Page 77 of Taken By Shadows

Whether Kaed believed in our bargain or not, that was his issue.

As we’d made our way through the towering building, Gavrin looked less than pleased with this particular escort duty. But his eyes brightened a little each time Audrie got excited about a book or a new section she wanted to look through during our visit.

The library itself was the oldest and also one of the largest buildings in Viverna, according to Audrie. It stood as a steeple amongst the hilly landscape of steps and slopes, its erudite shadow spilling out over the city.

I had thought the exterior with its balconies and cascading foliage was impressive. But the core of the great library was like stepping into another world entirely.

A coiling walkway climbed upwards; an observation platform shaped like a corkscrew. It flowed around the centre of the entire structure, which had been hollowed out to form a shaft that spanned the seventeen floors of the building. Right to the very top, where a dome of glass allowed light in. And not just in, but down and through to every single corner of the various levels. The light adjustment was controlled by a series of mirrors that could be flipped and angled as needed to direct shafts of light.

But the light wasn’t just for the walkway, readers and researchers. Its primary purpose was to provide light to the hanging forest that grew throughout the entire shaft. Hundreds of shrubs, ferns and curving trees seemed to dangle mid-air through the levels. As I looked closer, I could see that the root and branch system of the gnarled trees provided a woven tapestry for the other plants to grow and thrive in.

“Doesn’t the dampness of the foliage damage the books?” I wondered as we wound our way up the gentle slope of the walkway.

Audrie shrugged as I gaped. “Can’t harm them that much if this place has stood for hundreds of years.”

Pointing to a particularly huge tree that spanned at least five floors, Gavrin said, “Ten gold says I could climb that.”

Audrie scoffed. “I’d like to see you try.”

She meant it sardonically, but Gavrin gave a big goofy grin at the supposed challenge.

“No one is climbing anything. Serious research to be done here. Remember?” Though Gavrin’s idea, even if we fell, seemed like more fun than what lay ahead of us.

“What are these ones?” I fanned the open book whose pages were eaten by woodworm and slightly tacky to the touch. Audrie had dumped a pile, and they all looked like a monochrome of beige.

“Let’s start at the start,” she suggested. “Geography of the Four Corners.”

“As good a place as any,” I agreed.

Gavrin stood sentry the entire time we read, flicking through page after page of landscapes and terrain descriptions, looking for any mention of faebane at all.

After hours of reading non-stop about lakes and beautiful craggy formations of valleys and mountain passes, it all started to appear the same. “This has got to be the worst punishment I could have given myself.” I groaned and threw my head back over the pew.

A grunt from Gavrin suggested he thought his job was worse.

I had always enjoyed learning about the Four Corners, the world I hadn’t explored, the one I knew had to be better than the only tiny pocket I’d ever known. But learning about the minutiae and natural formations was not something I had planned.

“Is there something we could pivot to, maybe about the Crowns and the war?” Two sets of eyes fell on me as they wondered at my question. “It’s just that, well, wasn’t that the last time any real source of faebane was found?”

There was a beat of silence, and Audrie and Gavrin went still.

“What is it?” I looked between both of them.

Gavrin was stoic.

“It’s just that, that topic—Well, it’s a little … murky,” Audrie decided on.

A huff of agreement came from Gavrin.

“You were there? Weren’t you?” I tipped my nose to the sentinel.

His shoulders tensed, and his nostrils flared a little. He gave a tight nod, but that was it.

“I’m sorry.” I finally realised I was trying to barrel my way into a history that, for any number of reasons, could have been painful for Gavrin.

Audrie shifted as Gavrin did, but she finally spoke. “The histories and details of the war are largely forbidden and have been hoarded in Hayden.”

“What?” I thought of the king and his armies, the devastation they would have brought to the Four Corners during the Two-Hundred-Year War, and then to conceal the details.