To offend one Baast Cat was to insult them all, and even though Yrene loved most animals—with the exception of some insects—she had been sure to treat the cats kindly, occasionally leaving morsels of food, or providing a belly rub or ear scratch whenever they deigned to command them.
But there was no sign of those green eyes glinting in the dark, or of a scurrying mouse fleeing their path, so Yrene loosed a breath and set aside the ancient scroll, carefully placing it at the edge of the desk before pulling an Eyllwe tome toward her.
The book was bound in black leather, heavy as a doorstop. She knew a little of the Eyllwe language thanks to living so close to its border with a mother who spoke it fluently—certainly not from the father who had hailed from there.
None of the Towers women had ever married, preferring either lovers who left them with a present that arrived nine months later or who perhaps stayed a year or two before moving on. Yrene had never known her father, never learned anything about who he was other than a traveler who had stopped at her mother’s cottage for the night, seeking shelter from a wild storm that swept over the grassy plain.
Yrene traced her fingers over the gilt title, sounding out the words in the language she had not spoken or heard in years.
“The … The …” She tapped her finger on the title. She should have asked Nousha. The librarian had already promised to translate some other texts that had caught her eye, but … Yrene sighed again. “The …” Poem. Ode. Lyric—“Song,” she breathed. “The Song of …” Start. Onset—“Beginning.”
The Song of Beginning.
The demons—the Valg—were ancient, Lord Westfall had said. They had waited an eternity to strike. Part of near-forgotten myths; little more than bedside stories.
Yrene flipped open the cover, and cringed at the unfamiliar tangle of writing within the table of contents. The type itself was old, the book not even printed on a press. Handwritten. With some word variations that had long since died out.
Lightning flashed again, and Yrene rubbed at her temple as she leafed through the musty, yellow-lined pages.
A history book. That’s all it was.
Her eye snagged on a page, and she paused, backtracking until the illustration reappeared.
It had been done in sparing colors: blacks, whites, reds, and the occasional yellow.
All painted by a master’s hand, no doubt an illustration of whatever was written beneath it.
The illustration revealed a barren crag, an army of soldiers in dark armor kneeling before it.
Kneeling before what was atop the crag.
A towering gate. No wall flanking it, no keep behind it. As if someone had built the gateway of black stone out of thin air.
There were no doors within the archway. Only swirling black nothing. Beams of it shot from the void, some foul corruption of the sun, falling upon the soldiers kneeling before it.
She squinted at the figures in the foreground. Their bodies were human, but the hands clutching their swords … Clawed. Twisted.
“Valg,” Yrene whispered.
Thunder cracked in answer.
Yrene scowled at the swaying lantern as the reverberations from the thunderhead rumbled beneath her feet, up her legs.
She flipped through the pages until the next illustration appeared. Three figures stood before the same gate, the drawing too distant to make out any features beyond their male bodies, tall and powerful.
She ran a finger over the caption below and translated:
Orcus. Mantyx. Erawan.
Three Valg Kings.
Wielders of the Keys.
Yrene chewed on her bottom lip. Lord Westfall had not mentioned such things.
But if there was a gate … then it would need a key to open. Or several.
If the book was correct.
Midnight chimed in the great clock of the library’s main atrium.
Yrene riffled through the pages, to another illustration. It was divided into three panels.
Everything the lord had said—she had believed him, of course, but … it was true. If the wound wasn’t proof enough, these texts offered no other alternative.
For there in the first panel, tied down upon an altar of dark stone … a desperate young man strained to free himself from the approach of a crowned dark figure. Something swirled around the figure’s hand—some asp of black mist and wicked thought. No real creature.
The second panel … Yrene cringed from it.
For there was that young man, eyes wide in supplication and terror, mouth forced open as that creature of black mist slithered down his throat.
But it was the last panel that made her blood chill.
Lightning flashed again, illumining the final illustration.
The young
Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 1 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 2 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 3 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 4 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 5 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 6 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 7 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 8 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 9 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 10 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 11 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 12 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 13 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 14 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 15 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 16 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 17 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 18 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 19 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 20 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 21 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 22 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 23 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 24 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 25 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 26 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 27 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 28 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 29 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 30 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 31 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 32 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 33 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 34 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 35 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 36 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 37 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 38 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 39 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 40 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 41 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 42 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 43 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 44 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 45 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 46 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 47 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 48 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 49 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 50 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 51 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 52 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 53 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 54 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 55 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 56 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 57 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 58 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 59 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 60 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 61 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 62 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 63 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 64 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 65 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 66 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 67 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 68 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 69 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 70 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 71 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 72 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 73 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 74 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 75 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 76 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 77 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 78 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 79 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 80 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 81 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 82 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 83 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 84 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 85 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 86 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 87 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 88 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 89 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 90 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 91 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 92 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 93 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 94 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 95 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 96 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 97 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 98 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 99 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 100 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 101 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 102 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 103 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 104 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 105 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 106 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 107 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 108 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 109 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 110 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 111 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 112 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 113 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 114 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 115 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 116 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 117 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 118 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 119 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 120 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 121 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 122 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 123 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 124 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 125 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 126 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 127 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 128 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 129 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 130 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 131 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 132 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 133 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 134 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 135 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 136 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 137 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 138 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 139 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 140 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 141 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 142 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 143 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 144 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 145 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 146 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 147 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 148 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 149 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 150 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 151 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 152 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 153 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 154 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 155 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 156 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 157 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 158 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 159 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 160 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 161 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 162 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 163 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 164 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 165 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 166 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 167 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 168 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 169 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 170 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 171 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 172 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 173 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 174 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 175 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 176 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 177 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 178 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 179 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 180 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 181 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 182 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 183 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 184 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 185 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 186 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 187 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 188 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 189 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 190 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 191 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 192 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 193 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 194 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 195 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 196 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 197 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 198 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 199 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 200 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 201 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 202 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 203 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 204 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 205 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 206 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 207 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 208 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 209 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 210 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 211 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 212 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 213 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 214 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 215 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 216 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 217 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 218 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 219 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 220 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 221 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 222 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 223 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 224 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 225 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 226 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 227 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 228 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 229 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 230 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 231 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 232 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 233 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 234 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 235 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 236 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 237 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 238 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 239 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 240 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 241 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 242 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 243 Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J. Maas - Page 244