TAVRIC
The heavy oak doors click shut behind Jaxl and me as we step into the sunlit foyer of the upper level of the library. Leaving the subterranean archives feels like breaking through the surface of stagnant water, but the tension coiling between my shoulder blades doesn't ease.
I move with purpose toward the front desk. Behind the polished mahogany counter sits the woman who attended to us earlier, meticulously cataloging a stack of ledgers.
"Good afternoon, my Prince," she greets, rising slightly with a respectful head tilt. "Can I assist you with anything further?"
"Has anyone been given access to the underground archives recently?"
She blinks at the straight question, her hands pausing over a ledger. A look of genuine confusion settles into the lines of her face. "The archives, my Prince? No. Absolutely not. No one has been down there in more than five years. The last recorded entry was by the Alpha King himself."
