Iona whipped her head to look at the door. Who could come at this time? No one could open the door because it was protected with spells. Except… Yion. She blew the candle's flame and quietly walked across the rug to stand near the door, ready to kill if anyone dared to enter. She looked at the mess of books she had created with the woman. Two books were lying open on the couch, while five were stacked on the desk. One was on the rug and one on the armchair. She pursed her lips and clenched her jaws so hard that her teeth hurt. She hoped that the man outside didn't enter the study, or she would have to deal with another dead body.
She held her breath as she waited for the door to be knocked again, but whosoever was there, he or she didn't knock it again. After a moment of silence, she heard the fading footsteps of the person and she exhaled a sigh of relief. She waited for some time before shuffling the books back to their places. Opening the door, she peeked outside only to find that the corridor was empty. Iona walked back to her room as fast as she could.
That day she roamed in the city, visiting town halls and museums in order to dig some information about Etaya, but there was absolutely no clue. The only place where she could think of going was the library or go to the record keeper.
Record keeper.
"Oh yes!" she said aloud loudly attracting strange glances from faes who were walking around in a small square. She pursed her lips and rushed back to the palace. But if she went to the record keeper, she would be reported to Etaya immediately. Could she take the risk?
A fresh flurry of snow made her look at the dense gray skies. Did this place ever get sun rays? Not that it mattered to her because she was the dark witch who loved obsidian, but she hated to tread in the thick layer of snow back to the palace. On her way back she found netizens clearing the snow, using their magic. The shovels were working on their own as they picked up snow and threw it on the sides. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her as gusts of icy cold winds ruffled her hair. Suddenly, the idea of going to the library seemed bad.
The palace guards didn't stop her from entering the main gates.
Iona headed to the library straightaway. She skipped her lunch because she knew that at this time there won't be too many people in the library. She walked through the dark and desolate hallways, rounded a corner and rushed past several corridors before she reached the library. She had to find books that could give some information about Etaya. Her first thought was to ask the royal librarian, but she shoved the thought. When she opened the heavy doors of the library, she came across a beautiful room that was carpeted from wall to wall with a navy-blue rug, over which royal insignia was woven at regular intervals. Through the tall windows came the light from the outside but because of the snow swirling all over again, pressing against the glass, she found that the iron chandeliers above were lit. She looked at the high ceiling and was mesmerized by the intricate paintings on it. The library was… well stuffed. There were numerous corridors with crafted wooden shelves lined with books. Finding information in this sea of books would be like finding a needle in a haystack. She exhaled loudly and her steps took her to the royal librarian—a podgy man, a pair of glasses and eyes so gray that it was as if their original color had faded over years. His wings were tucked tightly behind him.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
Iona had to carefully craft her question to not raise suspicions. She licked her lips and said, "Where can I find books on species in the Lore?" She wanted to see if a book on the history of demons existed.
He pointed to the left and said in a boring voice, "Take that corridor and turn left. There's a room which is dedicated to the species of the Lore." Saying that he went back to the book he was reading.
Iona turned and walked in the direction he had pointed. She walked along the corridor that was lined with old and new books. At the end of it, she turned to the left and entered a small circular room. There were bookshelves arranged right in the center in the form of a starfish. Tables and armchairs were set at the end of each bookshelf. And thankfully, it was empty. Not a soul was visible.
Iona quickly started finding the book she wanted to look for and wondered if it even existed—History of Demons. She must have ransacked every corner but there was no book dedicated only to demons. Exhausted and exasperated she sat on one of the tables with her head clutched in her hands, and let out a litany of curses for wasting so much time on something that didn't exist. She looked at the book that was lying closed in front of which was nearest to her quest—Species of the Lore.
She opened the book and scanned through the pages one after the other, slowly. There were so many that she knew of and then there were some that were extinct. Her eyes stopped at the page which talked about species that existed but were rare.
Krst.
Children whose one parent was a fae and the other a demon.
Aed Ruad and Maple were Krst?
Krst were weaker than their parents and an abomination in the Lore. So what? She scoffed. It was utterly the worst thing that she read. Couldn't two people fall in love? She wanted to throw the book on the ground for having such biased opinions. Iona got up with anger building in her chest. She knew that she didn't have many days left in Vilinski, because the war was imminent. Adrianna would never take her back. It would only be a few more days before Seraph would throw her in the forefront and sacrifice her in a heartbeat. She gritted her teeth as she arranged all the books back and then went back to her bedchamber. That evening she had her dinner in her room. Once the maids had cleared the dishes and she had changed, and she was alone, she lifted her mattress to pull out the book—History of Faes. She went back to the page of the family tree. She wanted to press her fingers on the symbol again but knew it was not the right time. So, she waited for midnight. When it was past that time, she summoned the woman again.
The woman appeared again. "And why have you called me now?" she asked, as she went to sit at the edge of the bed. She looked at her fondly. Iona was a lovely girl with golden eyes and thick black hair, which were now falling in loose curls down her back.
"I want to find the family tree of the demons… I went to the library but couldn't find it…"
"You are looking in the wrong place."