Page 51 of The Divine Lies We Weave

Anything, perhaps reading with Iravan in the library to find this relic would be perfect.

“Ready to broaden your knowledge?” Iravan asked as he led Leela down a tunnel toward the library.

“Sure,” Leela said, rubbing her eyes. “I feel so inconsequential, not knowing anything.”

Iravan snorted. “Please. You have a Flame inside your head. You’re far from being inconsequential.”

That was a fair point. Leela searched her mind for the Viperess, but she hadn’t heard or felt the Flame since she realized Rajesh harnessed the Scorpion. Perhaps she was busy plotting her revenge. Leela felt a pit of dread when she didn’t feel the heat at the top tip of her spine, although it was a great comfort knowing the Viperess wasn’t there.

Iravan led her through the stifling tunnels until they came to a room on the other side of the den. Two wooden doors shadowed them as they neared, decorated with swirls and arches. Iravan entered and waved Leela in.

The library opened into a wide stretch of shelves lining the sandstone walls. They wandered down an aisle and came upon people chatting and reading scrolls while sitting on the edge of a circular pit, which sat in the center. Desks carved from stone lined one side of the room, and light blasted in from the glass windows that gazed out toward the mountainous dunes.

“Here,” Iravan said, leading her to a part of the library across from the circular pit. “I’ll find some scriptures to flick through.”

Leela obeyed and sat on the bench at one of the tables carved into the side. She stared at the giant artwork etched into the wall facing the rows of books.

Seven artifacts stared back at her.

Her gut clenched when she stared at the bow and arrow, said to slay any monster—the very weapon she’d hoped to obtain from the rebels. Instead, she wound up being stuck with the Viperess.

While her plans had shifted, Leela still wanted to bring the lustisha down. She hadn’t plotted and planned to escape to not do what she set off to do. She’d just have to find another way to kill it—with or without the Viperess’s help.

“Found one,” Iravan said.

He jolted Leela out of her thoughts and dropped a book beside her. He blew on the wooden cover, dust choking her.

Leela coughed and fanned it away. The Ancient Book of Sands, a thick book bound between two wooden planks sewn together with silk string, stared back at her. The cover featured a beautiful illustration of the same artwork on the library wall.

“We’ve got the only copy in Nihikia. Don’t ruin it,” Iravan said.

“Why do you only have one copy?”

“Each kingdom has one copy of the Ancient Scriptures. It talks about the three realms, the Flames, and how they came to be. Things taught by the priests and their teachings.”

“Amazing.” Leela thought of all the times she’d accidentally spilled wine on papers in her room at the palace. Except there was no wine, and the library was quiet. There was no excuse for ruining the ancient text.

Leela gently grabbed the wooden plank and opened the scripture. Squinting, she tried to decipher the ancient text; the symbols were unfamiliar. Although she knew the universal language, her mother believed it wasn’t necessary to teach her a language used for formal occasions and was predominantly only used by men. Leela knew basic words, but nothing as substantial as what lay before her. Another thing her mother had stolen from her, and she had chosen survival over her heritage.

But Leela couldn’t be mad at her mother. It was customary in their village, and only the village elders knew the old language and taught it to a select few. Still, it hurt to have missed out on something she could have had connect her to her sense of place.

“Umm, Iravan…?” Leela pondered. “I can’t read it.”

“Oh? Didn’t you learn the old texts from the elders?”

“Only the men were allowed that privilege,” Leela argued.

“Right.” Iravan scratched the back of his head. “Hang on, I think they have the scrolls here somewhere.”

He shuffled off with the scriptures and returned moments later with several scrolls. They clattered in front of Leela. “There are plenty more where this came from. This is only the first seven passages.”

“Oh, wow,” Leela said, gawking at the number before her. “Do I have to read all this?”

“If you want to know your history,” Iravan said. “Didn’t that palace teach you anything?”

Leela scowled. “No. I was locked up and trained to be a wife. I didn’t get the privilege of knowledge.”

Iravan turned away, a gentle blush creeping over his brown cheeks. “Yes. Well, happy reading.”