Page 41 of Demure
“The darkness was for you. You are the one holding yourself back. That’s okay, but I just wanted you not to worry about it for a few minutes. Now breathe.”
Sierra didn’t realize she wasn’t breathing, but the moment he said the words, she gulped down a breath, trying to keep the panic at bay. But as she breathed, she realized he was right. He never said that he couldn’t see in the dark, just that he wanted her to feel better, and she did.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered finally.
“Shh. Don’t do that. Don’t ever apologize for being yourself. Your nervousness about your skin is part of you. I wouldn’t wish you to be any different.”
“Even if it means we could’ve had sex sooner?”
“No, we had sex at the perfect time for us. I wouldn’t have wanted it to happen any other way. Plus, how many people get to have sex in the microfilm storage room at their university?”
Suddenly remembering where they were, Sierra cringed and began to stand. “I forgot we were in the microfilm room.”
“I know. Me too, for a moment.” She heard the sound of rustling fabric before the soft fabric of her sweater pressed against her arm. Grabbing it, she quickly felt for her bra, which Aodhan also included in the stack, and began slipping on her clothes one by one. Once she was all put together, Aodhan found her hand with his, handing her the messenger bag and tucking her under his arm.
“Now, I know I said I would take you out for a date tomorrow, and I still want to do that, but how does grabbing some takeout tonight sound?”
“Lovely,” Sierra replied, as he guided them toward the door.
She heard the pop of the button lock as he turned the doorknob. “Brace yourself.”
Sierra didn’t have a chance to respond before he pulled herinto the bright light of the library, closing the door to the microfilm room behind them.
Squinting, she looked around the library basement, relieved to see it was unoccupied.
“I’m going to stop by the bathroom, but wait for me outside, okay?” Aodhan whispered in her ear.
Sierra nodded, shivering slightly at the feel of his breath tickling her earlobe. They walked up the stairs, hand in hand, before Aodhan split off to head to the bathroom, while Sierra slipped outside and around the corner as quickly as possible, hoping not to run into any of her coworkers.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aodhan joined her outside a few minutes later. Without a word, he slipped his hand into hers, and they began the walk back to her apartment.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, but something between them felt off to Sierra. She wasn’t sure if it was because their first time having sex had been in the library microfilm room, or if it was something else. Normally, she would be too shy to say something and brush it off, but Sierra knew that wouldn’t help if everything wasn’t okay.
“Umm…” She cleared her voice. “Is everything okay?”
Aodhan nodded but kept his face forward. “When I went to the bathroom, Braan texted me and said someone from home tried to contact me today.”
Sierra rolled the words over in her mind. “What do you mean tried to contact you? And who?”
Aodhan glanced at her briefly before returning his vision to the path in front of him. “My father. And…it’s a bit complicated. Since my world isn’t your world, we can’t use modern methods of communication. We use a method similar to what humans call scrying. It isn’t perfect, but we can speak to each other while we are in different worlds at least.”
Sierra had never been more disappointed that she hadn’t been more into reading, as she didn’t want to ask what scrying was, but she didn’t really know either.
Sensing her embarrassment, Aodhan jumped into an explanation. “Scrying is an ancient method used by witches to see the future using water.” They turned the corner, drawing close to her apartment. “Now, we can’t see the future or anything, but we can use the water as a connection and speak to each other through it.”
Sierra felt her eyes widen at the realization that witches also existed, and turned to Aodhan to ask a question, but he held up a finger before she could.
“There’s quite a few…caveats. The water must be from the same source, and it grows…stale after a while. So, every few years, more water has to be brought here from The Hills to replace the water we have on hand for communicating.”
“And the water is just kept in a jar…or something?”
They came to a stop in front of her apartment door, and Aodhan turned to her. “Not quite. It must be stored in stone. So, it is brought here in a stone jar, and kept in a special stone bowl. Which brings up the other problem. There is no way to let someone know you want to communicate, so you have to just go for it and hope that someone is near the bowl to fetch the person you want to speak with when you call.”
“I see.” Sierra unlocked the door, and they made their way up the stairs. “And you weren’t nearby today.”
Aodhan waited until they were inside her room before he replied. “Exactly. But that’s the weird thing. Last night, I felt I needed to be home today, which is why I didn’t make plans. And then someone calls.”
