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I frowned. “I don’t have another question. I want this one answered.”

More accurately, I really didn’t want to go back to Raphael without an answer.

“Something else,” he hissed. “Ask us how to make your fortune. Ask us where to find the one you will wed. Or how to avoid your death.”

I contemplated for a moment. If I asked him to tell me how to evade any potential threats and start a new life, the Librarians would eagerly give me an answer. Or I could ask if my mother’s soul was at peace in the blessed fields or lost to the ninth hell as I feared.

I forced myself to look the journeyman directly in the eyes. I would use my question for Raphael’s myth hunt. Though from the journeyman’s reaction, it wasn’t as much of a myth as I had been told growing up. “You agreed to my petition. I’m owed an answer to my question.”

I hoped he wouldn’t incinerate me on the spot, the way the apprentice had that unruly man at the door. But then, he’d tried to break the rules. He’d been greedy. I only wanted the answer they’d agreed to give me. “This is my only question.”

The journeyman narrowed his eyes, grinding his teeth in frustration. But the magic of the Great Library won over, and his lips were forced open. He spoke with the sameoverlaying voices as I’d heard before, the hive mind magic of the Librarians channeling through him.

“Go north, to the marshes, to the abandoned temple of Anagenni. The Black Grimoire was entombed there seven hundred and seventy-seven years ago. It is locked away behind a statue of the patron goddess, guarded by traps even we do not know, so only the worthy may take possession of the book.” The voice faded, and the journeyman glared at me. “You have your answer. Now begone.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I scurried from the library with a nimbleness the most wily of rats would’ve envied. Still, I couldn’t resist looking back at the library as I left. The books, the knowledge stored there, forever to be out of my reach because I’d given the vampire my question.

A question that left me with dozens of my own.

Anagenni. What was she the goddess of? Mother hadn’t been especially pious, but in the Witch Kingdom, witches and voids alike used the pantheon like spices—a pinch of luck from Lixa, a prayer for health to Askli. Flourishes on the magic we used. It was common to see icons scattered throughout, but no one made formal temples to the gods these days. Why bother, when even voids had magic at their fingertips? Only the Monastery was different.

I darted through the exit, around the apprentice who had escorted me inside. A line still rounded the building. There would be no shortage of people with questions this night, nor any other.

I scanned the darkness for Raphael, but neither red nor blue eyes peeked out in the dark.

That was fine. Uncertain how long the library would take, we’d arranged a meeting point for midnight.

But… I had thought perhaps he might be waiting for me.

Fool, I scolded myself.

Maybe that was why I took my time reaching the arranged spot, studying the city at night.

Witch lights lined the street, enchanted so the markets could stay open well past dark. Of course, the types of markets available at Apante changed with the setting of the sun. People looked to feed all manner of appetites at night, judging by the crooning calls coming from certain buildings. I couldn’t help but look at one of the pleasure halls as I passed, wondering what it would be like to have that closeness with another. The stolen coins were heavy in my pocket, beckoning even though I’d never let myself give in. Not when I didn’t have a way to get more coins.

A pair of oiled figures made eyes at me as I passed, one male, one female. Their bronzed bodies were displayed despite the slight chill of the night, golden fringed gossamer accenting their allure. Whatever they saw in me, they knew I was a target. It wasn’t that either of their inviting smiles interested me in particular, but part of me wanted desperately to sate the curiosity that had built over the years. I’d gone from a girl to a woman in name only in Greymere. I was ignorant, but IknewI was ignorant, and that was worse.

The lightness of my coin purse prevailed, and the two shifted their attention to more promising potential customers. I pressed on. I paused only once more, to listen to a street performer singing. She was dressed in gossamer silks, making eyes with every audience member even while her mind was clearly occupied with the music. Her voice dipped to low tones, cutting through the other noise in the city. When the song ended and she bowed, it was met with little applause.

I wished I could spare a coin to give her.

The old capital boasted another wonder beyond the Great Library—a beautiful garden, dedicated to an old, forgotten queen. Enormous amounts of magic must have gone into shaping it. The garden took up the entire eastern quarter of the Apante. The entrance was a brilliant marble gate that could only have been made from magic. The twin winged figures carved from the marble looked almost human, but it was the beautiful kind of human you’d die for. I passed through the gates, following the path. The space wasn’t entirely deserted, but it was substantially emptier. The gentle wind rustling through the trees drowned out any quiet conversations. I wandered farther, taking in the space. Like the forests I’d slept in, but so much more deliberate. No two trees were alike, different variants that must have been magically spliced by a witch gifted in plant magic. Or more accurately, a team of them.

Even at night, several trees were blooming. The blossoms filled the air with a pleasing scent. Despite the sizeof the space, branches hung low, making the garden feel private. I was a woman alone at night in a relatively empty space, so I stayed on guard, but there was no sign of anyone else. I found a bench braced against a decorative boulder, carved to look like the three moons atop each other.

I was really alone, at last.

And then I wasn’t.

There was no sound that gave him away, no movement in the shadows. But an awareness came into my periphery all the same.

“You remembered me, I see.” I was surprised by the annoyance in my own voice. Since when had a vampirenotbeing around been a problem?

Raphael sat down on the bench next to me, legs kicked out in front without a care. “I’ve been here the entire time.”

“More likely you were off killing time in one of the pleasure halls.”

I wasn’t sure why I said it. Raphael was too focused on his mission, whatever it was, to give in to such base pleasures. I might believe vampires could feel desires like that, to a degree, but it was hard to imagine Raphael paying to sleep with a mortal. Even if his appearance rivaled any of the most successful courtesans, his voice a sweet caress that even now tempted me more than any of the others had—though he would likely kill me if I voiced the comparison.