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The face of the clock was a piece of art on its own. It was a mechanical map of Ufaris, complete with the waters of Ufaris Lake and the seven great royal trees that comprised the core of the palace. The details were incredible, as were the many movable parts—people on paddle boards, fish in the water, birds in the branches. Even the leaves on the trees appeared to be alive and moving with a breeze.
According to the clock, I still had at least thirty minutes while the king would be occupied by Kiris and his bathing routine, maybe longer if he took a nap afterwards.
“I have some time.” I placed my hand in the crook of Lord Adriyel’s elbow. “I could at least take a look.”
I thought about Kyllen again. He did tell me to find something else to read in my vision. The thought of him warmed my heart, bringing a smile to my lips.
Lord Adriyel took me down a smaller staircase on the side of the hall. Then we walked outside to a branch that twined down along the main trunk like a narrow pathway toward the water. Instead of dipping into the lake, however, the branch curved around one of the thick roots that supported the royal tree above the water like gigantic pillars.
The lake flowed between the roots and under the tree. The bottom of the trunk caved in the middle, creating a dome ceiling over the water.
Vines draped between the roots on the outside. Water plants floated on the surface around the roots, but there were none directly under the dome. Sun didn’t reach here. However, the dome ceiling glowed with faint green light, reflecting in the dark water below.
In the very center under the tree, a high mound rose from the lake. Its edges were laid with large river rock to prevent erosion. The rest was covered with dark-green grass—so dark it appeared black, absorbing all light, including the glow from the ceiling above.
“What is that?” I asked Lord Adriyel, gesturing at the hill in the middle.
“The Funeral Mound,” he explained somberly. “The final resting place of Lorsan kings.”
“Is that where they’re buried?”
He shook his head with a brief chuckle. “No. Gorgonians don’t bury their dead in the dirt. The fallen kings are laid atop the Mound. Once their bodies dry completely, the Mound absorbs them, and their magic is reunited with that of the Lorsan land.”
I gazed at the dark Mound, wondering how many kings it had absorbed, with all their sins and virtues.
“It’s a special place,” Lord Adriyel said. “The land’s magic lingers here. The Archives hold the knowledge of generations. It’s preserved in scrolls. The magic of this place protects them.” He directed me to a metal-clad door in one of the root-pillars. “The entrance is right here.”
He slid his fingers over the gears visible through the cut-outs in the metal, and the heavy door opened noiselessly.
Stairs spiraled along the wall inside the root column, leading down and underground to a wide, arched entrance.
The space here was awash in a pale green glow. Shelves lined the walls from the mosaic floors to the vaulted ceiling as far as the eye could see. Clusters of scrolls hung from the ceiling, attached to a track system with little ceramic tags dangling from each scroll.
The wide support columns, I realized, were the roots of the royal tree above us. The space for the Archives had been excavated between them, with many rooms branching out from the main one where we stood.
“This is incredible.” I twirled, but the place was too big to take it all in at once.
Lord Adriyel watched me with a smile playing on his lips.
A subtle rustling came from one of the adjacent rooms, then a man appeared from behind a root-pillar.
“Councilor Delahon?” Lord Adriyel greeted the newcomer with a slight tilt of his head. “I should have known we’d find you here.”
“This is where I spend most of my time.” Councilor Delahon spread his arms aside as if to encompass the entire space of the Archives. His bright magenta senties stood in striking contrast to his onyx skin. “Greetings, Lord Adriyel and…” He turned to me, making the pause hang in the air like a question mark. “I beg your pardon, we haven’t been introduced.”
Lord Adriyel turned to me, too. Waiting silently. He couldn’t introduce me to the councilor because he didn’t know my name, either.
“I’m Amira.” I gave Councilor Delahon a courteous bow. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Amira…” Lord Adriyel repeated in a soft whisper. “How beautiful.”
“A lovely name for a lovely girl,” the councilor agreed. “What brought you here?”
“Amira would like to learn more about our history,” Lord Adriyel replied for me.
“Why?” The councilor appeared confused.
“Lorsan is my world now,” I explained. “Sadly, I know very little about it.”
The councilor rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, maybe I can help. I won’t claim to have read every scroll in this library. No one could do that. But I do spend a lot of time reading. Counseling the king on how to run the kingdom requires a lot of knowledge and thought. What in particular are you interested in, child?”
“The Battle of Two Rivers,” Lord Adriyel spoke for me again before I even opened my mouth.
“To start with,” I added.
The councilor clasped his hands in front of him. “Oh, yes. The battle that laid the start to our current dynasty—the dynasty that, it appears, will include just one king.” He touched the nearest shelf, and the entire room seemed to come into motion.
With a soft whirring sound, the track system above us moved, the suspended scrolls swayed. The shelves also shifted, merging into ever-changing patterns, like pieces of a kaleidoscope.
When it all stopped, the councilor lifted his hand to a scroll right above us and checked the round ceramic tag dangling from it.
“That’s the one,” he said. “A summary and analysis of the battle. Clear and concise, perfect for a beginner. Now, are you planning to read it here? Or would you prefer to do it in your…um, in any other place in the palace?”
Despite its size and location, the archive room was warm and cozy. Striped, compact nests had been placed on the floor in every room, looking soft and inviting. It was quiet.
Reading here would be ideal. But the king must be done with his bath soon. And if he didn’t take a nap that afternoon, he’d grow bored on his own. When the king was bored, he turned cranky. And when the king was cranky, he made people around him miserable.
“I’m afraid I can’t stay here,” I said to the councilor. “I’d like to take it with me.”
He let go of the scroll suspended over our heads.
“All original scrolls are warded against damage or theft. They cannot be removed from the Archives. But you can take an exact copy of it.” He took a book bound in bright fabric from the nearby shelf. “This one you can read anywhere.”
“Thank you.” I accepted the book from him and pressed it to my chest.
The councilor gave me a curious glance. “You’re very welcome. You can find me here almost every day if you have any questions. Of course, first you’ll need to learn what to ask.” He chuckled. “Asking the right questions makes all the difference. Though, it also needs a fair deal of knowledge.”
I thanked the councilor again before Lord Adriyel led me away. As we walked back up the stairs, my new book tucked under my arm, he took my hand.
“You’re way too trusting, Amira.” Lord Adriyel said my name slowly, as if testing the new sounds on his tongue.
I glanced at him, unsure what he was up to.
He didn’t meet my eyes, staring straight ahead instead. “Today, you followed me all the way to the Archives, never questioning it even once.”
“I don’t understand. You offered to take me. And you did.”
“But I could have led you anywhere else instead, and you would’ve followed me just as easily, until it was too late.”
Chills slithered down my spine in a cold trickle of fear.
