Frostbite

Chapter 18

"If you ask me again if I've found anything, I swear to the gods I'll chop you up and eat you for dinner," Samantha said warningly, looking at her brother.

The two of them were in Laveau Hall's library, searching through piles of dusty books and old cases, to no avail. The library was impressive, though, even by her standards- which were high, considering she had lived in both the Wind Castle and Joie Hall. It was a huge room with a high, vaulted ceiling and two floors of books, arranged in neat aisles that cut around a large space in the middle filled with tables and chairs. Walkways cut through the space on the second floor, connecting one side of the room to the other.

Adrian looked unimpressed with her threat. "I just don't see the point of this. Kaly assigned us to the research part of the mission, but in the five days since it was announced, we have literally found nothing. Nada."

He was right, but Samantha was never going to admit it. "Your Spanish sucks," she said instead, turning her nose up. "Besides, what else are we supposed to do? We have to wait for Sophia and those two to get back."

Loren's voice drifted from the far side of the aisle they were in, barely discernible despite the quiet. "I think we should try to focus. There has to be something related to the case."

Adrian frowned at Samantha. "Hey, didn't Kaly tell you to meet with Rousseau's team?"

Her eyes widened. She'd forgotten. "Shit." Scrambling to her feet, she began to race down the steps of the library to the first floor, asking a passing Elementale for directions to Rousseau's team.

Rousseau himself seemed to be waiting for her as she skidded to a halt at the entrance to the hallway, gasping for ear. Jesus Christ, Laveau was big.

"Ms. Corentine," he said, and his voice was thick with a French accent. "I've been waiting for you. Please, sit."

She did, lowering herself into the seat across from him. Rousseau wasn't a big man, but he was intimidating: white hair, pale blue eyes, stern wrinkles deep-set into his skin. He wore horn-rimmed glasses, his eyes startlingly large behind them.

"I heard you were searching for information about the Aurore case," Rousseau said, steepling his finger before him. "What are you looking to gain from me?"

Samantha shifted, uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. She forced herself to look him in the eye. "Just anything you can tell me," she said. "Anything you or your team found out when investigating the case?"

He leaned back, exhaling. "Keep in mind we were only assigned this case for a couple of days, and I will not be able to tell you much."

"Anything you can is fine," Samantha said quickly.

Rousseau's chair squeaked under him as he leaned further back, his eyes so pale Samantha began to question if he was blind. And then she automatically wonder if it was rude to think that way. "Most of our investigation consisted of research through the archives and the volumes in the library," Rousseau finally said, looking Samantha directly in the eye. "We didn't find much, like I said, but we were able to discover some parts of Aurore's history."

Samantha leaned forward, in case she missed a part of his words. "Did you hear of the Kiran Rebellion?" he asked, looking over his horn-rimmed glasses at her. She nodded; Kaly had taught them the Kiran Rebellion in first-year.

Looking satisfied, Rousseau said, "Seven centuries ago, Jilian Ardere rebelled against her father, the King, with half the kingdom at her side. If you remember, he had wanted to use the Fire Stone for himself." Samantha nodded again. Jilian had overthrown her father, set herself as Queen, and hidden the Stone in an attempt to prevent others like her father from finding it.