Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2), B.T. Narro [digital book reader txt] 📗

to give me any opportunities to sleep until my punishment is over.”

“Oh.” She brightened.

“Yes, I really did want to thank you much earlier.” I thought it was worth repeating.

“I see.” She brightened even more. “My father didn’t tell me that.”

“What did he say?”

“That you would be losing sleep while training hard, so I should leave you alone.” Callie paused. “But my father will be in the keep for a while, so I knew we could have some time now.”

“How have you been? Did your father punish you for helping me?”

“I’ve been well. Yes, every dinner there’s another disgusting vegetable I have to eat with my meal. Last night was radishes. I will have to suffer two more evenings through it. Each day I dread it.”

That didn’t sound so bad to me. “Your punishment is ten days as well?”

“Yes, we should celebrate as soon as our punishment is over!” She grabbed my hand. “I can ask my father to host a ball and we can have a dance.” Callie hummed a tune as she spun gracefully, floating my hand above her, then moving it behind her shoulder as she pretended to dip.

I forced a laugh as I stepped back when she was done. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“I could teach you. I promise it would be fun.”

“Let’s save the celebrating until…” I stopped myself as I realized I shouldn’t let her know about Cason or the other dangers to her and her father. “Until a little later.”

Callie saw right through me. “You’re concerned about a danger, aren’t you? Please tell me what it is.”

“Just a few issues in the capital, nothing we can’t deal with.”

“There are always issues. How is this one different?”

I didn’t want to lie to her, so I didn’t answer. “I’d like to wait to celebrate until these specific issues are resolved. And dance lessons should wait until then as well.”

“Then perhaps I could help you train in the meantime? I did help you learn Heal, remember? You used it to save the life of Reuben Langston. Who knows if you would’ve been able to do that without my help.”

There was some truth to what she said. I had barely learned how to cast a healing spell before I’d needed to use it, and it was thanks to Callie. But I attributed that to the scroll she’d brought me.

“I have been eager to see the library,” I hinted.

“Oh. Um.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that the library is in the keep. My father is there.” She squinted as if in thought, then she shook her head. “He won’t see us. He’s busy.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t be too angry if he finds me visiting the library just to supplement my training.”

“You’re right.” She spoke toward the floor as if disappointed about something. “I’ll take you there now.”

“Thank you.”

She was the first down the stairs, but she waited for me to walk beside her in the hallway.

Every time I saw Callie, she had on a more extravagant dress than before. Most of them were flowing with abundant fabric, especially near the wrist where wide sleeves dangled. Surely, even the most common activities, like eating, required them to be rolled up.

I peered closely. There was a faint stain on the end of her right sleeve.

She noticed me looking and quickly folded back the end of her sleeve. “It is rude to stare at a lady’s misfortunes, Jon Oklar!”

“I’m sorry,” I said with a small laugh. “It’s just that I’ve been wondering if you choose to wear those dresses or…”

“Or what? Do you think I am a child who is forced to wear clothes that her mother picks out for her?”

I lost my smile when I could no longer tell if she was making a jest. “Well…I thought, perhaps as a princess, you might undergo certain scrutinies that, well, ordinary folk like myself are…um, not subjected to.”

“Jon Oklar, you are the absolute, most insane…ly correct person today.”

“Oh.” I laughed, and she joined in.

“Did I trick you?” she asked.

“You did. So your clothes are chosen for you?”

“Yes. I don’t care much for these dresses.” Callie spread her arms to let the fabric hang. “But they are beautiful, don’t you think?”

Disagreeing would be a lie. “Yes, they are extremely well made.”

“And?” she hinted.

“And quite beautiful.”

She smiled.

*****

When we stopped outside the library on the third floor of the keep, Callie warned me, “It is not an impressive library by any means.”

She unlocked the door and stepped back. Then she didn’t move. It took me a moment to realize that she was waiting for me to open it.

The door creaked eerily as I pushed it open into the dark room. I was about to enter when Callie cleared her throat.

“You’re supposed to let a lady enter first, Jon Oklar.”

“Sorry. Please go ahead.”

She waltzed in and lit the lantern sitting on the single table in the center of the room.

The “library” was the smallest and saddest room I had seen so far within the castle. It was narrow and tall, with half-empty bookshelves crowding the walls. It seemed to be somewhat organized, at least, with bound books lined up neatly to my left and scrolls sitting on the shelves to my right.

I read aloud the titles of a few randomly selected books: “The Tale of Bartlett Gaz. The Study of Wind Whispering. The Eclipse of Erto. Herald Izguard?” I expressed my confusion. “Who are these people?”

Callie gave no reply, as she seemed to be enjoying watching me grow irritated. I kept browsing.

There were many more books whose titles were merely the names of people I had never heard of. Skimming through the pages of a few of them, I soon came to the conclusion that these were all sorcerers who seemed rather unremarkable. Too much interest had been put into cataloging anyone who’d used mana, even if all they could perform was a simple spell of water or fire.

Callie stepped up closer than necessary to read one with me. I felt a little bad when I closed the biography