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“He never should have been assigned as your guard. It was a lapse in judgment on Arkyn’s part.”
“And what if the other guards are similar to him?”
“I can assure you—” Aurelius smiled. “—these ones won’t be.”
Internally, I grumbled. This was not going like I had hoped it would.
I pressed a bit more, playing into what he was saying, regardless of if it was the truth or not. “I know they are for my protection, but are the guards really all that necessary? They make me feel as though I’m a prisoner.” It wasn’t a stretch from the truth. That’s originally why I thought they had been stationed outside my door—to keep me locked up. Arkyn had not exactly brought me here in accordance with my own will, after all.
“You are not a prisoner,” he stated as if it were a matter of fact. “And yes, they are necessary. In truth, I’d feel better having more positioned outside your chambers. You know yourself how deeply rooted some of the mortals’ hatred runs for the Cursed, which they think you are. That’s why the guards are necessary.”
I didn’t know what it was, but a part of me felt inclined to believe him.
I also understood what he wasn’t saying—that people might do more than scoff or show disgust towards me.Somemight take their hate one step further. I decided to drop the subject of the guards. For now, at least.
Aurelius gestured to a set of open doors positioned to my right, a few paces ahead. “We’re here.”
I had to do everything within my power to keep my jaw from dropping as I stepped through the double doors and took in the grand library, formed from one of the castle towers. Round in structure, the library was made of many, many, levels, each one filled with rows upon rows of dark shelves, chock-full of books. I tipped my head back, glancing up, up, up towards the ceiling.
In the middle of the main floor were a bunch of wood tables. Although there were a few stacks of books on some, none of them were occupied. I glanced around, noting a similar pattern. Positioned around the exterior, where there weren’t any bookshelves, were various seating spaces, some centered around crackling fires.
I turned to Aurelius, finding his eyes on me. “Are we the only ones in here?”
He grinned softly. “We are. I had the library closed so you could explore it properly, completely unbothered.”
“You didn’t need to close the library.” I paused. “But . . . I appreciate the obscenely aggressive gesture, nonetheless.” It wasn’t a lie. What girl didn’t dream of having an entire library to herself?
I began to walk forward, towards a small aisle, barely large enough for two people to pass through.
“I had a feeling you would,” he mused as he followed silently behind me.
My fingers drifted over the leather spines and a light layer of dust slowly began to gather on them. Every once in a while, my gaze would snag on a title, but none intrigued me enough to pick out a book and explore it further.
“Are you looking for something in particular?” Aurelius casually asked, his voice coming from a short distance away. Iglanced over my shoulder, noting that he was at the far end of the aisle, where I had first entered.
In particular? Yes. A book that could tell me how to break a tattooed bargain would be a great start. But if I said that, it might lead to questions, and I’d rather not contend with those. So, I needed to think of another way to find the information without giving away what I was actually looking for . . .
“Maybe a book about the gods and goddesses? I imagine I should start learning more about them. It might help my memories come back.”
“Works about our kind are located on the third floor. If you continue forward and then turn to your left, you’ll see a set of stairs that will take you there. Would you like me to show you?”
I shook my head. “I think I’ll be okay. Thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome,” he said with a warm smile. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
“Alright.” I nodded and headed towards the indicated direction.
Two flights of stairs later, I found myself standing at the circular railing. Swirling, intricate, iron balusters propped up a thick, polished wood banister. I marveled at the wood, wondering how the architects had managed to get it to curve so perfectly. I glanced down, overlooking the main floor, my gaze pausing on Aurelius.
He was seated at one of the tables, the space before him bare. He reached forward and a quill appeared in his hand, as well as a bottle of ink and a stack of paper, placed before him.
As he started to write, he asked, his voice slightly elevated so I could hear him, “Are you staring at me, Moonbeam?”
Heat kissed my cheeks. “Just admiring the library.”
“Mhm,” he said teasingly.
I smirked as I pulled back from the railing and lost myself in the rows of books. I had never seen so many before. There were books upon books upon books.
