Page 31 of Fated to the Demon Lord

“And the rose?” I motioned to the preserved flower in the jar that sat on the table beneath the painting.

“A reminder,” he rumbled, “that beauty has its cost, contentment is a lie, everything has a downside—and if you choose to ignore it, death will follow.” He moved to the doors, aggravated. “No more questions, or I’ll take you back to your room.”

I stared at the artwork and the rose a second longer, unsettled by how much Vaelor had left unsaid. His wife. I shivered.

An odd feeling came off the flower as if dark magic clung to the preserved bloom, heavy and grief-soaked. The sadness of such a great tragedy settled under my skin.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said quietly.

He rounded on me, fury kindled in his eyes. “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, human. I want to show you the damn library.”

His nostrils flared and his body was tense—like trying too hard to contain his rage, so I retreated and proceeded to the doors. Vaelor’s breaths sounded heavy as he tracked my every movement.

When I entered, I gasped. When he mentioned a library, I pictured a small, study-sized space brimming with books.

This was no study.

The room spanned away from me, larger than the dining room, larger than my bedchamber. I craned my neck to peer up at the books that lined the walls. Moldings of winged creatures embellished in gold filigree filled the corners. The carvings in the ceiling comprised of elaborate arches. Closer to the floor, an enormous fireplace sat beside a pair of cushioned benches, candles flickering along the hearth.

I pressed my palms to my mouth in wonder.

Vaelor’s anger seemed to have faded as he observed me. A small smile played on his lips. “Do you like it?”

I lowered my hands. “This is the most amazing place I’ve ever seen.”

“Most demons aren’t very academic. That being said, we understand the necessity to preserve knowledge, if for nothing more than staying informed about our enemies and their weaknesses. The library in Saeritos, the Aeria capital, has the grandest collection. But outside of that, my home boasts the largest assortment of books and scrolls found anywhere in the kingdom.”

“And this?” I approached the book that lay open on a desk. A ribbon marked its place. I shut it and scanned the title. A History of Spiritu Malignos.

“I’ve been having Erlinen flip the pages for me,” he said.

“May I read it?”

Vaelor didn’t answer right away, and I looked up at him, recognizing the magnitude of my request. This book might expose the vulnerabilities of spirits. Perhaps ways to defeat them, though I expected a person required magic to do such a feat and I was no hedge witch.

“You may read any book in this room,” he answered.

Another sign of his willingness to win my trust. Letting me near anything that might reveal his weaknesses had to cost him something. He was likely confident that whatever I found wouldn’t be enough to defeat him.

“I’ll let you explore in peace,” he said. “You can take any book in this library on our… journey. But pack light. I won’t have you weighed down by books, or I’ll dump them in the first river we come across.”

“Not everything you say to me has to be a threat, you know.”

He looked a little startled. But then he only grunted. “There are extra candles on the mantel along with a striker if you need more light. You may stay in here as long as you wish.”

He swept out of the room, leaving me alone.

I’d once accompanied my mother on one of her herbal visits to an official’s home and found myself in a room full of books. My fingers had itched to take one, any one, and stick it under my skirts. My mother occasionally accepted books as payment for her services, and I’d devour them before passing them along to Gerand and the other children in town.

Now the options were limitless. I inhaled the scent of dusty old parchment, savoring it.

I perused the shelves, wondering how I’d only choose a few. Perhaps Vaelor’s threat was warranted.

I pulled a book from the shelf, its spine embossed with curling vines and titled Spells of the Hedge Witch. What was Vaelor doing with this? The old binding let out a loud creak as I opened it.

The first page was covered in hurried, scrawling script.

A hedge witch's power lies in her blood.