Gideon sighs and rubs his chest. His worry is making the air in the car feel hot and heavy. Cracking my window, I suck in a breath and ignore the anxiety eating at me.
SHEENA
I blink awaketo a hushed argument. The sun is fading, casting eerie, elongated shadows across the room, and it’s making the usually cozy space look a little on the spooky side. In my half lucid state, the shadows look like evil spirits advancing toward me. I shiver, tucking the covers tighter around my neck and focusing harder on the conversation happening at the end of the bed.
“She needs more rest.”
“But she’s been napping for hours. I want to see if she can open it.”
Gideon’s husky baritone voice shushes Callum. “She can always try it tomorrow,” he insists quietly.
“She could also try it now,” I say, yawning and pushing myself into a sitting position.It feels like I just fell asleep five minutes ago.
Callum comes to my side of the bed, dropping a kiss to my forehead and scooting in beside me. Gideon shuffles in on my other side. He hands me a small purple book, weathered with age.
“I didn’t realize they would let you bring books home. That’s great,” I say. When neither of them responds, I look from side to side and sigh. “You stole it, didn’t you?”
“Absolutely not. We borrowed it, which is how libraries are supposed to work,” Callum assures me, his lips twitching as he fights a smirk. “Honestly, sweetheart, the gatekeeping of knowledge in the supernatural community is really fucking egregious. We’re doing them a favor by forcing them into this millennium.”
“I see.” I shake my head, looking over at Gideon. “Do you feel the same way about the gatekeeping of knowledge?”
Gideon turns to me, a mischievous spark in his eyes. “I don’t give a shit about that and I won’t pretend I do.” He kisses my cheek. “I just didn’t want to leave you to go back there every day.”
Just like that, my heart swells. Gideon never makes me doubt his affection. It’s comforting like a warm blanket on a winter day or a deep breath in a field of wildflowers. I kiss him because it’s all I can think about. Gideon meets my lips eagerly, and the kiss morphs from sweet to hot quicker than either of us intended.
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this.” Callum groans. “You both look very sexy, but can you make out later? I really want toknow what’s in that book.” It’s the whiniest I’ve ever heard him sound.
I break away from Gideon with a laugh. “If you wanted to know so badly, why didn’t you read it in the car?”
“Because we couldn’t.”
“Why? Is it in some other language? Because if so, I hate to break it to you, but I’m not going to be able to understand it either.”
“Maybe. I don’t actually know. It’s stuck,” Callum says.
“What do you mean? How can a book be stuck?” I ask.It’s not exactly complicated technology.
“It won’t open for us,” Gideon explains.
“I think it’s magically sealed to only open for a djinn.” Callum points at the book in my lap, his excitement buzzing when I pick it up again.
Sliding my thumb under the book’s clasp, I try to flip it open. Nothing happens. I try again, bracing the spine on the bed and using both hands to pull. Still nothing.
“Shit.” Callum sags beside me, and a pit settles low in my stomach.
“It’s okay.” I try for a reassuring smile. “Where are the other books? Surely they don’t all have some super secret lock.”
“That was it,” Callum grumbles, throwing himself back on the bed. “It’s literally the only book I could find mentioning djinn in the entire library.”
The pit in my stomach starts rolling around. I didn’t expect to encounter another dead end so soon. This book might be our only lead. If that’s true... There is another option.
“What if you say the words I told you never to say to unlock it?” I suggest, bracing myself for their reactions.
“Absolutely fucking not.”
“Hell no, you know what happened last time.”
They both glare at me like I’m insane.
