Page 25 of Four Ruined Realms (The Broken Blades #2)

Sora

The Temple of Knowledge, Khitan

This temple is a true gift from the gods. I have been to spectacular places in my life, but they all pale in comparison to this.

If I were a man, I’d become a priest to the God of Knowledge and happily live out my days under this dome. And Daysum would love it, too. She loves nothing more than sitting by a sunny window, reading a book. We were poor children, so all we had was one tattered book of fairy tales, but she’d sit with it for bells as if each time reading was the first.

A sharp, twisting sadness hits me, because I know where Daysum is right now.

I sniffle, but I try not to make a sound as it’s completely silent all around us. It feels wrong. These temples should be quiet, but not like this.

I genuflect as I enter the doorway. So does Royo. The others just stroll in. Aeri remembers late and kneels quickly, but neither Euyn nor Mikail pause. I suppose a demigod and a demon don’t pray—Mikail being the demigod.

A large fountain sprays water in the middle of a spectacular great hall. The ceilings arch high above us with painted domes, gilded in the now familiar Khitanese style. There is a second level completely open to this one—almost like a massive balcony wrapping around the room. The floors are covered in mosaics as beautiful and ornate as the throne room in Qali Palace. The walls hold countless books and scrolls on thousands of shelves, in the alcoves of gleaming white marble. But there’s a dash of red on the back wall.

I gasp. Kingdom of Hells. Is that blood?

We walk in carefully, scanning for trouble. Something about this splendid temple is all wrong.

Where are the priests?

We reach the center of the room by the central fountain and altar. From the midpoint of the great hall, two other rooms are visible—one off to the right and another to the left.

I point to the right. It looks like that room is full of scrolls from floor to ceiling, but I shiver and I want to stay away from that side. So that is where we need to go.

I hope that one day we’ll be able to avoid danger, but for now we have to run through it.

Mikail and Euyn ready their weapons, and Royo shifts both hands to his axe. We creep toward the scroll room, treading along mosaic tile until we reach a dark-red floor.

I gasp. It’s red because it’s a sea of blood.

Scrolls litter the room, some now sopping wet. Many have been destroyed, shredded by blades.

We find the priests. They’re all here. And they’re all dead.