Page 167 of Librarian

The dismissal stings, but I’m oddly grateful for it. I don’t want to watch him learning the incantation. Selfishly, I’d rather never hear it come from his lips. As much as I want company right now, I felt uncomfortable enough just creating that spell.

His face softens. “Try to get some sleep, darling. I know it’s hard, but…”

But the alternative is facing down the lich from my nightmares while also being tired, and some things require fortitude.

Despite my resolve,I do not, in fact, manage to sleep.

Instead, I slip from the bed, leaving Dakari and North snoring peacefully as I slip a robe over my nakedness. My intention is to make myself a jasmine tea and return to bed, but somehow, I find myself wandering the corridors with Westley in my arms.

Perhaps Pierce is right. Maybe Iamcatastrophising, and it was wrong of me to confess to loving him like I did. It was tooearly. He never said it back. Not that he needed to. I just didn’t want to have any regrets.

The cat purrs, butting his head into my collarbone as he kneads his little claws into my arm. He’s not usually this affectionate. Maybe he can sense I need it right now.

We can rebuild. When the Arcanaeum and I are restored, we’ll be able to redecorate. Even knowing that, the cracks in the marble pillars around the Rotunda make my heart hurt.

It’s peaceful now.

It won’t be in the morning.

The only guaranteed outcome of our plan is chaos.

Perhaps it’s inevitable that my feet take me up the stairs to the Astrology Tower. I’ve never needed a refuge more than I do right now.

Leo’s here. Some part of me hoped he would be. He’s cradling a book in both hands without turning the pages, his eyes fixed on the stars drifting across the ceiling. I rediscovered the illusion spell a few days ago, and now the room is completely as it was.

I’m not making any effort to creep up on him, but he’s lost in pensive thought, so he startles when I draw close enough to break his concentration.

I put Westley down on a side table, only for the cat to scamper back down the stairs with a grumpy meow.

Leo’s hawkish eyes follow his path, then return to trace the lines of strain in my face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I admit, lowering my gaze. “I don’t want to think about it either.”

I leave the unspoken request between us. An offering.

The ice in his irises melts, and he spreads his legs, pointing at the floor between them.

That’s new. Normally I rest against the outside of his thigh.

“Take the robe off, Kyrie.”

I don’t see him cast a spell, but a deep magenta cushion appears between his feet. Butterflies take wing, flittering through my abdomen as I slip off the flimsy garment, leaving me completely bare. I lower myself onto the velvet, playing with the fringing around the edge until Leo’s fingers wind into my hair, encouraging me to rest my head against the inside of his knee.

I’ve done this before, but never with so little clothing on. My nipples tighten in the cool air, and goosebumps rise across my arms and down my spine.

And yet…my thoughts are already calming. The storm inside my head abates, just a fraction. His hand is warm against my scalp, his fingertips tracing patterns that zing down my spine.

He turns the page and continues to read.

I stir, unable to sit still. Dampness collects at the apex of my thighs, and when he brushes the shell of my ear, my breath hitches.

Leo sighs.

The noise of his belt buckle being undone and the followingzzzpof his fly are loud in the otherwise peaceful room.

“I need to read this, but you can suck my cock until you’re calm enough to rejoin the others and sleep.”