“I see,” the man said.
Quinn reached out and squeezed his arm. Something sparkled in her hair, but I couldn’t make it out from just the hint of her side profile.
“Maybe have breakfast with Ezra instead. Talk to him,” she said.
The man put his hand over hers. “I will, but you’re not off the hook. I want to see you again.”
Anger burned in my stomach. Who was this guy? Quinn said no.
Quinn turned to him with her lips quirked up. “You and Ezra are going to kill me. This castle isn’t that big. And I owe you what, three meals now. Give me a few days to figure this out.”
She owed him. The entire situation at The Rooster came back to me. Everly told me to chill, and that Rowan had talked to Quinn. We didn’t make a big deal out of it, so Quinn wouldn’t feel worse. But my girl was making the same mistakes.
“I mean”—the man ran his fingers through his hair—“there’s not much to figure out. We both enjoy eating and are friends with the same moody man.”
Quinn swatted him playfully.
Those should have been my playful swats.
“You know what I meant. I’ll see you around, Xan.” Quinn hurried out of the library into the dark night.
Before I could follow her, ‘Xan’ turned and looked right at me. The man had a solid few inches on me, but no muscles peeked out of his clothing, nor did he carry any weaponry. His relaxed posture wasn’t ready for a fight. I wracked my memory, but I hadn’t seen his hair color amongst the enforcers, nor any sign of him during the placements.
I was missing something. Fuck, I was missing so much.
He nodded once, as if to acknowledge we’d seen each other before slipping into the night. My TB buzzed. I stopped looking at the space he’d just been in and picked it up.
Prismatic Crystal
Hot Wheel. Hot. Really not. No. Not hot or not. Stop writing hot.
Item work. Train. Oil. Books. No. Stop.
I snorted. Though relief filled me, she might have discovered something with him, but the first magic she used was to message me.
Forest Green:
You’re an idiot. Meet at The Rooster?
I sent the message. Her magic danced above me. The urge to run to her, to tell her everything I’d discovered, almost choked me. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
I made a scrawl and pushed it into my TB.
Forest Green:
I saw your magic light up the library. It is stunning.Well done.
I grinned, despite everything. She’d used her first real magic to message me.
Chapter 12
Ezra
Ihadn’tsleptuntilnear dawn, but I still woke before Xan and slipped out without waking him. My lover was hunting something inside himself. I’d give him the room to find it.
Wicked Wich had fresh coffee and a new batch of protein squares ready. I pocketed the squares and sucked down the scalding hot caffeine before heading to my office.
Finally, Xan reached out to Quinn, and yesterday, I’d tailed them, from the moment he painted her face, till she left him, outlined in the glow of her own magic in the library door. The image of them beneath glowing books, eyes bright, gazes locked, stayed with me. But my lover let her walk away.
