Page 57 of Librarian

“With proof that she was responsible for their parriarch’s murder out there?”

“Can we not just do away with the magister exams and make the heirs parriarchs?”

“We showed them proof; they cannae bury their heads in the sand.”

Everyone in the hall seems to have something to say. Over a dozen suggestions are floated, half of them good, but I’ve lost the ability to focus, if I even had it to begin with.

“Want me to get you out of here?” Dakari asks. “You’re dead on your feet.”

I shake my head, but swivel on the bench, ready to leave. “Stay. You’re a parriarch now. You need to be here.”

Pierce stands, offering me a hand. “I’ll go. You shouldn’t be alone.”

I crave silence and peace, but I see the wisdom in having him with me. Mathias could come back. If I’m on my own, there’s a good chance he’ll be able to puppeteer me into walking straight out of the gate without complaint.

Magic, if I let myself think about that too deeply, panic starts to set in.

As I stand to leave, Benny taps my arm, handing me a small blue potion from a pouch at his belt.

“Headache tonic,” he explains, then goes straight back to arguing with the others.

I nod my thanks, accepting it, even as I silently wish he’d given it to me earlier. Leo’s hawkish gaze tracks me as I leave the room, his jaw tense. Has he noticed Pierce’s hand glued to my lower back? Does it matter if he has?

He has no right to be jealous.

After my outburst, I expected him to push, to capitalise on the weakness I revealed. Instead, he’s been distant, quiet. Maybe he’s too busy with his family’s runeforms to bother pursuing my forgiveness, but I’m not certain that’s the case.

It feels more like a temporary truce.

He’s put his intentions out there. I need to set some boundaries now, before the full force of Storm Leo hits and I do something absurd, like seriously consider his ridiculous offer.

“You’re quiet,” Pierce notes as the heavy door to the hall swings shut behind us.

Instant relief.

Stars, I missed having a body, but on days like today, I’d give anything to ghost away from the burdensome symptoms of existence.

“My head is killing me,” I admit, uncorking the blue potion and downing it. It tastes like spun sugar, and I make a mental note to thank Benny for his thoughtfulness as I wait for it to kick in. “I was trying, but I can’t help anyone like this.”

He nods. “I should’ve picked a gentler spell.”

“No. You did the right thing. The hall was just overwhelming.”

Gravel crunches. Somewhere beyond the walls, a bird calls out into the night.

“Speaking of knockout spells,” Pierce begins a moment later. “Would you like me to cast one on the Irish prat following us?”

My answering sigh is long, but I shake my head. “I suspect he thinks he’s protecting me from you.”

“Doyouthink you need protection from me?”

It’s a careful question, and I hear the unvoiced one beneath it. Does his being a necromancer make me feel unsafe?

Once, the answer would’ve been yes. Now…

“I’d like to ask you something before I answer that.”

I slip my grimoire from its holster and flip through the pages manually until I find the one I want. Muttering the incantation, I allow myself a tiny, satisfied smile as the gravel behind us changes colour, forming a red line that even an idiot like Leo can’t misinterpret.