Page 107 of The Blood Crown

She’d trained on the Ledge until sweat drenched her shadowskin, her fingers blistered and raw—until she couldn’t stand. She’d focused her power, sharpening every weapon at her disposal—but still it didn’t feel like enough.

Toweling off her damp hair, she threw on the nearest pair of pants and a thick sweater.

Following the heavy, ringing blows beating out a primal rhythm through the fortress, Aurelia wound through the corridors.

Her pulse seemed to beat in time with every strike as she neared her destination. The scent alone would have led her here; hot steel and the tang of sweat.

She was no commander; she’d sat in on enough of Ven’s council meetings that she was beginning to understand battle strategy—but it wouldn’t make up for the centuries that the others had been pouring over maps and maneuvering armies. She’d strived to find her place in the midst of the organized chaos that was a kingdom readying for battle, but she couldn’t quite rid herself of this useless, restless feeling . . .

And so she’d found herself here—not bothering to tell any of the others what she was attempting. She couldn’t bear to admit failure if this glimmer of an idea proved unsuccessful.

Hot air kissed her face as she searched for the Mastersmith. The fire from the furnace illuminated the space, but every dark head bent over an anvil looked much the same in the forge.

A smith nearby turned, spotting her with a small look of shock as he dropped the red-hot blade onto his anvil with a heavy clink. “Your Grace,” he bowed low, a fist over his heart.

“I’m looking for the Master Smith,” she shouted over the screams of blades being quenched.

A silhouette roughly the size of a mountain headed toward them.

“My Queen,” a booming voice rumbled over the din of the forge. Hathos wiped his broad hands on his leather apron, then looked down, seeming disappointed with the result.

“Hathos,” she smiled, gripping his black stained hand. “I’m here to ask for a favor.”

The tone around the fortress had grown frenzied, humming with purpose. She knew the cost of adding another task to the smith’s endless list, but the male only offered her an indulgent smile.

“I see your claimed has given all of my secrets away,” he replied with a wink. “He knows I’m hopeless against a beautiful female.”

Leaving the heat of the forges once more, Aurelia continued up to the level above.

The path to the library was quiet tonight, save for the flutter of Cog’s wings as he glided beside her.

The ravens had descended on the fortress after their return from Eisenea, occupying every roof line and buttress at Ravenstone. And she had to admit their presence was a welcome one.

Cog had become her constant companion since his return, and she suspected the raven sensed the anxiety rolling off her, following her steps like a shadow.

The beast was just as demanding as he’d always been, softly clacking his beak in impatience if she stopped stroking his feathers for too long. Always threatening to get them reprimanded by an Allokin librarian with his croaking. Though the grey-skinned males and females never shushedhim, the cowards. They were much too intimidated by the large bird to look at him directly, but even being a queen wasn’t enough to set her above the sacred silence of the library, it seemed.

Cog gave a loud chirrup, black talons gripping her shoulder as she glanced up at the lone figure standing at the end of the hall.

Valea’s silver-white hair was braided intricately across her head, trailing down her back as she craned her slender neck toward the massive library doors.

They’d been opened for the night, spilling golden light from the torches and the floating candles into the hall beyond the threshold.

The awed look on the female's face—so full of wonder—made her nearly unrecognizable for a moment. Her chin dropped,red eyes flicking to where Aurelia stood, the hard exterior she usually wore slipping back into place.

“The library is open to anyone,” Aurelia said by way of greeting, feeling certain that the female had no use for small talk.

“What is it?” Valea asked.

“A—” she stumbled over her words, searching for ones that wouldn’t come off as condescending. “A collection of books.”

“I’ve never seen so many . . . in one place.”

“The library here is quite beautiful,” Aurelia replied, relieved that she had something else to say. “Do you—” she silently cursed herself, searching for the words that wouldn’t send her reeling five steps back after the small progress they seemed to be making. “If you need someone to teach you to read, I’d be more than happy—”

Fire blazed in Valea’s bright red eyes, cutting her words short. The air between them growing frigid.

Well, fuck me,she thought, the Wraith’s crude tongues rubbing off on her.

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