Page 67 of Librarian

I want to object, to say Leo wouldn’t do that, but…yeah. The evidence isn’t on his side.

“His apologies are nice,” she mumbles, “and his motivations have always been noble. I’veneverbegrudged him wanting to save his family. But saying sorry and meaning it are two different things. Only time will prove whether he’s genuinely learned anything from his mistakes.” A slight pause. “Grand gestures are foolhardy, especially ones that may put him within Mathias’s reach at a time when he’s murdering powerful arcanists to break into the Arcanaeum.”

She says the last a little louder, and I glance up to spot Leo watching her with puppy eyes that almost put Lambert’s to shame.

“If the most useful thing I can be doing right now is this, he may as well stay here where I can keep an eye on him.”

And he can watch over her. She leaves the last left unsaid.

“You’re still on that break,” I remind her when she reaches for her papers again.

Kyrith shakes her head. “I took a break?—”

“Don’t make me spank your ass.”

Her eyes dart up, lips parting like she can’t decide if I’m serious. I am. Ever since I caught Pierce making her squirt like a fountain over that piano, I’ve been biding my time.

“This is a library,” she objects, like she thinks that will deter me.

I cross my arms. “I guess you’ll just have to be quiet. Unless you don’t think you can handle it?”

It’s an invitation wrapped up as a dare. I smirk as I watch her shoulders creep higher in indignation.

Heat flares in her gaze, her breath hitching, but then she looks down at the table guiltily. “I promised to?—”

“Go,” Leo mutters, dropping his books on the desk with a thud that makes her jump. “You’ll work better if you’ve taken care of yourself.” He shifts from side to side, keeping his gaze anywhere but on her. “I’m going to grab something to eat.”

Then, without a word, he turns and strides off, leaving her to gape after him like he’s been body snatched.

Nineteen

Kyrith

“Aparty? Now?” I protest, but Eddy shoves me back into my room. “But I had a?—”

“Get your butt in here. You’ve been working for days. How many runeforms are even left, anyway?”

“None,” I grumble under my breath.

I should be happy about it, but the best I can summon is relief. The last ensorcellment was particularly stubborn, having degraded no less thansixtimes. The elderly man to whom the runeform belonged had been waiting seventy years for it to activate. It had had decades to deteriorate.

He’s one of my regular patrons. Over the years, I wondered absently why he never married, never had children. Now I know.

He was living half a life. The depressing truth has hardly made me eager to attend Eddy’s Valentine’s gathering.

“Perfect, so you can let your hair down and celebrate.” She grins, completely oblivious to my low mood.

She’s already wearing a red leather dress with cut outs at her waist. Gold chains adorn her ears, neck, waist, and wrists, matching her eyes perfectly.

“Halinor let me set this up because everyone needs cheering up right now. They’re all going stir-crazy waiting for Mathias to do something, and you’ve not even really given yourself a chance to breathe since you left the Arcanaeum.”

Because I have to distract myself, or I’ll go mad.I want to retort, but I stop myself.

She’s right. Overworking leads to mistakes. Nevertheless… “I still have to work out how we can destroy soul vessels.”

The Ó Rinn ensorcellments were my main focus, but now they’re done. Finished. And the sooner we can deal with Mathias and Isidora, the better.

Society outside of Fort McKinley is creeping toward a boiling point. I may dislike that infernal library tablet, but it’s become my habit to check the news each morning, and what I’ve been reading has made my blood chill.