Page 57 of A War of Embers

Huh. Up until now I thought Aïdes ran off the hierarchy system and a mere don’t piss anyone off attitude. I had no idea there are laws. Glancing around for any legal textbooks, I don’t spy any. “So what are the laws everyone is to obey?”

“You don’t need to worry about those.”

Alyvia’s flippant reply rubs me the wrong way. “Why do you say that?”

Her amusement is palpable as she turns to look at me from where she was previously perusing the shelves. “Keres, you break a law on a daily basis. At this point it’s almost easier to tell you things you haven’t done against the law.”

Oh. “No one has said anything to me.”

She snorts and goes back to reading surnames written on the spines of large books. “Of course not. The fact you stand up to Lord Rowan means hardly anyone is going to walk up to you and tell you to stop something. Zeke also doesn’t abide by the same rules, so it’s not as though you’re the only one doing it. Those in Lord Rowan’s inner circle have a tendency to be lenient with the laws. You’re considered part of that inner circle.”

I can’t stop the scoff from escaping. “You make it sound like we’re friends so I get a free pass.”

She cackles. “Keres, you wear his mark and he kissed you in front of everyone. I don’t think anyone believes you’re friends.” A twinkle in her eye appears as she looks over to me. “So, are you going to fill me in on what really happened in the Wraithlands?”

Sobering up at the thought, I feel like a lead weight has taken residence in my gut. Shaking my head, I explain, “No. That’s off limits.” Simply for the fact I have no idea what’s going on or will happen. Up until four hours ago, I would have said it was a simple mistake between two people who fell in bed together. Until he kissed me. There’s no reason for him to have done that, especially in public. Having sex meant nothing. At least it should mean nothing seeing as he’s focusing on whatever it is he’s doing in his private study and I’m trying to die. We’re too opposite in our goals to pretend anything could ever come of it.

“Here,” Alyvia announces, pulling out a dusty red book. Shore is engraved in gold leaf on the front. “The Shore family is known to broker deals between creatures. They’re also known for trying to kill their prey with fire. Some believe it can kill even an immortal.”

Doubtful. “If that’s true, I can’t see why Zeke wouldn’t bother trying to kill me.”

“Because Lord Rowan wouldn’t be pleased.”

Something tells me Zeke wouldn’t care much. Their bond runs far deeper than anyone else’s I’ve seen, so I can’t imagine they would be at odds for long. “Are we thinking if we pay a dragon to kill me, it’ll work?”

“It’s an option.”

“Anyone else you can think of off the top of your head?” Dying by fire doesn’t sound appealing. Mostly I feel like it’s impossible to kill an immortal the way she’s describing. Surely there would be some knowledge of it. Although with the Province Wars all but eradicated from the history in Tellus, there’s no telling if there’s any truth to the idea.

“Some witches are able to steal powers.” Alyvia points down a few bookcases towards where a large amount of green books are located. “Those are the witch families. I don’t know of any family name off the top of my head, but I know there’s documented sources about it.” She pauses before adding, “Lord Rowan enacted the law to ban witches from taking powers, if you’re curious.”

“Then paying one and having them take mine is a double crime,” I chirp happily, moving on towards the green lot of books.

Finally, progress is being made. Even though I wish things were going faster and being killed came easier than it’s proving to be, I’m finally on a path that could lead to answers. Scanning the books, I wait to see if my gut tells me to look for anything in particular regarding the names. See if anyone is someone who may have family across the Blood Sea. Yet nothing happens. No tingling feeling to set me off, absolutely nothing as my eyes move along the spines.

Grabbing a few books off the shelves, I walk over towards a table situated by the wall with a few chairs surrounding it. Settling in, I flip open one of the books. Crital. The name is spelled in calligraphy, taking up almost the entire first page. Continuing on, I notice the book is set up similar to a family tree. One page contains the branches before going into individual people within the smaller tree before branching off again. Over and over throughout the entire book. Small paragraphs are written beneath the names. Towards the end of the book, I find the newer additions of those still alive. Their paragraphs are longer, more in depth as to what they do for a living which seems to include selling psychedelic drugs to neighbors.

Shutting their book, I move on to the next one. And the next one. Nothing informative about any of the families besides a few enjoy partying too hard and fighting while intoxicated. Ten more books and I’m beginning to wonder if this endeavor to find an alternative route is useless. Wouldn’t the Blood Witch have said something if she sent me here? Knowing what I do about Sereia, she would withhold information out of boredom.

“Having any luck?” Alyvia asks, a stack of red books down by her feet.

Instead of responding, I motion towards the obvious growing pile she’s coveting, “Red is for dragons, I take it.”

She nods before turning to gesture at the individual cases. “Red for dragons, green for witches, blue for water monsters, orange for immortals, black for the creatures who only emerge during the dark, and so on. Color coded makes things easier to find when trying to search for something specific if you know the type of species you’re looking for.”

Makes sense although a little archaic in thinking. “Dragons and witches are our only options to choose from?”

“They’re the most likely to agree seeing as how you’re broadcasting Lord Rowan’s mark for all to see. Most would be deterred by the tattoo, so it will be harder finding people willing to kill you. That being said, bribery works best.”

“I don’t exactly have anything of value beyond my sword and seeing as it enjoys being magically linked to me, I doubt bartering it would go well.”

Alyvia frowns, her face pinching together. “Dragons only barter in jewels, not money.”

Fantastic knowledge, my inner voice announces sarcastically. Not only do I not have much coin, but jewels are entirely out of my realm of being able to acquire. “I suppose I could always steal them from Rowan,” I sardonically say.

Alyvia’s head whips over in my direction, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

When I flick an eyebrow up at her, she opens and closes her mouth like a fish several times.

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