“It is.” I nodded in agreement. “But thank you anyway. He’s lucky to have a friend like you.” I smiled weakly. “So am I.”
“Okay. I just had to say it. It’s my duty. Do what’s right for you, of course,” she added.
“Of course.” I stuck out my tongue.
“How is everyone else? Are people terrified? After the attack? The damage…” I asked the question that had plagued me since I strolled through the tunnels, helpless to stop as the gendarmes destroyed everything in their path.
“It’s going to take a long time to repair everything. And even longer for everyone to feel truly safe again. But we’ve been working tirelessly to make sure the spells that protect the city are impenetrable. We’ve boarded up the Medusa Steps. They’ve been unsafe for a while, and now after this—well, they should have been closed a long time ago. It will take time to heal. But we’ll get there.”
I nodded.
“I have to get back to work.” Elena smiled. “No rest for the wicked. Go to the library. Find him, okay?”
I nodded again. Goddess, was that the only response I had anymore?
Elena left, and I finished my coffee, feeling a small, almost imperceptible weight lifted off my shoulders.
BIBLIOTHEQUE
Ciaran had pointed out the library the very first time we’d walked through the Crossroads of the Dead, but I had somehow never managed to go inside. Carved into the limestone, the library spanned a cavernous space. The stacks seemed to go on forever, lit by the same flickering sconces as the halls.
I didn’t have to wander far before I found him, sitting in a plush armchair in a little secluded reading nook at the far end of some stacks. It was oddly quiet in here, with the books and the soft carpeted floor muffling any sounds. My stomach jolted when I saw him sitting there, running his hands through his hair, balancing a giant tome on his long legs. He looked… tired… worried… distracted. Dishevelled, in a way I hadn’t seen him before. He glanced up, a deep line forming between his dark brows. Concern.
“Hi,” I managed to squeak out. I don’t know what I was so nervous about. It wasn’t as if I had to be shy in front of Ciaran. Not when we’d been through so much—done so much—together.
He looked me up and down once. “You’re alright.” His deep voice rumbled. I found myself distracted by the V of the shirt he wore. Softest cotton. His usual black. Exposing just a hint of thatgolden chest and the soft dark hairs sprinkled across it.Focus. Focus.
“I’ll live.” I shrugged, biting my bottom lip, attempting to stay on track. I had come here for a reason, but my body was so reactive to Ciaran’s. “Elena said I was out for three days.”
“You spoke to Elena?” He closed the book in his lap and stood.
“Yes. She told me where to find you. She was insistent that I give you another chance.” I let a small smile twist my lips.
“Seraphina, I…” He closed the distance between us. “I want to explain everything. Please. Let me explain.”
I could let him. I could let him pour his heart out. Give his reasons for what he had done all those months ago. I could take them and consider them. Weigh my options. But why bother? I had made my decision in the graveyard. I knew what I wanted as soon as it seemed like it was all going to be taken from me.
I felt nothing but regret. Not for what I had done to the viscount, but for how I had reacted—what I had done to Ciaran. He had done stupid, impulsive things, but so had I. In that way, we were a perfect match. And I wasn’t here for apologies or long-winded explanations.
“I don’t care.” I stopped him in his tracks. He looked like I had punched him in the stomach. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“But I… please.” He stepped closer still, but I couldn’t let my bravery waver. I came here for a reason. To say whatIneeded to say.
“I don’t care, because I’m in love with you, Ciaran. And none of the rest fucking matters.” It came out without a second thought. Gone was the time for weighing what each of us had done in the past. I didn’t care what he’d done or why he’d done it. I had thought I was never going to see him again, and there was nothing on earth that could hold me back from him now. “I don’t want to know why you did what you did. I don’t need tohear a litany of all the reasons why you acted that way. It’s done. It’s in the past. I did so many stupid things too. I endangered everything you’ve built here—everyone. So if you can forgivethat?Fuck. Nothing else matters.”
“Seraphina… I…” Ciaran looked like his brain had stopped working, his mouth opening and closing. And for the first time, I felt a spike of fear—that maybe he didn’t feel the same. That maybe I had misinterpreted everything between us, and he wouldn’t say it back to me. But fuck. I had nothing to lose. So I chose bravery again.
“I saidI love you, Ciaran. I’m in love with you.” The words had no sooner left my lips than Ciaran’s crashed into mine.
Hard, clashing, violent kisses—his hand gripping the base of my skull with so much ferocity that I was sure it would leave a mark.
Tears prickled in the corners of my eyes as Ciaran’s other hand gripped my waist, pulling me flush against him. Because he still hadn’t said it. And I wasn’t sure what this frenzied kiss meant. But then he pulled away, eyes wide and wild, hair mussed and chaotic.
“Seraphina.” He gasped, catching his breath. I raised my hand to my mouth, feeling the ghost of his lips there still. “I have been in love with you since I heard you sing on that rooftop.” And then his hand was on my chin, tilting it up gently. Tears shone in his eyes.
“Seraphina—” His voice was low, barely a whisper. And he said my name like a prayer. “I love you.”
And whether it was the earnestness in his eyes, the tenderness that softened his angular features or the way his voice sounded—rhapsodic—I believed him. And none of the rest of it mattered, as he bent from his considerable height, bringing his lips back to mine.
