Page 18 of Lore of the Wilds

Lore noted two wooden bowls on the ledge of the bathing tub—one filled with shaved bits of soap and another with herbs and flowers floating in what looked like oil. She grabbed a few shavings and rubbed her body down. Once she rinsed the suds off, she moved to her hair, then immediately groaned.

Knots.

Her hair was in knots.

With disappointment, she realized there wasn’t any cream for her hair, meaning that it would be extra frizzy today. Trying to tame her hair as best she could, she finger-combed her knotted curls, then pulled them to the side to braid them loosely.

She sniffed the floral mixture: cinnamon, something else she couldn’t place... pear? No, something caramelized.

It smelled divine.

She rubbed the mixture under her arms and along her throat before rinsing. The leftover herbs and petals swirled in a current straight into a grate to be whisked away to who knew where.

When you have magic, even the servants bathe like royalty.

She wished she could relax in the bath forever, but she had work to do. She grimaced and got out of the water, then hurriedly dressed. A quick glance at the looking glass cemented what she already knew.

She needed to organize this library and get home before her hair knotted past the point of no return.

Chapter7

When she exited the baths, the guard remained quiet, walking ahead of her as they headed toward the library. His long legs ate up the distance with ease. Lore made sure to pay attention to the twists and turns—she didn’t plan on getting lost again.

Two servant boys sitting outside the large double doors of the library hopped up at their approach, greeting the guard first and introducing themselves as Tarun and Libb. The two curious boys from yesterday.

The guard shook both of their little hands. “Are you Rotha’s boy?” He asked Tarun, the taller of the two.

“Yes, my lord. Rotha’s my mom.”

“I thought you might be. You look just like her. I’m Asher. I’ll be on this one’s detail from now on, so you boys let me know if you see or hear anything, all right? Come to me, first.”

“Yes, my lord. Of course.” Tarun stood tall with pride and grinned, clearly tickled at the important job he’d been given.

“I’m no lord, Tarun. Asher is just fine.”

“You can count on us,” Libb said.

Lore, however, was not grinning. Asher, was it? He seemed tobe of the mind that she was up to something or, at the very least, not to be trusted.

Which, shewastechnically hoping to earn more than just the help of a few Alytherians and some coin. But it wasn’t like she was a thief or anything. She just wanted to gain some knowledge, something that should have been freely shared with them.

She turned her back on Asher and spoke directly to the boys. Tarun had budding antlers just pushing through his tight coils, and his voice cracked when he spoke. Alternatively, Libb didn’t have any antlers, though his pointed ears ended in tufts of fur, and he had a furred, spotted tail idly swishing behind him.

She made a mental note to learn the difference between the fae. She knew a little. The ones who hailed from Alytheria and came to Duskmere demanding all their coin were known as dark fae. Everyone she’d seen at the castle so far seemed to hail from Alytheria.

So, if they were dark fae, did that mean there were light fae? Hopefully, that was just one of the many questions that would be answered within the library.

“Tarun, right? I have a list for you boys today. Are you ready to do some work?”

They both nodded—Tarun eagerly and Libb shyly and subdued. Surprisingly, they were treating her with what felt an awful lot like respect.

“Okay, good,” she continued. “I’ll need parchment, a quill and ink, cream for my hair, and a stack of rags for cleaning—as many as you can carry.” She looked at them for understanding.

“When you have the materials, bring them to me. I don’t want you going near the library doors—your loss would be felt by more than just your families. All of us would feel it,” said Asher, his voice losing its cheer and becoming oddly serious.

“Our mothers have already lectured us about the dangers of the library sir, we know.” Tarun’s voice was grave.

“Good. Now off you go.”

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