Page 27 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"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 asThe Creature of the Red Sea,Dragons: Gone but not Forgotten,Legendary Creatures: An Anthology, andThe 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 itrollingits 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.
