Page 55 of To Ashes and Dust
The largest, most ancient library I’d ever seen stood before us. Shelves, filled to the brim with all sorts of books and scrolls, stretched up and up. I gasped as my eyes found the starry sky trapped within the high ceiling. Countless floating lanterns danced amidst the starlight, casting a warm glow down on us. The library was mostly quiet, save for the skittering sounds of—my brows furrowed as I caught sight of the tiny creatures shuffling about, carrying books and scrolls in different directions.
“What are they?” I whispered, leaning into Damien.
“They’re the librarians,” he whispered back, a hint of amusement on his tongue. “Astral sprites created by Selene to care for everything. There are others like them who tend to the rest of the temple.”
They were so small, like toddlers, their skin—no, it wasn’t skin. Their bodies didn’t even seem wholly physical, and yet, they weren’t quite like the shadow beasts. They were like pure night, their forms black, shimmering with starlight, with thin tails that swayed ever so slightly as they walked. One of the tiny creature’s eyes found me as it passed, the soft white, glowing orbs among the darkness of its body so sweet and innocent, so curious. Its little round head tilted, long pointed ears bouncing as it continued its pace, the scrolls held tightly in its arms.
I tensed. “Oh, watch ou—”
The sprite bumped into another ahead of it, and it fell back onto the marble floor, the scrolls in its tiny claws scattering. The sprite it bumped into turned to look down at it and chittered in a little fit. The sounds it made were like a mouse as it scolded the little librarian before it turned to continue carrying its own books to their destination.
I rushed to the fallen sprite’s side, the hem of my gown whispering against the marble floor. I knelt to gather the scrolls as it recovered and scrambled to do the same. I held out the few I’d gathered.
“Here you go,” I said, softly.
It lifted its glowing eyes to me, tiny claws reaching out to receive the scroll. It dipped its head shyly before scurrying off after the others.
“That was awfully kind of you.”
I started at the familiar voice that reached me from the nearby bookshelf. “Salwa?”
Salwa smiled brightly as she set a stack of books down on a table. “I didn’t expect to see you two here.”
“I wanted to show Cas the Archivallia,” Damien said as he walked up beside me. “Figured we might find you here.”
I frowned as I stood, looking at Damien.
“Salwa is the Tabularius,” Damien explained.
Tabularius? That only confused me further. Damien must have noticed, for he chuckled at me, and I wondered what my face looked like.
“Don’t confuse the poor girl, Lord Damien,” Salwa said, her sable brows cocking as she smirked at him.
His shoulders sagged as he sighed, and I chuckled. “Just Damien, Salwa.”
Salwa turned her pale eyes to me, her dark skin glowing in the soft light of the floating lantern. “I’m the historian of the immortals. I’ve documented everything of our race since I inherited the title from my predecessor nearly seven hundred years ago.”
Nearly seven hundred years? God, she was nearly as old as Damien. No matter how many times I learned of another immortal who’d lived hundreds of years, it never got any less surprising. I didn’t know if I would ever get used to it.
“That’s amazing. So, all of this...” I turned to look across the vast expanse of the library.
“Is every text to ever exist regarding our race, at least what survived The Darklings’ Descent,” she said.
I bit my lip. The Darklings’ Descent. I resisted the urge to ask more about what happened when the darklings first appeared. Did it have something to do with why I’d yet to see any of Moira’s memories? The darklings had first appeared during her lifetime, and the way Damien reacted when he mentioned it, the look of sorrow in his eyes. I could only imagine how bad it must have been to live through.
“I need to report to Selene and discuss some things with her,” Damien said. “Salwa, do you mind keeping Cas company? It won’t take long.”
“Of course,” Salwa said, her smile infectious. “She’s always welcome. I know how much she loves to read, and she’ll offer better conversation than the sprites, that’s for sure.”
I giggled, trying to imagine Salwa holding a conversation with the tiny creatures.
“I’ll leave you ladies to enjoy yourselves then,” he said, leaning in to brush a kiss against my temple before heading for the tall archway.
I turned back to Salwa, who held a stack of books against her chest.
“I didn’t even know this all existed.”
“It’s not open to everyone. Only a select few within The Order and The Council are allowed here,” she said as she headed toward a nearby table.
