A Kingdom of Wrath and Ruin

chapter twelve

A strong wind whistled past Solana as she slipped outside the palace. She winced as the cold bit at the exposed skin on her face, and she pulled her cloak tighter across her body. She briefly wondered if it was even worth going out to find the book, but she needed answers, and instinct told her that the words on those pages would provide her with some.

Squaring her shoulders against the breeze, Solana turned back to the courtyard and descended the stone staircase.

Aside from the weather, it was eerily silent, a far cry from the bustling crowds that had been here during the day. The absence of palace staff, both guards and servants, made Solana's skin prickle, and she paused, her eyes narrowing as she surveyed the darkness. Shadows clawed their way across the grass, obscuring her vision and concealing potential dangers.

Solana took a deep breath, fighting the urge to have a dagger in her hand. The darkness was her domain, she told herself, angry that it had managed to create a sense of fear in her chest. She exhaled slowly, the tension easing from her shoulders as she realised that nobody would be out here. Not now, when the weather was taking a turn for the worst.

She left the safety of the light, adjusting the hood of her cloak over her eyes. Her face was mostly concealed, which suited her just fine. Solana wasn't going to take any chances, especially not now that she was straying further from the courtyard. She kept her footing as the paved ground became soft grass, and she was grateful for the sturdy boots that she had brought from home.

Solana glanced at the sky, where a blanket of stars twinkled down at her. It was absurd to think that she had been in the library with Cassius when the sun had set. Her gaze slid back to the palace. She wondered if she'd been stood at any of the windows. It was hard to tell, she mused, a sense of awe lining the thought. It could've been any of them, and there must've been hundreds, if not thousands, of windows set into the wall.

She tore her focus from the impressive architecture, picking up the pace. She would retrieve the book and get back inside as quickly as she could.

"Damn," Solana muttered, wincing as another breeze lashed at her face. She could barely feel her fingers and the tip of her nose, which were becoming numb from their exposure to the frosty air.

Hurrying past another set of doors, she eventually turned the corner of the palace. Now that she was down here, the view nearly took her breath away. Lanterns had been set up along the low stone wall surrounding the gardens. They cast a faint glow onto the grass, softly illuminating the surroundings. Flowers stretched for miles, as far as the eye could see, in a range of different sizes and colours. They must be well tended to as there were no weeds that she could detect, and every type of flower was neatly boxed into its own patch of soil.

Where had she thrown the book?

Solana set off, running a hand along the wall despite the chill that subsequently trickled into her fingers. She cast her mind back, but she couldn't remember where she had been positioned. Despair started to creep in - it could've been anywhere.

She made a quick decision, pulling herself up onto the wall, neatly swinging her legs over so that she was sat on the flat stones. Ignoring the shiver that ran down her spine, she snatched a lantern from its position. She took it with her as she leapt down onto the grass on the other side. The drop was not far at all, but she still crouched as she landed.

Solana's cloak had come undone slightly, and the hem flapped wildly about in the wind, but she barely noticed as she made her way over to the nearest patch of flowers. She thrust the lantern out in front of her and squinted at the soil. She peered through the tangle of stems that waved in the wind.

Nothing.

Shrugging to herself, she continued along the grass path. If something as heavy as a book had landed in a patch of flowers, the area would be flattened.