Thalso’s voice rolled through the room as he walked toward them, an overwhelming aura radiating from him. "You’ve been gone a long time. I thought I’d check on you, and this is what I find? Fighting each other?"
He glanced past them to the slain beast. "So that’s how it is." With a gesture, the pressure vanished, leaving them gasping.
"It’s not your fault," he said. "Killing a Lavathrax is tricky. Even in death they fight back, releasing a toxic gas that scrambles emotions."
Taria flushed, her aggression draining away. Had she really just tried to fight Kael? She avoided his eyes, only to catch Rauk’s amused scoff. She rolled her eyes at him.
Kaedros stood slowly, his expression unreadable. So that explained the agitation... but not the emptiness where his Demon form used to be.
He glanced at Taria and smiled faintly. "We should postpone our sparring."
She snorted but took the hand he offered to help her up.
"Congratulations," Thalso said flatly. "You’ve collected all the stones. You could have built most of that power through training, except for the silver stone itself but you’ve made your choice."
The other stones would fade in higher ranks, Thalso had warned them. Only the silver stone would grow with them.
With the task complete, they left the chamber for the great hall. Thalso began explaining the day’s training, but Kaedros asked to use the library instead.
Thalso studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Be quick. Return to training immediately after."
Kaedros promised he would.
As they parted ways, Taria glanced back at him, worry flickering in her eyes. Kael gave her a faint smile to reassure her.
Then he turned to the library door.
Yes... he hoped there was nothing to worry about.
The library door was massive, dark wood polished to a metallic gleam, its surface unbroken except for the center, where looping silver script was engraved in a language Kaedros didn’t recognize.
He raised his hand to knock, but the door swung open without a sound, revealing an expanse so vast it felt more like a bustling market than a library.
It wasn’t the size that shocked him, it was the sheer number of inhabitants. And they weren’t human.
They were small, barely the size of a housecat, but their bodies were corded with wiry muscle beneath thin brown garments. Broad, ugly faces carried fangs like needles, and their eyes were pits of glossy black.
Leathery wings fluttered silently behind them, keeping them aloft with uncanny grace.
They moved with purpose, darting between towering white shelves and carved pillars, their wingbeats barely disturbing the air. Until now, the only winged beings Kaedros had seen were Demonkind and a handful of rare monsters.
One by one, they noticed him.
The creatures froze mid-flight, eyes widening in what could only be described as pure shock.
He couldn’t blame them, he hadn’t expected to see them either.
Then the silence shattered.
Shrill voices burst forth, wings battering the air as they scattered in a flurry of claws and panic. Books were dropped, flung, or clutched protectively as the creatures darted about, pointing at him with taloned fingers.
Fragments of their words reached his ears.
"Is he here to kill us?!"
"An intruder! Protect the books!"
"We just woke from the deep sleep!"
Kaedros was faintly amused... until the noise started grating on him. He hadn’t even stepped inside and they were already acting as though he’d come to burn the place down.
He was about to make a remark maybe even throw out a minor spell when a voice sliced through the chaos.
"What in the hells is going on here?"
Nyra’s tone was calm, but it cut sharper than any blade.
The Leather wings people halted midair, wings fluttering rapidly in place.
"Well?" she prompted, gaze sweeping over them before her eyes found Kaedros. Her brows lifted. "Ah. I see."
One of the Leather wings flew forward and bowed to her. "My Lady, this ugly thing tried to invade and destroy our books just now..." The voice was rasping and deep, neither clearly male nor female.
Kaedros’s amusement cooled. He stepped inside, meeting Nyra’s gaze on the second level balcony. "Maybe I should throw some fire around, just for good measure."
The Leather wings hissed in unison.
Nyra gave him a sharp, disapproving look before addressing the accuser. "He’s not here to harm you. He’s a guest of the castle. My guest."
The creatures whispered among themselves, still suspicious, but returned to their work. As Kaedros walked deeper into the library, he noted how they instinctively gave him a wide berth.
"Come here, Kael," Nyra called from above, curiosity in her voice.
Kaedros knew she was wondering why he’d come so urgently. He took the broad white stone staircase at an unhurried pace, letting his eyes roam over the shelves stacked with books in countless colors.
Nyra was waiting, her gaze drifting over the busy Leatherwings below as they whisked books away for dusting and careful rearranging.
"They’re efficient," Kaedros remarked. Hideous or not, the creatures handled the books with reverence.
"They live for tasks," Nyra replied with a faint snort. "Little wings people. Loyal only to themselves, but unmatched at their chosen craft. Their distant cousins, the big wings people , are man-sized and considerably nastier."
"How do you convince a species like that to work here?" Kaedros asked, noting the wary glances some of them still sent his way.
"They’re loyal to themselves and their chosen purpose," Nyra explained. "Long ago, when the Throne of Ruinlight was thriving, this clan came here of their own will. They wanted to serve in the library. This particular branch is obsessed with books. Their communities form around shared passions, and they build clans with only those who share the same devotion."
Kaedros studied them again. The way their eyes glimmered when they touched the spines, the care in their movements, it was obvious they loved their work.
It made him wonder....what did he love?
Nyra was watching him closely. She’d noticed his tension when he first arrived, the sharp edge in his eyes. Now, some of that tension had eased.
She smiled faintly. "So? You didn’t come here just to admire my books and certainly not my Little wings people. The books I could believe. Them? Not so much."
Kaedros opened his mouth, intending to ask her to use her third eye on him. But another thought struck him.
He knew his instructors were imprisoned here but not how, nor why.
Instead, he asked quietly, "Do you like what you do?"