Page 43 of When Ashes Fall

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Briar

To ensure I didn’t destroy the potion and the ingredients I’d harvested, I kept my eye on the grandfather clock in the corner of the library. The swinging chimes, tucked behind the etched glass at the bottom, made a small clicking noise as they swung back and forth. Otherwise, the room was blessedly silent.

I longed to crawl into the branches of the tree of knowledge in the center of the library, find an easy read, and lose myself for a couple of hours while I absorbed the tree’s energy, but I hadn’t come for that. I was on a mission.

I’d already read about the demigods and knew about the casters’ abilities, but maybe other eternals possessed the ability to talk to the dead. My mother had told me that my father was a night caster priest, but unlike Rosalie, whose father visited her, mine never did.

I’d never met him and had no idea who he was. I wouldn’t put it past my mother to lie to me about his heritage. She’d hated me from the second she learned of my existence, and if she were lying, she’d never tell me the truth. I had no idea how to find out who he was or what I was, unless the answer was here… somewhere.

I hoped to discover a book listing all the abilities of the eternals, but I wasn’t sure one existed. And even though thousands upon thousands of books filled this library, if such a book existed, it might not be here.

Despite all the barriers in my way, nothing would deter me. This was the only hope I had… unless I chose to reveal my secrets to Knox, and I absolutely did not want to do that.

So, I climbed ladders, strolled amongst the tomes on each of the floors, examined the beautiful bindings, basked in the scent of the ancient books, and ran my fingers over the tree branches spreading around the room. Gizzi slept in the tree while I absorbed its energy and tried not to get disheartened.

I didn’t enter any of the reading alcoves discreetly tucked away and hidden throughout the library. I’d save them for last.

I was about to climb to the third floor when a small book with a beautiful yellow binding and red words etched on its spine caught my attention—A History of Abilities.

In smaller print were the words: Both Real and Imagined.

I couldn’t believe my luck as I pulled it from the shelf. It had taken me almost the entire time to find it, but this book seemed too good to be true. I turned it over in my hand to admire the beautiful unicorn, pegasus, and phoenix etched on the cover.

Is it only about animals? I pondered as I opened the book and scanned the first page.

Slightly yellowed and brittle, the title page revealed it was written nearly five hundred years ago. My heart pounded as I ran my finger down the contents, taking in the abilities I knew and the ones I didn’t.

For the most part, I was aware of the listed powers and what eternals possessed them, but there were a few dozen I’d never heard of before. I was about to retreat to the tree, where I could read in peace, but the clock drew my attention again. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to discover the secrets of this book.

I slipped it into my apron pocket, patted it, and descended to the first floor. When I called Gizzi, he lifted his head, yawned, and stretched before scooting down the tree.

He trailed me as I hurried out of the room, down the hall, and back to the healer’s room. Once there, I forgot about the book as I returned to work on the potion.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Knox

I’d been mostly avoiding Briar ever since our encounter in the healer’s room. I’d taken her into the woods to gather her mushrooms but barely spoke to her. I’d spent most of the time desperate to get away, while contemplating fucking her, and being confused by her strange behavior.

I should have pressed her more about the way she was acting in the woods, but when those creatures started screaming, I far preferred to take her back to the castle and forget about her. Unfortunately, she was impossible to forget.

I wanted her gone from here…. The idea of her leaving infuriated me.

I disliked being anywhere near her…. I loathed being apart from her.

The constant back-and-forth—the push-and-pull—was driving me insane.

After leaving her in the castle, I’d spent two days in beast form, hunting invaders in the woods and slaughtering anything that didn’t belong in my kingdom. It had taken half an hour to wash all the blood from me, but all the killing and release of my rage didn’t ease my increasingly consuming need for her.

Eventually, I had to return to the castle. The beast and I both had to see her again.

I prowled the hallways for her, but she wasn’t in the healer’s room, her tower, or the library. Growing irritated, I stalked toward the windows overlooking the earth moss; she wasn’t there either.

Sniffing the air, I tried tracking her through the castle, but her scent permeated everything now. Whenever I caught a stronger trail, it faded before I found her. She was either moving all over the castle or purposely trying to avoid me; either way, I was becoming increasingly irate and tired of chasing her.

I followed another trail out to the bailey and around to the stables, where I finally found her with Zephyr and her ever-present rat. They stood around a cluster of rosebushes that were probably stable boys; the youth had most likely gathered to talk about girls or the coins tossed to them throughout the day.