Page 189 of The Incendiary

I huffed out a laugh. “Library.”

Minutes later, Shera and I entered the cave library together and found a table near the back. The space was almost as impressive as Gavin’s library in Tovick. Larger in size but not quite as beautiful, it spanned a good portion of the eastern wing of the Caves and was home to thousands of books. Like the atrium and the gardens, there were skylights built into the ceiling, bringing in the sun’s rays from far above.

I was addicted to the natural light, so much so that I often stared up into the skylights, entranced enough that I could pretend I was elsewhere. Today, while Shera rested at my feet, I was so absorbed that I didn’t notice someone had followed me here.

“Hey,” a familiar voice greeted me.

I looked up to see Elias standing beside the table with his hands in his pockets.

“Want some company?”

“Your betrothed follows you like a sad puppy,” Shera grumbled mind-to-mind. “What is he trying to atone for, Ary?”

I wanted to tell both Shera and Gemma about what happened in the showers and after, but I knew it wouldn’t go over well with either of them. Shera would kill someone. Probably Elias.

I ignored her, smiling softly. “Sure.”

“This doesn’t look like Simeon’s study, Aryella,” he gently teased, sliding gracefully into the chair across from me. He held up his hand when I opened my mouth to explain myself. “I don’t blame you for escaping the Elders meeting. They can be insufferable.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the library is your favorite place in the Caves, should I?”

I looked around. “It’s much more extensive than the one in the Barracks.” Minus the hidden room, which I still wondered if he knew anything about. “As you said it would be.”

Elias chuckled, fondly remembering the day in the forest he’d taught me to throw a blade into a bull’s-eye. “That I did.”

How things had changed since then.

I tapped my fingers on the table before me. In all my readings, I noticed that our recorded history was contained to the continent, though I knew there were others. One across the Brinnean Sea that Gemma had mentioned a time or two. She knew it was there and nothing else.

In this library, there was nothing recorded prior to four hundred years ago. Nothing about a single land outside of our own continent.

Elias appeared lost in thought. Sometimes I swore I could hear the battle plans, army formations, and travel routes forming in his head. After spending his life here learning the entire continent, the war, the people, he knew far more about our world than I did.

“Have you ever asked Simeon where his magic comes from?” I inquired.

His brows knit together. “He never discloses anything about his magic. It’s always been that way. I’ve asked, many times, but Simeon is… difficult.”

“You don’t say,” I muttered under my breath. Had anyone but Elias questioned how cagey he was? I wondered how much or how little Alistair and Ophelia Winterton knew. The more time I spent with Simeon, the more maddening he became. When it came to blindly accepting what I was told, I had no grounds to criticize. The difference was I was learning not to be so trustworthy.

“Do you know what’s across the Brinnean Sea?” I asked him.

“No.” He folded his hands on the table and leaned forward. “There are legends, but they’re hundreds of years old.”

Hundreds of years.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and folded a page between my fingers. “Legends?”

“Yes,” he answered hesitantly. “But Simeon⁠—”

“Simeon’s withholding information from me, too.”

I cursed myself for letting the words slip. It wasn’t smart. There were some things I could trust Elias with. That he would have my back on the battlefield. That he would try and do what was right for our people. But the truth about who I was and what had been taken from me? I had no idea how or when to reveal those things to him.

And yet, I shared my distrust of Simeon, because he’d shared the same with me months ago on our journey to apprehend Draven Finch.

“I wish that surprised me,” he stated grimly.

Something unsettling passed between us. Wariness. An uncomfortable agreement. He was trying so hard, always available for whatever I needed. I wasn’t sure I’d forgiven him. I still didn’t trust him with my heart. I wasn’t sure I ever would, but his consistency accounted for something.

“I believe he’s on our side.” My folded hands atop the table mirrored his. “But I think there are some things we’ll have to figure out on our own. Without Simeon.”