single surface—spread across the floor, up the walls and hanging from what I was surprised to see was a domed glass ceiling that showed a cloudless blue sky beyond.
