Black Crown

IX

The next day, I don't see Eli until midafternoon. He's silent as he comes in and the only words he mutters are 'thank you' before he leaves again. It's a stark difference from our conversation last night, and I almost want to ask if everything is okay.

But I don't. Mostly because I didn't tell him about the note I received and if I'm going to keep things from him, I'm not going to push him to tell me everything. Afterall, he could have just had a bad council meeting. Not everything is about me.

Shortly after I get to the point of extreme boredom, a knock comes at my door and a guard steps in. It's not the same one who brought the bandages which I am thankful for. Truthfully, I'm still creeped out over his staring.

"The prince asked me to tell you that you may have access to the palace library, Miss," the guard tells me. I raise my eyebrows in surprise but nod at the guard.

"Would you be able to take me there, now?" I ask him.

"Yes, Miss. Just follow me," he replies and I give him a small nod of thanks. He leads me down new hallways until we reach our destination. He pulls the doors open and I stare at the room in shock. Walls and walls filled with books, from the floor all the way to the glass dome ceiling. There's scattered wooden tables in the middle of the room and ladders leaning against the shelfs. Next to going home, this is the best thing I could have asked for.

Before the guard leaves, I stop him.

"If you see Prince Elijah, would you tell him I say thank you," I try not to giggle at addressing Eli so formally. He's more of a teenage boy than a god knows how old prince to me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss. It wasn't Prince Elijah, it was Prince Alexander," he tells me.

"Well tell him then," I reply with a polite smile. The guard says that he will before leaving me alone in book heaven. But right now the books aren't what is on my mind.

Alexander? Why would he do this? How did he even know that I've read most of the books in my room? Eli must have told him.

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I spin in a circle to take in the endless books. Where do I even start...

On one of the wooden tables, I find a book directory. This book alone is larger than any I've seen before. I flip to the history section and find a book on the family tree's of the high houses. It takes me a moment to locate it on the shelfs, but once I have it I sit at a table and begin reading.

To be completely honest, the book is rather bland and looks like a printed version on ancestory.com. However, one page catches my eye. It only has two names on the page. Jonathan Casper and his son, Nathenial Casper. The other pages are filled with dozens, if not hundreds of names. What could have happened to the Casper family?

Going back to the directory, I search for Casper. There's one book with the name. The Treason of Jonathan Casper. I find it on the shelfs and pull it down. Compared to many of the other books, this one is small and looks untouched. I bring it to my table and set it down.

Jonathan Casper had an unbelievably tragic life. He broke one of Roris' most important laws by having a crossbreed child. To avoid being executed, he was forced to kill the child and their mother and shortly after was exiled, forced to live the rest of his immortal life in the human world. Considering he was a member of one of the original high houses, this was an exceptionally cruel punishment.

I shut the book, already feeling sympathy for the man. He couldn't control who he loved, and because of one law, two innocent people were murdered.

Suddenly, a realization dawns on me. With all these books here, there has to be something on crossbreeds. Something that explains exactly what they are and why they're dangerous. The books in my room have proved to be inaccurate. They said a crossbreed came from a vampire mother, but if Jonathan Casper had a crossbreed, there must be more to it.