Page 118 of Librarian

He makes a face. “The leather was dark red. Wine coloured. And the wood was definitely darker. Probably walnut or something.”

The more he talks, the more I begrudgingly admit he might be right. My nostrils flare on a deliberate inhale, and I return to work. Darker it is.

“You think this is going to make her forgive you?” I ask several quiet minutes later.

“No.”

“Then why are you out here playing with windows instead of sleeping like everyone else?”

He huffs out a long breath. “The look on her face when she saw it fecking gutted me.”

“Wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t betrayed her.”

“You were at that dinner as well, eejit. Mathias could’ve changed his mind and used you or Pierce instead. Do you think you would’ve stood more of a chance than I did?” He pinches the bridge of his nose, turning away. “Argh, look. I’m sorry. Yeah, I’m the reason it got ruined, so the least I can do is fix the fecking windows.” He huffs. “Let me get on with it in peace. Besides, I’m not injured, unlikesomepeople, and I can’t sleep. Might as well be useful.”

There’s a pause where he and I return to casting, and then he mutters, “After what she did for my family, I owe her even more than I already did.”

There’s truth to that, though Kyrith would never call in the debt.

“Any news on Artemius?”

Leo nods. “He’s stuck on bed rest and hating it, but alive. My cousins interrupted Mathias, and he chose to run instead of just slaughtering them all—small mercies.”

“You stayed with her instead of saving him.”

Leo’s hand fists at his side. “Wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, was I?” He scoffs and moves over to the next window. “Just quit it with the inquisition and go back to bed. I was hoping to be done with this section of the hall before everyone woke up.”

He starts casting. Stops. Turns back.

“No. Actually. You know what? I’m done with this. Yeah. I chose her over my family. I put her first. And yeah, it was a stupid, desperate fecking move to go to Mathias in the first place, but I thought I was putting her first when I treated her like shit to save her from my curse. I intend to keep putting her first for the rest of my life, if she’ll let me. So, if you’ve got a problem with me, tell me, because I’m not going anywhere until she orders me away.”

I raise one brow, fighting the smirk tugging at my lips. “A shame.”

Leo makes an aggravated noise in the back of his throat. “Feck you. What more do you want? I already apologised and let you throw me off a fecking wall.”

Let me?I scoff. Asshole didn’t see that coming, and he knows it. “Why do you care what I think?”

He deflates slightly. “Something Lambert said. I’m beginning to think maybe he’s the smart brother.”

My reply is cut off by an indignant, “Well, duh.”

Both of us whirl, looking at the door where the man himself is currently grinning.

“Eavesdropping’s rude, eejit,” Leo says.

The unrepentant grin on his brother’s face says he doesn’t care. In fact, he almost looks…smug. Hang on. Those snores…was he even really asleep?

“Are you two bonding?” Lambert prompts, cutting off my suspicious thoughts. “Is this the start of a beautiful bromance?”

“No!”

I’m not sure which of us says it first, but it doesn’t deter Lambert. He shuts the door behind him and bounces towards us.

“That’s a shame. I figured neither of you would want Kyrith to be miserable trying to balance your grudges on top of everything else.”

My denial is instant. “She would never have to do that.”

He tilts his head to one side and shakes it slightly. His disappointment is soft but cutting.