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Araki’s brows knitted together. He stared hard at me for a long moment and sighed tiredly. My lips parted, a question at the tip of my tongue. He headed for the door without another word.
“Something happened?” I pushed. What happened to make him so weary? I’d never seen him act like this. Arakiseemed so self-possessed it almost frightened me to see him this way. What had made him so upset? Could there be trouble happening in Halafarin? I didn’t want to be concerned about his feelings. Didn’t want to worry about what was going on in his life. The only reason I had to deal with this growing attraction to him was because of the spell he’d placed on me.
Araki paused at the door and looked back at me.
“Yes,” He replied, surprising me.
“What is it?” I dared to ask.
A troubled look flashed across his face.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I shrugged when he said nothing.
“I’m searching for something,” Araki finally said.
“I can help,” I offered. “I’m particularly good at hunting things.”
He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously.
I expelled a breath and spoke. “Look…clearly. I can’t escape without risking taking you with me since you’ve ensured that withyourspell. Until then, I’m your captive. But being locked up here is driving me insane. At least make use of my skills.” Since he wasn’t going to let me walk away-unlinked- anytime soon, I needed to make the time I had useful. I planned to get close to him, perhaps find a way to unlink us and kill him before he kills me.
I held my breath, waiting for him to say something. I let it out when Araki stepped through the door and let it swing shut behind him, but not before I noticed the faint blood on his fingers.
Library
Reilyn
A lady in waiting was assigned to me. Mirae. The young fae reminded me of Nala in both mannerisms and age. She bustled about my wardrobe, talking to herself about having tailored dresses made for me, stocking up my room with perfumes and lotions, and anything else a “visiting dignitary might require.” That is what she had been told. I was a visiting noblewoman. I supposed it was Araki’s joke. I came in here under the guise of a lady, and now I had to own up to the role so nobody suspected the king’s attempted assassin lived under the same roof as him. However, that was the least turn of events. What stunned me was the guards had been removed from outside my room, and I was free to walk out of the room and roam the palace grounds. I was not foolish to believe he was letting me free. What was Araki getting at? Was he considering my offer, and was this his way of testing me? My questions remained unanswered since Araki hadn’t sought me out since I offered to help him. That was four nights ago.
“Where is the library?” I asked one early evening when the bedroom walls started closing on me again. I hated the palace. The gardens were too open, reminding me of the fight with Araki and my failed assassination and teleportation. And the docks were too far away. When he dropped off Mirae, Klaus had made it clear that if I left the palace's confines without permission or accompaniment, I was officially a wanted criminal and would be pursued. He was sharp with me but not as unkindas he had been when we first met. I was a pampered prisoner for now.
“It’s on the floor below us,” Mirae informed me. I pulled on a robe over my nightie and left my gilded prison.
In the sanctuary, the library was always a quiet place. It was a room of peace, of knowledge, of books that told me about places I could only dream of going to. Sometimes during training, Opaline and Master Briggs taught other members of the coven and me in the library. I’d poured over spells, incantations, and unique magic that I couldn’t hope to replicate, but I still fell in love with the power from the pages.
I trailed down the hallway, following the unique scent of books always carried, especially those containing magic. Locating Araki’s library easily, I opened the large wooden doors and entered. Wandering inside, I was met with rows and rows of books that extended up high, forcing me to tilt my head back. A raised dais set at the corner, leading to another level of books shrouded in purple mist. I grinned. There were the books I wanted to read and possibly would get me in trouble. They were books I hoped they’d give me insight into Araki’s magic and how it worked with mine. I got on the dais and randomly picked up one. A book on the civilian division in Halafarin, where each sector of races lived and where their territory ended. Why was he reading this? I put it aside for another time. I grabbed a history book about warlocks. I flipped through the pages absently, struggling to read some of the words written on them. Not finding anything with the name Darinell to search for anything specifically about Araki, I put the book back on the shelf. Confused about why Araki would spend time reading these books, I turned back to the book about the beings of Halafarin.
There, to the north, lived the merfolk and the sirens. Small islands intercepted their rivers, lakes, and water leading into the sea. They were the freest race in the kingdom, able to come and go as they pleased. Most races needed clearance to travel between borders, but the water creatures were automatically provisioned if they didn’t have a human form, which most didn’t, as they had no reason to live on land. Often, they worked with fishermen, aiding sea journeys, and generally made themselves useful in maintaining healthy waterworks. They hoarded treasures that toppled overboard from merchant ships in caves beneath the waves, and many suspected they were the cause of missing sailors that never returned. The sirens took prey while the mermaids delighted in toying with fishermen and stealing their wares.
Then there were the warlocks and witches, primarily assembled in a boarding school where they learned anything from ancient magic to more modernized spells. I could see from the map that the school’s campus spanned almost the same length as the river overlooking them. I wondered how many students had gone missing, lured by beautiful women beneath the waves. And there were the fae and elves, divided into different types. But most elves kept to themselves in the large forestry centre of Halafarin. Both were the most prominent races for possessing elemental magic. They owned most businesses too.
A sound startled me. Whirling around, I slammed the book closed. Too late.
“I would have thought a witch like yourself would know where everyone lives in Halafarin.” Klaus gave me a bemused look.
“I do,” I said defensively. “I’m just… Thinking.”
“Of what?”
“A way to help His Majesty and the issues the kingdom is having.”
“What do you know about that?” Klaus bristled.
“Only that a fae duchess went missing, and the circumstances are suspicious,” I responded.
“Who told you?” He demanded.
“The walls are thin. You’d be surprised what you can hear,” I shrugged, enjoying how irritated Klaus looked. I had heard some of the guards talking about a missing duchess in passing two days ago. And from Klaus’s reaction, I was right.
