26

It was dark, just as she expected.

Strange how it looked larger than the first time she was here. Maybe it was the darkness that made the aisle of shelves look longer or maybe it was the shadow cast by the torch that made the shelves longer.

She trod carefully on the floor, her bare feet barely making a sound as she darted behind one shelf and waved her light in front of it.

It had nothing she was looking for. She had no idea what she was looking for. A map? A book of records? Records of what? Dragon descendants? Baryns? Dragons?

She didn’t know what she was looking for but she searched nonetheless believing she would know when she saw it nestled among the floor-to-bottom rows of dusty leather-bound books.

Many of them had titles so old that reading them was next to impossible. Others were new, still smelling fresh.

Perhaps, she would know what she was looking for by smell?

But just as she leaned forward she heard it.

It was the softest sound. A sigh maybe.

But the night was so quiet