Page 19 of Daughter of the Ninth Line, Part Three

Eighteen

Hayle

I chewed the inside of my cheek raw while standing in the corner of the banquet room, watching the Barons drink and eat, like we hadn’t just had an entire meeting about people starving.

I could see the guilt on the faces of the Barons of the Eleventh and Twelfth Lines, like they wanted to box it all up and take it back to their people.

I’d overheard the Baron of the Eighth Line, Zier Tarrin, telling them to eat. That their Lines needed them to be strong, and denying themselves out of guilt wouldn’t help their people.

Zier Tarrin was the youngest Baron at the table, and his Barony was both the most magical and the most wealthy in West Ebrus. He’d been quick to pledge aid at the Conclave, but I had a feeling he’d been doing it long before the Eleventh and Twelfth Lines had come here to beg.

Avalon’s father was drunk, spilling ale down his chest and eating food messily.

He was talking too loudly to some of the guards, most of whom were humoring him as they did their job.

I wanted to punch that fucker until he threw up all the ale he’d imbibed.

I wanted to beat him for every moment of sadness that he’d given Avalon.

Her brother was nowhere to be seen, and I was glad for that too. Seeing one of her brothers made me feel conflicted, because while Avalon seemed to love them and didn’t blame them for what had happened to her, none of them had stood between her and their father.

If my father was treating one of my siblings the way Roman Halhed had treated his youngest daughter, he would either be exiled or six feet in the fucking ground. As far as I was concerned, the Halhed brothers were spineless, and I had no time for people who wouldn’t stand up for their family.

Growling low, I left the banquet room. Maybe I’d try looking in the library here at the Hall of Ebrus for answers to Vox’s hypothesis.

They’d have better records of whether or not someone had the power to influence behavior.

No one since the more powerful members of the Second Line had been able to do that, and they were long gone.

The First Line had been nothing if not thorough in their eradication. They’d used the Lines of heraldry like hit lists. They’d murdered every man, woman, and child with even a hint of Second Line blood running through their veins in the space of forty-eight hours.

I met my father’s eyes as I left, and he lifted his chin, recognizing that I was skipping out on the niceties of the banquet.

It wasn’t like I was the only one. Along with Bach Halhed, Vox wasn’t here either.

Maybe they were having a party somewhere and hadn’t invited me.

Or maybe Vox was torturing him for being a spineless fuck for so long.

Either way, I might have been a little jealous.

My footsteps echoed on the marble floors as I moved from one area of the Hall of Ebrus to another.

It was the grandest building in the country, but I hated it.

It was cold and loud, and filled with assholes.

How did the First Line live, surrounded by all this white stone?

It was like somewhere a person would go to die.

I was nearly at the large doors to the library when my nose twitched. There was a scent in the air that shouldn’t be there.

Blood.

Blood and Vox.

Following my nose, I found him in one of the darkened alcoves that had once been used as a place to light candles and ask favors of the Goddess. I doubted they got much use anymore—at least, not here in Fortaare.

As soon as I saw Vox, I knew something was wrong. He looked pale and sweaty, his face screwed up like he was in pain as he twisted to one side.

“Vox? What the fuck?” I hissed, hurrying deeper into the shadows. As I got closer, I knew the blood I could smell was his.

His eyes rolled up to meet mine, and he grimaced. “I’m fine, Taeme.”

“Like fuck you are. You’re bleeding.” I stepped even closer, but he put up a hand to stop me.

“Go. We shouldn’t be seen together.”

I snarled at him. “I don’t give a fuck. You’re injured.”

He just shook his head weakly. “I’ll be fine. I’ve healed from much worse. I just needed to be somewhere quiet.”

Fuck me. “Get up. I’m taking you to my room.”

He shook his head again. “Can’t. Probably bugged.”

This was bullshit. “I don’t care.” I reached out and grabbed him under his arms, pulling him to his feet. “Is there anywhere in this Goddess-forsaken city that’s private?” He hissed in pain, and I felt bad. I needed to see his injuries.

“Probably the library. Father tried to install spies in there, but they always disappear within hours,” he said weakly. I’d never heard Vox sound weak a day in his life. It was making me feel anxious.

I gripped his chin. We were similar heights, but he always seemed so much bigger, with that giant stick up his ass. When he was this vulnerable, he seemed smaller, and I hated it.

“I’m going to walk out of here, and in exactly two minutes, you’re going to walk out after me.

You’re going to meet me in the library in one of the private meeting areas.

If you take more than two minutes, I’m going to come back and find you, and when I do, I won’t give a fuck who sees. Understand?”

Seeing his glare actually made me feel better. “Even injured, I could kick your ass, Taeme.”

Grinning, I just pointed my finger in his face.

“Two minutes. I’m counting. One… Two… Three…

” Hurrying down the hall, I didn’t have time to appreciate the intricately carved doorways, similar to the ones back at Boellium.

I didn’t stop to look for the Librarian, just moved off to the side to one of the many soundproof rooms.

And then I waited.

Thirty seconds.

Sixty seconds.

Ninety seconds.

He still hadn’t appeared.

I was getting ready to stand and go back into the hall to fetch that stubborn fucker when the door opened and he slid inside. He looked even worse; his skin had turned gray, his lips now thin and tight with pain.

“Show me where you’re injured.” It wasn’t a question. I wasn’t sure why I needed to see, but I knew Avalon would be upset if anything happened to this asshole. That’s why I cared. The only reason.

Vox rolled his eyes. “No. I’m okay, and its none of your fucking business.”

Stepping closer to him, I grabbed his cheeks, squeezing his face between my palms. “Despite how I feel about you personally, we’re all in this together.

Avalon is my Soul Tie, and I’ll protect her at any cost. And for some unfathomable reason, she really likes you, which means you’re mine to protect and care for too—at least until whatever you guys have runs its course.

Now show me, or I swear I’ll strip your clothes off and find it myself. ”

There was a flash of something in Vox’s eyes, but it was quickly chased away by pain. He unbuttoned his shirt agonizingly slowly, then allowed the silky fabric to fall from his shoulders. He held my gaze defiantly, but I walked around him, checking for the wounds I could smell so easily.

I didn’t have to look hard. There had to be fifty raised welts on his back. Some were so vicious, they’d split the skin and were still gently oozing blood.

It was a punishment the Third Line would give to its worst betrayer, not to its most prized Heir.

“Who the fuck did this?” Even as I said it, I knew. There were only two people in all of Ebrus who could do this to Vox Vylan. His father and his brother.

Vox’s expression was his usual shuttered mask. “Doesn’t matter who. You can’t do anything about it.”

I hated that he was right. “Why?” There was no good reason to brutalize anyone like this, let alone someone who was your flesh and blood. The why didn’t matter, but I had to know.

“I had the audacity to agree that everyone got the outcome they desired from today’s Conclave.”

My teeth ached with how hard I was grinding them.

His father. I hated that fucker. “We’ll go back to Boellium tonight.

I don’t care if I have to manufacture drama to make it happen.

Fuck it, I’ll manufacture a whole damn Line war, if it means you don’t have to come back here.

” I gripped his face again. “Never again, Vox.”

He shook his head slowly, defeat curling him in on himself. “And when our time at Boellium is up? You can’t keep that promise, Hayle, but I appreciate the thought.”

There was a knock on the door, and we both froze. I moved between Vox and the doorway, my eyes narrowed like I had X-ray vision. In my head, I called for my hounds, who were close by. They’d tell me who was out there and if they were a threat.

They sent me back an image of the Librarian.

I walked slowly up to the door, opening it just a crack. I didn’t trust anyone in this place, except my father. “Can I help you?” My voice was haughty. Obviously, I was channeling Vox’s normally cool demeanour.

The Librarian was of indeterminate age. I suspected mid-thirties, but she had fine lines around her eyes that could’ve been from the passage of time or from squinting while reading tiny texts.

“Such a loaded question, Heir Taeme. But in this instance, I believe I can help Heir Vylan.” She lifted a jar of healing balm.

“From the supply of traditional healing medicine that I regularly order from the Twelfth Line. It will stop the bleeding and aid in reducing the swelling and pain.”

How could she possibly know about that? Did she have this room under surveillance? “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She shook her head at me, like I was an errant child. “Undoubtedly. However, it is my job to know all things. It was my Goddess-gifted purpose in life.” She stared at me, until I felt about three inches tall. “I promise you that my intentions are honorable.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to look for the deceit. In my experience, nothing came for nothing, especially not here in Fortaare. “In exchange?”

She shook her head again. “No strings. But if you’d like to exchange favors, I have a parcel of books that need to go to the library in Boellium. If you could take them with you on your return travels, I would consider it a fair trade. I believe Librarian Enora might be in need of them soon.”

I hadn’t realized the Librarians had names. I mean, obviously they did, but we never called them by anything other than their honorific.

I could take some books back with me. In fact, it might give us an excuse to leave. Everyone was wary of the Librarians. There was power in knowledge.

“Sure, we can do that, in return for your discretion.”

The Librarian gave me a determined, if somewhat sympathetic, expression.

“The library is a place that prides itself on the gathering and safekeeping of knowledge, Heir Taeme. But we also value privacy and the right for people to research topics without political backlash.” She gave me a look that saw far too much.

“Your secrets, and that of those you hold dear, are safe in the library.”

To the wrong ears, her words would be considered treasonous. That was enough of a reassurance to me. “Thank you, Librarian.”

She gave me a soft look, not quite a smile but something warm, before folding her face back into severe neutrality.

“The answer is always in the library, Heir Taeme. It’s a valuable lesson that I believe that Ebrus has forgotten.

” She turned and walked back toward one of the many darkened corners of the library.

“Collect the parcel of books from the front desk on your way out,” she said over her shoulder, not waiting for my response.

She disappeared into the rows of shadows and began shelving before I could reply.

Clutching the balm in my hand, I turned back to Vox. The Librarians really freaked me out.