Page 61 of A War of Embers

Shutting the room with a roll of my eyes, I spot another room at the far end of the hall. For some reason it looks out of place. The knob is too shiny and pristine compared to the rest. Curiously I get closer, wondering if this door was previously here at all.

Turning it open, I step inside and quickly close the door. This is not Rowan’s private study, but it’s the next best thing.

Unless I’ve managed to stumble into Zeke’s private room, this place breathes of Rowan’s scent and masculine touches. The oak floor is stained dark, almost black, shimmering beneath the chandelier in the middle of the room. The silver crystals come down like sharp points, reminding me of thousands of tiny swords ready to impale at a moment’s notice. Onyx drapes cover one wall, possibly hiding a door or windows. Sparse furniture litters the grand room. A four poster bed, a mirror leaning against one wall, a leather chair with a fur throw, and a brick fireplace with ashes stirring in a nonexistent wind flutter around.

There’s a short hall with navy walls leading towards a half-brick wall that hides a bathroom around a corner. A gold tub, fancy faucets, and black marble encompass the whole room. Everything screams of riches and wealth all wrapped in a tight, corded muscular package portraying power.

I walk around slowly, testing the floors to see if they creak as I snoop around, but the place remains eerily quiet. For a few seconds I stand perfectly still, waiting to see if Rowan appears out of nowhere to scold me for breaking into his room even though the magic of the estate let me in.

Therefore I’m not really breaking in anywhere, the room wanted me here. But why?

“You’re using me to mess with Rowan, aren’t you?” I ask the room aloud. Not surprisingly, the room in question remains silent. Does magic have a sense of humor? A personality? Sometimes the way Alyvia talks about this place, it’s as if the magic is it’s own living being and the walls are it’s own version of flesh and blood. Placing my hands on my hips, I arch an eyebrow while still continuing to monitor my surroundings. “You realize I’m looking through Rowan’s things for jewels, right?”

A drawer in the armoire on the far side of the room slides open. Hmm. Perhaps the house is agreeing to my plan so I leave faster. Walking over towards the drawer, I bend down and freeze.

Fucking estate does have a sense of human. I kick the drawer shut with my foot. “I’m not talking about his family jewels, thanks.” Unsurprisingly though, Rowan seems to be a black briefs kind of man. “Are you going to show me where the actual jewels are so I can use them to bargain with?” When the house remains quiet, I sigh. “Thought so.”

This estate may belong to Rowan, but it practically bleeds Zeke’s meddling personality. Shaking my head, I begin rifling through several drawers. Socks, shirts, cargo pants, fancy socks alone in a drawer. Nothing to point to Rowan having any jewels hidden here in his private sanctuary.

Sitting on the floor next to the bed, I stare up at the chandelier in curiosity. Such an odd thing for a man to have in his bedroom. Although deadly looking, it’s by far the most grandiose thing in here. Hardly what I would expect to find in Rowan’s personal space.

Maybe he’s not the one who picked it out. I shut down that thought before it can have more room to tinker with my subconscious. I’m already thinking about Rowan far more than I’ve ever thought about anyone else beside myself. This is a dangerous path for me that needs to stop. People die when I choose to get close to them. The only reason I’m currently entertaining Alyvia’s offer of friendship is because Rowan is strong enough to defeat Lady Gwenyth when she no doubt comes looking for me. At least I hope he’s strong enough.

“Alright, can I see his study now?” I ask the room at large. “You’ve made your point.” Whatever point that is, I have no idea. To know where Rowan keeps his undergarments? To know his room vaguely resembles that of the cabin in the Wraithlands? I don’t know what the estate is trying to tell me, but I can’t let it distract me from my goal.

Walking to the door, I hesitate to grab the knob. If it sends me back out into the main hallway, I probably won’t be able to find the study tonight. The house will keep it hidden from me. To continue with our plan, I need to get in there and find the jewels. The start of my end begins tonight.

Screw it. There’s only one way to find out. Gripping the door handle tightly, I pause for a moment before hefting the heavy door open and staring into the brightness of the study room. Saying a silent thank you to the house I enter and close the bedroom door behind me.

The room looks just the same as the last time I came in here. Everything is in a constant state of disarray. No rhyme or reason to the collections and placements of anything. Rowan seems to thrive in the chaos this room ensues. In chaos there is also order. On closer inspection, everything here does serve a purpose in being where it’s placed, I can’t tell for what reason, just that there seems to be one.

Too many maps open depicting a variation of Tellus I’ve never seen. Each one differs slightly, but none of them are of the land I know. Lady Gwenyth constantly had her scribes update boundary lines and notating weak points in other Districts, it’s hard to believe Rowan is basing his knowledge off a war from years ago.

There’s no markings on the maps to state what kind they are. Leisure, war, architectural, historical, nothing. District names are mostly written in wrong spots or in areas that Districts no longer exist or were never at to begin with. If only Rowan had taken my bargain, I could help him with his map dilemma.

Striding towards the bookcases on the back wall, I search in every little cubby full of parchment papers and random knickknacks to see if I spot anything shiny worthy of my attention. So far the first three columns lead me to nothing. The fourth column, third row from the top has something reflective in the back of the nook, but I make a mental note of where it is and see if anything else seems promising.

Another few columns go by before I start to notice the parchment papers in the individual cubbies are sitting at awkward slants. Almost like something is tucked behind them and the scrolls are used to hide it. It seems I found the right area to be in finally. Gently picking up the scrolls and loose parchments, I slide them towards one wall to reveal what's hidden behind. Cream colored bags lay as flat as they can be in the back, lumpy looking and out of place.

Dragging the bag towards me, I frown at the weight of it. Whatever is inside is far heavier than anything I’ve held before. Opening the drawstring, I peek inside to see what the cause of the weight is.

Several small gems, all cascading a rainbow from the light, shine back at me. They’re almost crushed-like, except the smooth edges give off a purposeful distinctive shape. Turning the bag over in my hand, I spy a logo of two black swords crossed. I haven’t seen this particular logo used anywhere around Rowan’s estate. His guards don’t typically carry swords on them when patrolling, so what’s the purpose of the logo?

Closing the bag up, I pocket it and then shuffle the scrolls until it appears as though something is still resting underneath them. Quickly scanning the other cubbies, multiple cream colored bags appear hidden in the back. Deciding it’s better to leave those be, I simply begin to walk back towards the door with the lone bag of jewels. It’ll have to make do for what Alyvia and I need them for.

As I make my way closer to the door, a slight breeze blows throughout the room. Freezing on instinct, I expect to hear Rowan’s voice or have him magically appear. Instead papers on the table begin flying around. Books laid half open begin turning aggressively from their main pages. The entire room erupts into a state of chaos.

Is the estate telling me to put the jewels back where I found them?

Taking a moment to steady my breathing from the abrupt change in the room, I notice a lot of the maps are now easier for me to see without all the other parchments, scrolls, and books in the way. The room isn’t stopping me from leaving, but giving me a reason to stay.

Moving closer to one of the tables, I look at a full map of Aïdes for the first time. The Blood Sea is a massive strait on the far left of the map. Two cities are drawn with black castles, separated by a small sliver of trees. The Blood City is drawn to the south, located on the waters edge. Up north, the mountains begin their steep ascent into the sky. On the edge of the mountains, a few miles inland from the sea, lies the Bone City.

A massive streak of darkness encompasses the Wraithlands from the top of the map until the very edge at the bottom. At first glance it looks similar to the last one I saw. This time, the streak continues out on the southern end, far past where the Blood City lies, before making a dramatic curve into the Blood Sea heading straight for where Tellus would be on the map.

My entire body seizes at the drawing. Air stalls in my lungs. I knew from everyone that creatures venture into the Blood Sea and choose to live there amongst the Blood Witch. I didn’t realize the Wraithlands extended into the actual sea, though. My guess is the creatures went across land or sought sanctuary there during the Province Wars and never returned. But there it is, an actual link of their land into the very sea I tossed myself into.

Dragging my finger up the hazy streak of the Wraithlands towards the north, northeast of the Bone City, I look at the first detailed drawing of the Cliff of Embers, completely at odds to the other map I found. In Tellus, we’re told there’s an actual cliff where the abyss holds the souls just beneath. The floor runs like lava, hissing and spitting its red gaze. Each soul makes up a tiny flicker of an ember, collecting together into a massive pit where they lay to rest in the darkness of their minds, but amongst their lovers, enemies, and friends.

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