Page 65 of Embers of Ruin

King Alaric. Queen Seraphine.

I frown. “Who are they?”

Riven answers before Cadrin can decide whether I am worthy of information. “First King and First Queen of Solaris.”

My pulse skips. The First King. The one who stole magic from the gods. The one whose sin damned us all. How could I have forgotten their names?

I look back at the woman beside him. “She had silver hair.”

Neither guard says anything.

That is an answer by itself. It explains why they were not surprised to see me arrive with a thick mass of silver hair.

“What happened to her?”

Cadrin shifts. “Everyone knows that story. I’m sure you have…” His words taper off.

I glance over my shoulder. “Then you should have no trouble telling it.”

I watch his mouth tighten and smile.

Riven steps in, voice calm. “Records disagree.”

I turn fully toward him. “Records disagree about the First Queen?”

“They disagree about many things from that time.”

That is the first interesting thing anyone has said all morning. Naturally, I want more answers.

“Where are the records kept?”

Cadrin immediately straightens, cutting Riven off before he can speak. “The royal archives are restricted.”

Excellent. Now I definitely want to go there.

Riven looks at Cadrin, then at me, as if already regretting every path that led us to this moment. “Some sections are restricted.”

“Wonderful! Take me to the unrestricted ones.”

Cadrin scoffs. “That is not part of the approved route.”

I smile. “Then we’ll make it an educational detour.”

“No.”

“No?” I echo, as if the word confuses me. If the archives are restricted, there's a reason. Now I want to know what it is.

“No, Lady Tarethyn.”

I turn to Riven, flashing him a sweet smile. “Does he outrank you?”

Riven scoffs, but the corner of his mouth twitches. “No.”

“Lovely. Then you may ignore him.”

Cadrin takes a step forward. “Lady Tarethyn⁠—”

“If you call me that in that tone again, I’ll assume you are flirting poorly and embarrass us both.”