The space between her lips and mine has the magnetic charge of a trillion spinning electrons. I let the force pull me towards her.
I have to claim her; it’s time.
Leaning closer, I feel the soft swell of her lower lip as our mouths brush together. Any hesitancy evaporates, and I fall into the kiss, and she meets me with equal desperation. Her hands reach up to the back of my neck, pulling me closer, and my palm cups the back of her head.
All the unvoiced feelings pass between us.
I never want this moment to stop. I just want more. So much more.
But, Gods dammit, a fucking siren goes off in my brain. It’s blaring at me that I need to do the research, and now is not the time. Fuck.
The kiss softens until I find the strength to pull back.
“Wow,” she says.
“Wow, indeed.” We stand gazing into each other's eyes for I don’t know how long, until finally Theo sighs. “We have to do what we came here for.”
She’s right. I squeeze her hand, “This magical thing between us isn’t going anywhere, pulu.”
I watch as she takes a deep breath in, then slowly exhales, “OK, horny thoughts go away,” Theo says, making me smirk even though my libido is sulking.
“First things first, what spells can we try to make the research easier?” Theo asks, flipping into efficiency mode. “There has to be some way to find information without going through thousands of books.”
My mind sorts through possible options. “Hmm, a Resonance Tracking spell might work. We’ll try to use your Lumina to set the frequency.”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, but sure.”
“Ready?” Still holding her hand, I use my free one to try to cast. Once again, the Lumina inside her fuels my spark. Fuck, just incredible. I push it into my casting and suddenly the room plunges into a thick, crushing darkness.
Then, at the back of the stacks, a specific section of shelves is abruptly, impossibly illuminated by a pale green spotlight.
“Do you see that?” I ask Theo.
“I certainly do.”
Still holding hands, we walk towards the glow. “I guess the resonance-thingy worked,” she says, moving us forward. “The divine green spotlight seems like a bit of a giveaway.” Themoment our hands part, the supernatural lighting vanishes, and the room returns to normal.
“You’ve no idea the crazy boost holding your hand gives me.”
“My hand is yours to hold at any time, sir,” she teases.
“Duly noted.” Very gently, I pull the object, a leather box, cracked with age, off the shelf. “What section are we in?” I ask, looking around for one of Quinlin’s labels.
“Er, it says, untranslated archives, then underneath, extinct languages.
Great.
The leather box is actually more of a rigid pouch. When I open it, a light musky aroma pours out. Earthy and not unpleasant.
Gently, so very gently, I ease out the contents—sheets of brittle parchment. “This isn’t wood-pulp paper, or even papyrus, I’d guess it’s animal skin.”
“Gross.” Theo’s hand tentatively traces the rows of strange markings on the first of the documents. “If this language is extinct, how is anyone supposed to get a translation?”
I can’t look up, I’m so drawn to the parchment. “Codebreakers, maybe? Though that’s not much help to us."
The spirals of a language lost to time are beautiful but baffling. “This isn't just an old tongue; it's dead,” I tell her. “With no echo in any living writing that I can discern.” I try to think of the perfect spell. “Hmmm, OK, got it. Hand please.”
I use my left hand to cast, muttering the incantation under my breath, on and on, on and on. Finally, sitting back with a sigh of disappointment, I admit defeat. “Nothing. Did you feel anything?”
