The Crimson Snow (A Realm of Chaos and Void #1)

Chapter 18

The Clever Fox

Once upon the snow,

A prince from another world fell in love.

Instead of roses and jewels of all types and forms,

He gifted her a house made of words and tales to behold.

Retrieved from Old Tales & Stories by Lyra Hollowspring.

Evren Wraithwood

He was going to throttle the little kilmoulis. What in Nemera’s name had Raggart been thinking, hitting Seraphine on the head?

“Mr. Wraithwood,”

Raggart finally said, still holding the book like a shield. “It’s been centuries. It’s such a pleasure to have you again.”

Evren smirked and signaled behind him where Seraphine stood.

“Who on this realm told you you could use my library for grocery trading?”

Evren asked. Before Raggart could speak, he continued, “And why were you hitting my lady with a book?”

“I am not your—”

Seraphine started, but he hushed her.

“I am trying hard to make a point here, Crimson Eyes,”

Evren said. To his surprise, she remained silent, though he could almost hear her eyes rolling. “Is there anything I should know to make sense of all this nonsense?”

The kilmoulis dropped the book and stepped out from behind the bookshelf. He was quite small but very clever. “Mr. Wraithwood, Mr. Galehollow came a few years after...”

Evren narrowed his eyes at Raggart. “After the incident.”

Raggart cleared his throat and continued more eloquently, “He protected the library and asked me to keep it safe from any intruder. He also told me to have that note ready for your return. Mr. Galehollow thought it would be a very fun and delightful welcoming joke...”

Raggart trailed off when he noticed that Evren found the situation far from funny.

Evren patted Raggart on the head. “Isn’t Mr. Galehollow a trickster?”

I am so going to pluck your eyes out, Theron. Just you wait.

He sighed. “Well then, I guess you took his word and ended up hurting her in the process under the guise of ‘protecting the library.’”

Evren stood up, and Raggart moved in front of Seraphine, a certain sparkle in her eyes. Evren realized that Seraphine had probably never seen a kilmoulis before.

“Seraphine, this is Raggart, the library keeper,”

Evren said, pushing Raggart slightly with his foot. “He shall apologize for the stolen food and the bump on your beautiful head.”

Raggart finally looked at Seraphine, his small eyes widening in recognition. If Raggart had seen her properly before, he would have never dared to touch her.

Evren kicked him a bit harder this time, and Raggart composed himself. “I shall apologize for the stolen food and the bump on your beautiful head, Lady Wraithwood.”

Evren stifled a laugh as Seraphine’s eyes widened slightly. “I am not Lady Wraithwood!”

He put an arm over Seraphine and hushed her again. “Yes, I know. Could you please accept Raggart’s offer of peace so we can move on with our lives?”

He saw Seraphine narrowing her gaze. “Of course, I do not blame you at all, Raggart,”

she said, her tone forced but at least polite.

Raggart smiled, revealing a set of tiny, razor-sharp teeth. “Your benevolence, Lady Wraithwood, knows no bounds. I shall be forever grateful—”

Before Raggart could continue his fawning speech, Evren kicked him out of the way.

“Glorious. Now, let’s begin our research.”

Evren looked at Raggart, who had been pushed a few feet away. “Could you handle a proper supper? This may take some time, and we’ve barely eaten since we left the human realm. Actually, Lady Wraithwood—”

Evren felt Seraphine pinching his side again, hiding his smile. “Has been starving for longer than that. Could you arrange something?”

The little creature nodded eagerly. “It would be a delight for me to arrange supper preparations.”

Evren smiled in gratitude.

“Mr. Wraithwood,”

Raggart called once again.

Evren sighed. Time was of the essence, and Raggart was proving to be a hindrance. “Yes, Raggart?”

Raggart hesitated for a moment before nervously saying, “I wonder if you heard about Thorne and Kaelan.”

He glanced at Seraphine.

Evren felt a sharp pain in his head and chest. “Yes, we’ll discuss it in private later, Raggart.”

Raggart nodded and disappeared, leaving them alone.

Seraphine Ashcroft

“What was that?”

Seraphine asked.

Evren traced her with his eyes, somehow confused. “You must be starving,”

he said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

“Yes, but what was that creature?”

she said, pointing to the path the library keeper had followed. “I have been here for years, and I’ve researched all types of Otherworld creatures, but I have never seen something like it.”

“That is a kilmoulis,”

he said bluntly.

Seraphine narrowed her gaze at him.

“Could you stop the pettiness for once and explain at least that to me? Since you are still so tight-lipped about this quest.”

He laughed and moved toward the second floor of the library. “Ah, you have been in my library and never looked into the main encyclopedias. What a shame, Crimson Eyes.”

He was clearly trying to annoy her.

“Let me remind you that I don’t have a millennium of years to live and see,”

Seraphine continued, walking in front of Evren and looking him in the eyes. “My time is limited in this world. If it were up to me, I would spend it all here, reading. But I have matters to attend to. My life is a ticking clock.”

He glanced at her and continued walking. “Was.”

“Was what?”

Seraphine was overly exasperated with the vagueness of his explanations.

“A ticking clock.”

“And that’s supposed to mean something?”

she said, following him across the second floor. He seemed to be looking for something in particular.

Evren paused and smiled. “It will.”

She caught the back of his tunic. “Evren,”

she said, realizing it was the first time she had called him by his name. He realized it, too, as his eyes widened in surprise. Seraphine cleared her throat. “You doomed me in ways that a human shall never forgive. Yet, I am bound here to you. The least you can do is to give me proper answers.”

“I will explain everything to you, Crimson Eyes. I promise,”

he muttered, sincerity in his voice. “In exchange for something.”

I will kill him.

“As if I would agree to more deals with you! Aren’t we working together, Evren? Basic etiquette would be to share all the information you have with me.”

“Give you all so you can use it and kill me after the quest?”

he replied, somehow amused.

She remained silent.

“Well then, want to play?”

he said once again.

Maybe it was her voided and frozen heart, but she felt confident enough to say the most terrible thing to an entity that had only brought her misfortune. “Let’s play then. What’s the deal?”

she said, closing the space between her and Evren. “What is it that you want so I can get all of you?”

Evren’s eyes sparkled—not mischief but something else entirely. “I want many things, Seraphine Ashcroft.”

He moved a step closer to her, and she could feel his breath on her lips, like the caress of a petal. “But if you want all of me, the right thing is to have all of you too.”

Seraphine’s heart sped up a beat. This time, she wondered if he had truly tricked her, and her wish was wearing off. Yet, she was so focused on him and his closeness and familiarity that she couldn’t speak that thought aloud. She fought to keep her expression neutral, not to betray the effect Evren had on her.

Evren continued, “But I am smart enough to know that you would never agree to that.”

She would have if he were the Grim Wanderer—if he had not deceived her. “So, in exchange, I want you to find something for me in the library.”

That sounds easy.

“It’s a deal. I will find whatever you want, as long as it does not attempt to harm or is something that I would not be able to reach due to my human nature,”

she said decisively. The more detailed, the fewer chances of her getting tricked into something she couldn’t accomplish.

“Ah, someone knows the rules,”

Evren said, moving his hand and caressing her ear. Seraphine was unmoving, feeling the warmth pouring from Evren’s touch. She made sure to remain unfazed.

He smiled at her. “Fair enough. I’ll make it easy for you, Crimson Eyes,”

he said, finally moving away.

Great. Room to breathe. Having Evren too close to her was unnecessary and unwanted.

Liar. Liar. Liar.

“There is a box hidden in the tales section. Find the box and wear whatever is inside. It shall not harm you, that I can assure you, but you must find it and use it all the time. With that, I will commit to telling nothing but the truth I can afford whenever you ask.”

Seraphine knew that he would be compelled to tell her the truth if the deal was completed, yet all creatures here were masters of deception and half-truths. Still, this was worth the risk, so she lifted her chin and looked into Evren’s eerie gray-blue eyes, snowflakes falling.

She said with a smile, “Game on.”

Shortly after that, Evren told her to meet up in two hours on the first floor of the library. It seemed like he wanted to talk with the library keeper and arrange some tables so they could both get comfortable with the upcoming research they needed to do.

Not that Seraphine knew about that.

This time, she let herself marvel at the beauty of the place, the books lining up, the crystals all around. Seraphine had to admit that Evren had quite the taste.

She moved and passed the hall with the eerie paintings, and shortly, she was in the tales section.

What in Brannon’s name?

Seraphine thought she would have to check every bookshelf and maybe do some digging. What she did not expect was to see a little white box lying in the center of the section. It was the only item besides the books. Is this some kind of trick?

She sauntered toward the box on the floor, just in case it was a trap. Once she reached it, she hovered over the little white box. Small and quite pretty. Still, it was bland-looking but quite familiar.

She bent down and stared at it, waiting for something to happen. A monster to appear. Maybe books would fall on her head again. She laughed at that a bit. Poor Raggart.

Nothing happened. Seraphine eyed the box for minutes. Whatever. She muttered a curse and picked up the little box, closing her eyes.

She was frozen on the spot, waiting for something to come for her, but the only thing she noticed was the smell of food. Her stomach screamed at her. Now that hunger dominated her mind, she opened the little box. According to Evren, the deal was to find it and use whatever was inside. Hopefully, it is not something indecent. With him, one could only imagine.

Slowly pushing the lid open, Seraphine looked inside the box, and her hands started to tremble. Sweat dotted her forehead, and once again, her heart seemed to beat a little faster. As cold as she felt, there was cracking fire moving inside her, so annoying and burning she wanted to tear her hair and clothes apart. She wanted to scream, to break something, to cry.

Below all that, she felt it. Emotions started to rise from the bottom of her voided darkness. A small one was the first to surface.

Sadness.

It was brief, and it disappeared right away. Somehow, Seraphine wished she could have wrapped that feeling instead of returning to nothingness.

Of course, the task would not be easy. It was a painful reminder, something she would gladly wear. She felt a liquid fall on her cheek. She touched the red liquid.

No, it’s not blood.

Whatever she had felt for a few seconds was strong enough to make her shed crimson tears. Using her hand to clean her cheek, she saw nothing interesting in them. They looked plain now, just a brief reminder of an emotion that she once didn’t want.

Still, she needed answers, so she grabbed the fox necklace in the box. It was the same necklace she had given Evren as part of the deal for her heart—the necklace her father had bought for her birthday, the necklace Leander should have delivered himself.

“Lady Wraithwood?”

Raggart said.

Although startled, Seraphine steeled herself. “Yes?”

She did not correct him on the title he used and turned around, faking a polite smile.

“Would you…”

He stuttered and moved his little feet nervously. Raggart was a bizarre creature, but Seraphine sensed he was somehow more akin to kindness than any other. “Could I help you with the necklace?”

Seraphine nodded, thinking perhaps she could win Raggart over, seeing as he was close with Evren.

With that, Raggart, small as he was, took the necklace, and Seraphine bent down enough so he could put it on her. She heard a soft clack and then felt some light pressure on her neck. Before she could thank Raggart, he was gone.

Seraphine stood there on the floor for some more minutes. Then, just like she was about to touch a sharp or dangerous item, she moved her hand across the necklace and closed her eyes.

She realized that while her feelings seemed to be in a frozen, odd state, her memories were still intact. So, she held the small little fox pendant and let herself, for a minute, think about her father. Somehow, the memories of him were clear, like a vision. He was smiling in one. In the next, he was holding a younger Seraphine. Then, an unusual memory followed. Leander was smiling at a young lady. He seemed younger, and Seraphine could not place where this memory was coming from.

Seraphine kept her eyes closed, trying to hold onto the odd image. The woman was stunningly beautiful, her hair a mix of crimson and white. Still, what took Seraphine’s breath away was how genuine her smile was, and Leander had never seemed so happy, so free.

The woman and her father were chasing each other in a place far from the wintery forest. She guessed that was how spring must look like, but she didn’t understand how it was possible. Then, purple butterflies surrounded them.

Finally, as the image in her head blurred, Leander caught the woman in his arms, hugging her.

The woman turned around, and Seraphine saw her eyes were crimson.

Before any conclusions could be drawn, the image vanished. Seraphine felt close to fainting from the lack of food and exhaustion.

If that was really my mother, where was she? Does she know about all of this? If so, why has she left?

Seraphine thought it was better to abandon the thought rather than consider another cruel twist to the reality of being unwanted. It did not hurt her anymore, but she could not keep tabs on how many of those twisted fate scenarios she could endure before she broke.