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I could feel a dark inky presence, crouching like a spider in the shadows. It was calling to me from somewhere beyond those stairs. I shook my head and pushed the feeling away.
I followed Amon out of the throne room and down another hall. This one was brightly lit and spilled into one of the most spectacular libraries I had ever seen.
It was huge. The cathedral ceilings carried on in this space, and much like the main intersection of the East and West Wings, you could walk around the circular space on multiple levels. Shelves upon shelves of books lined the outer walls, but stacks of books filled the floors on each level, lined up to smoothly follow the curved shape of the room.
I looked over the banister, and I could see one floor down, that the heart of the space was filled with cozy areas to read. There was an impossibly large fireplace on the far wall of the main floor.
Cozy armchairs and couches crowded together in several sets of seating arrangements, designed for comfortable reading. From where I stood, I thought I could see Kasha’s blue hair surrounded by piles of books in one of the comfy reading nooks before the fire.
Woven in between the stacks on all levels, I could see there were more secluded tables for visitors who needed to focus to study or write.
“Hello, welcome to the library.” I yelped and almost jumped out of my skin. The female who had approached us frowned and held a finger up to her mouth. She was a stern looking daemon with her hair pulled back in a severe bun. Physically, she did not appear to be much older than I. Although, from the feel of her aura, I knew she was much older, even older than Amon.
“Shhh.” She scolded me and I blushed.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“As I was saying, welcome to the library. Please, no food or drink in the stacks, though you may eat in the common reading area, provided you are respectful of the books.”
I nodded, eyes wide. Amon chuckled softly.
“Thank you, Prophet Margaret.” He said smoothly, putting his palm on the small of my back. “I will make sure she doesn’t leave you any crumbs.”
I glowered at him, but Prophet Margaret nodded at him sternly.
“Who was that?” I hissed as we slid away from her and toward a curving staircase so that we could join Kasha in the common reading area.
“She’s my high prophet.” He glanced at me with an amused expression on his face. “I keep forgetting how new everything is to you.” He smiled. “As you know, some daemons have very specialized skills. You and I can shadow walk and fly whereas Kasha can change her appearance at will. Prophets are daemons who are gifted with The Sight. They often receive visions and tend to find themselves drawn to places like this, where they can record what they see for later use, if necessary.
“Margaret wrote the prophecy predicting your birth, and Clair’s emancipation from the Nightshades.” His face grew grim. “She wrote it while serving as a slave in Ash Nevra’s archives. She was punished severely for leaking it to The Dominion.” I gaped at him.
“Did you save her too? With Bond-Breaker?” I asked. He nodded.
“I did. It took a great deal of effort to get Ash Nevra to agree to allow me to take her here. I had to convince her that I would keep Margaret in my dungeons and continue to punish her.”
His expression darkened further. “When Ash Nevra visits, she often insists on seeing Margaret. So I must lock her away when she is here. It is… difficult for Margaret to be enclosed in dark spaces. Largely due to the torture she endured in the Court of Lust. Locking her away during Ash Nevra’s visits is one of the many horrifying things I find myself having to do.”
His expression was tight, and I realized just how much it cost him each day to keep up this ruse, that he was still under Ash Nevra’s thumb.
“I try to tell myself that it is better for her here. At least here, she spends most of her time in the sunlight. Around the books that she loves. Though it does not feel like it is better, when I need to put her back in her cell.”
My daemon, who had been more relaxed during my time in Amon’s court than it had been my entire life, tensed up. My hatred for Ash Nevra made my blood boil. I glanced back at the proud, stern female who had scolded me without a second thought as I entered her sacred space.
The idea of her being forced to cower in a cold, dark cell, just to appease Ash Nevra, made me want to burn the world to the ground. Power crackled and sparked at my fingertips and Prophet Margaret’s stern voice called out after us immediately.
“No powers in the library!” She chided and I worked to stifle the embers that had flown from my fingers in my rage. Amon frowned at the sparks.
“Your powers are beginning to manifest.” He observed.
“Beginning? I feel like they’ve been manifesting for some time already.” I replied, looking down at my hands.
“Yes, but the closer we get to the Quickening, the more diligent you will need to be in exercising control. You have done great so far but when you fully come into your own, you will likely experience a large influx. It will be important that you are ready for it and able to keep it from consuming you.”
I remembered what it had been like at the docks. When I had lost all control over my powers. I had known my own energy would devour me alive, and there would be nothing left. Only Amon’s intervention, at the end, had spared me from that fate.
“Make sure you keep practicing finding that state of mind we talked about. Even when you’re not with me.” I nodded firmly.
“Ok. I will.”
