When Salestia returned to the front desk and informed Aza that there was a guest in the northeast tower who was not to be disturbed, she was immediately bombarded with questions.
"A guest? But who was in the tower? Did they break in? What reason would we have to let anyone in there?"
Fair enough. But Salestia didn't have many answers for Aza. Not good ones, anyway. She didn't want to lie to Aza, but laying her theories out in the open was dangerous. And she had to consider that Aza had her sister's power as governor at her disposal. Aza may not have been particularly invested in her job, but if she reported any major issues—like a potential thief being given free rein in a tower with banned texts—Salestia could be replaced in an instant.
After making a show of looking around to ensure there were no guests nearby, Salestia leaned over the desk toward Aza and spoke in a low voice. "You know as well as anyone that there are a lot of rumors around the fae caverns. Around what might be down there."
Brow furrowed, a frown on her lips, Aza replied, "Are you talking about Dawnbringer?"
Salestia nodded. Dawnbringer. The Halliark family sword. The Halliarks, of course, being the former Aelrish royal family. They'd ruled Aelren for centuries before King Roven's abrupt takeover seventeen years earlier.
"Unrest is growing on Earth," Salestia said to Aza. "In the right hands, Dawnbringer could restore peace."
Aza didn't look so certain. "Dawnbringeris a lightspeaker artifact, and a lightspeaker country is the source of thegrowing unrest. Who would wield such a weapon against their own king?"
Salestia shrugged. "There are rebel groups. Not every Aelrish lightspeaker stands with Roven."
"I suppose." Aza's gaze became distant. "I know any soulspeaking ability could be used for good or evil. But I often hear lightspeakers talk as if their abilities can only bring light and warmth to the world. We have a concept in moonspeaker mythology of the blinding light. Too much burns. Or kills." Her warm brown eyes met Salestia's again. "Darkness is the natural state of things. The sun gives us gifts, but there is safety in the night. Protection in the shadows."
Aza's immediate family didn't have any speaking abilities, as far as Salestia knew, but they did hail from a moonspeaker country. The moonspeaker order was only made up of shadowspeakers—speakers who could manipulate shadows to hide themselves, and even travel through them—and darkspeakers, who crafted solid objects from darkness, much in the way some lightspeakers could with the sun.
"I'm sorry, I think we've fallen off topic," Aza said. "This...guest, he's looking for Dawnbringer? To fight King Roven?"
"It's just a guess, on my part," Salestia admitted.
"You let him in the northeast tower without knowing what he's looking for?" Aza squinted at Salestia. "Do you know anything about him at all?"
"He's a witch from Earth." At the skepticism in Aza's expression, Salestia quickly added, "Relax. I don't trust him." Not yet. "I've ensured he won't be able to take anything."
"You think you're stronger than a witch?"
"It's not always about strength." Salestia grinned. "I may not be a powerful lightspeaker, but I know a few tricks."
"Hmm." A slight smirk found its way onto Aza's lips. One of her eyebrows lifted. "This stranger isn't handsome, is he?"
Salestia couldn't help but laugh, though some heat did creep onto her face. "You think me that easily manipulated?"
"I'm just curious."
"Seriously, Aza. I know what I'm doing. And if this turns into a disaster, I'm sure your sister would love to appoint you as my replacement."
"Let's not be too hasty," Aza muttered, all traces of joy fleeing her expression. "But why would a witch be trying to stop a lightspeaker king? I thought the witches had their own lands."
"Some have mingled with the rest of the world as much as humans have," Salestia pointed out. "It's not too wild a thought that one might become invested in stopping a dangerous king."
"I suppose. But I still think we should be cautious regarding library affairs. We still don't know exactly what happened to Mary."
The name of the former head librarian made Salestia's heart skip a beat. "The mortician said it was likely an illness," she reminded Aza sternly. The last thing the library needed was wild speculation getting around. "She was getting up in age."
Aza's voice lowered. "But I've heard rumors she was poisoned—"
Salestia waved a hand dismissively. "Just rumors. What reason would anyone have to get rid of her, anyway?"
"I—I don't know," Aza stammered. "But you're in charge now, so if it was foul play, you could be next—"
Salestia's expression softened at Aza's concern. "Nothing is going to happen to me, Aza." She straightened up. "Now, as much as I'd love to spend all day chatting, we do have a library to run."
"Fair enough." Aza rose from her seat. "Should I get back to shelving, then?"
"Sure," Salestia told her, moving to take her place in the chair. "Once that's all done, could you come back to the front desk? I need to finish the paperwork for a book order."
Aza nodded and left. Salestia returned to the book she'd been studying earlier, but she was too distracted to pay it much attention. Her mind wandered the library around her, noting which shelves might have information on Dawnbringer. There was an abundance of history books and lightspeaker mythologies, but those would all be on its supposed origins. Its journey through the Halliark family tree. Its historic battles. All things Salestia had read before.
Anything on the sword's current status would be locked away in the northeast tower. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't taken a peek at those before, too. A few stolen glances while dusting, a couple of minutes spent skimming paragraphs when she was supposed to be taking inventory, allthe while anxiously hoping Mary wouldn't walk in at the wrong moment.
It took an hour and a half for Aza to return to the desk, and another hour after that for Salestia to finish her paperwork, as well as deal with a few other miscellaneous tasks. With that all finally out of the way, she decided it was time to check on the witch.
Before entering the tower, she stopped by one of the library's backrooms, another space open only to employees. Not because of valuable artifacts or forbidden books, but because it was where they kept food and drinks to consume during work breaks. It was mostly Salestia making use of the small kitchen, since she was the only person in the library from open to close, but assistants came in on occasion as well.
In the corner was a piece of furniture that, from the outside, resembled an ordinary wooden cabinet, painted a deep shade of purple. Salestia opened it to reveal a frigid interior, made possible thanks to icespeaker magic. Icespeakers only needed to come by once a month to replenish the ice cabinet's energy.
From inside, Salestia selected a pitcher of lemonade she'd made that morning. It went onto a tray, along with a couple of glasses, a basket of fruit, and a loaf of bread. She carried it all with ease to the tower.
She did feel some small relief at the sight of Ellias still in the highest room, sitting at the space's small table with a pile of open books around him.
"I thought you might like some food," Salestia told him as she entered. "And something to drink."
"Oh." Ellias looked up. "Thank you. A break might do me some good." He pushed some books aside to clear a space. Salestia set down the tray and settled into another chair at the table, across from him.
Ellias waved a hand over everything she'd brought. A green sigil momentarily appeared in the air before vanishing into smoke. "Forgive me for checking if it's poisoned," he said as he reached for a piece of bread.
Salestia pressed a hand to her chest in mock offense. "You think I'm capable of poisoning someone?"
A small smirk touched Ellias' lips. "You were very insistent earlier that you'd be able to take me in a fight." He took a bite of the bread.
"Hm." Salestia selected a grape from the basket and examined it. Despite the joke, Ellias still seemed guarded.
"Thank you for the food," he said. "And for letting me in here."
"There is one thing you can do to thank me," Salestia informed him. She popped the grape in her mouth.
"And what would that be?"
She swallowed. "I want to hear about your trip from Earth to the citadel. I don't remember my own journey here, and I've always wondered what traveling on the starspeaker ships is like."
"You've seen them landing in the citadel, right? They look just like the ones on the oceans, even inside," Ellias said. "I boarded near Sternkrone. That's the capital of—"
"Stellany," Salestia finished. One of the skyspeaker countries. "Do you live in the Koslands?"
Ellias raised an eyebrow at the interjection. With a hint of a smile, he said, "I don't, but I do spend a fair amount of time there. You can find passage to space in almost any country, but it is easier in the Koslands, and I was already there on business."
"Is it business-as-usual in Stellany, right now?" Salestia asked. "Even with...King Roven?" She could only learn so much about Earth's politics from news publications.
"It's only truly business-as-usual in the earthspeaker and moonspeaker lands," Ellias replied. "And even people there are a little uneasy. Things are trickier in Aelren and Stellany, but business is still managing just fine. For now." Ellias paused. "You're familiar with the details of King Roven's rise to power?"
"Seventeen years ago, he killed his cousin—the queen—and her husband, and then took the throne in Aelren. He claims the two tried to have him killed first but was never able to present any evidence of that." Salestia recited the information as if she were still in school. "A surprising number of citizens believed him all the same, though they may have simply favored his views enough to overlook potential assassination. The other lightspeaker countries tolerated the change in power."
"I'm impressed," Ellias said.
Salestia flushed. "You shouldn't be. It's surface-level information."
"Most people around here I've spoken to seem less informed." Ellias cocked his head slightly to the right. "What do you know about Stellany?"
"Two years after Roven took the Aelrish throne, Sudankren Castle—the home of Stellany's royal family—was attacked by unknown forces," Salestia continued. "With their queen killed, the king and his daughter missing, and many other members of the court dead as well, Roven was the first to step in and offer to run things." Quieter, she added, "A strange move from someone across the sea."
Ellias nodded. "The other skyspeaker countries reluctantly accepted it because Roven offered them lucrative trade deals. Plus, lightspeaker workers whose salaries would be paid by his court."
Salestia lifted an eyebrow. "Bribery. I've been wondering why none of the nearby rulers moved against him."
"Their citizens aren't too happy about it," Ellias said. "Well, some don't mind, but others are concerned that it's only a matter of time before Roven moves against them, too. The lightspeakers he sent to work across the Koslands could very well be spies."
"Do you think those fears will turn out to be correct?"
"It wouldn't surprise me."
"Hmm." Salestia rose to her feet and grabbed the lemonade pitcher. As she poured some into a glass for herself, she said, "Funny that there are now two missing heirs." Avilenna Halliark of Aelren. Reilene Ankren of Stellany. She moved the pitcher over the second glass and glanced at Ellias. He nodded.
"Yes, Roven does seem to be developing a pattern of orphaning princesses," hesaid as lemonade splashed into the glass.
"How many countries does he have to overtake before we stop counting years of unity?" Salestia asked jokingly. Ellias chuckled.
It was going to take much more than this to bring 3,495 years of unity to an end. Small spats here and there weren't the end of the world. There had been a few battles and even minor civil wars in the past few thousand years. But they'd never been enough to disrupt the world's order.
Not yet.
Salestia finished pouring and set the pitcher down. "I trust if this spills, one of your spells could repair the books?"
Ellias laughed. "Yes, that would be easy," he said. "Do you give so much attention to all of your guests?"
"It's been a slow day. And you're not an ordinary guest." Salestia sank back into her chair and picked up her glass. "So, what was it like on the ship?"
"A little terrifying," Ellias admitted.
"Your first trip off Earth?"
"I've been here once before, but that was a long time ago." Ellias' gaze slipped into the distance for a moment, and Salestia briefly wondered just how long 'a long time' meant to him, given the extensive lives witches were said to live.
Ellias continued. "The star ships have extensive crews, though, so there was really nothing to worry about. Airspeakers to keep everyone breathing, spacespeakers to quicken the journey, gravityspeakers to keep feet on the ground. And starspeakers to fight monsters lurking in the void of space, of course."
"Did you run into anything in the void?" Salestia asked. Shecouldn't stop a chill from running down her spine at the thought of what washidden out there in the night sky.
Ellias smiled. "No, no run-ins this time."
"How long did it take?"
"Half a day's journey to Odynn." The largest of the Ring's three kingdoms, followedby Dyvva and Tryy. "We exchanged some cargo and passengers, and then it took another two days to get here. Spacespeakers used more magic to make the second part faster."
"I can't imagine being in a confined space for so long," Salestia said. She glanced around the room and sighed. "I mean, I am stuck here most of the time, but at least I can get out and walk around the citadel once a day. I'd lose my mind otherwise."
Ellias leaned forward suddenly, making Salestia's heart skip a beat. "And why are you stuck here, anyway?" he asked. "It sounds as if what you really want is to return to Earth."
"I do." Salestia eased forward as well. "But there are a few obstacles in my way."
"Money?"
"That's...one issue. Though it sounds like I'd have to find some way to pass time on the journey, too." Salestia forced a lighter expression. A slight laugh. She straightened up before continuing. "I'm sure I've taken enough of your time as it is. But are you sure you don't want any help with your research?" Her gaze swept over the books piled on the table. "This looks...overwhelming."
Ellias leaned back in his chair and studied her for a moment. "And if I were searching for something specific, how would you know where to begin?"
"I've spent a fair amount of time in here myself."
"Looking for something in particular?"
"Maybe." Salestia looked away. "But I've realized what I'm after is impossible to obtain. At least, on my own." She would leave it at that for now.
Admittedly, there were other things worth pursuing in the fae caverns besides the lightspeaker sword. Rare plants that could be made into medicine, magical animals, fae-made weapons. But none of that was worth coming all the way from Earth for. None of it had anything close to the power that Dawnbringer was rumored to have.
Ellias reached out to a book nearby, the one he'd been reading, and closed it. "Let's say I was looking for information on specific interactions between humans and fae."
Salestia rose to her feet and crossed the room. "If you're looking for a particular incident, this book documents all of them." She slid the book in question off the shelf. Back when it had seen regular use, it was essentially a log of reported fae-human interactions. Including the rumored ones. "If you find one you want to read more on, I can help you find other sources of information."
"Oh. Perfect." Ellias glanced out the window. The lightspeakers had begun to dim the citadel's glow, indicating evening's arrival. "I suppose I'll be diving into that tomorrow."
Salestia traced her eyes over his side profile for a long moment. "That reference guide doesn't include any dangerous information itself, as far as I'm concerned," she said. "Maybeyou could give it a look tonight and figure out what you want to search for tomorrow."
Ellias looked up at her. "Are you sure that's all right?"
"What I say goes," Salestia reminded him with a sly smile. "Just don't mention it to any of the assistants, okay?" She set the book down in front of him and started toward the doorway. Unfortunately, she still had work to get done.
Salestia glanced back before stepping out of the room. "Bring the book to the front desk before you leave, though. I do need to make a note for my own records."
"Certainly," Ellias said. "And the food tray?"
"I'll clean it up later. I'll be here a while after close."
The rest of the night at the front desk was quiet. Aza was gone before dinner, and with so few guests this time in the evening, the other handful of assistants were quick to follow. Salestia only kept the place open until ten o'clock because she had nothing better to do. And some people needed the refuge late at night.
It was half past eight when she sensed the light beam she'd left across the tower door break. A few minutes later, Ellias appeared in front of her.
"Glad to see you didn't get lost," Salestia told him as she drew out a blank piece of parchment from the desk. There was supposed to be a reed pen lying around somewhere, but the quill would have to do. "I need to note down your name. For our records. Do you have a family name?" She glanced up.
"Glad to see you didn't get lost," Salestia told him as she drew out a blank piece of parchment from the desk. There was supposed to be a reed pen lying around somewhere, but the quill would have to do. As she scribbled down the date and the title she'd given him, she said, "I need to note down your name. For our records. Do you have a family name?" She glanced up.
"I have a coven name," Ellias said. "Ellias Croweye."
"Croweye," Salestia murmured. She added it to the page. "Perfect."
"Anything else before I leave?" Ellias asked.
Salestia looked him over. No sign of the book. It would be easily hidden in the bag at his side, which made her wonder if she needed to check that he hadn't taken anything else.
"Nothing else." Salestia flashed him a smile. He needed her help. He'd be back. "See you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Salestia." Ellias flashed her a warm smile before leaving.
The next hour and a half dragged by quietly. Finally, with no one else inside the library at close, Salestia locked the doors, cleaned up quickly, and extinguished the lamps.
Once closing duties were taken care of, she made her way to the southwest tower, as she did every night. This tower was all spare rooms, including the one Salestia had lived in for as long as she could remember. The walls were the same deep shade of purple as the rest. Opposite the room's only window was a simple bed with a white fabric canopy. The furniture was all painted white, too.
The unusual addition to Salestia's bedroom that the others didn't have was an old piano. She hadn't played much since ceasing her lessons at age ten. A decade ago, now. Behind the instrument was the window overlooking the citadel's scattered lights. Salestia paused to stare out it before moving on to the bed.
Mary had lived in the southwest tower before her death, as well, and so had Beranice Witrose. The assistant librarian who'd adopted Salestia.
Now they were both gone, and Salestia was entirely alone in the tower.