“When you last touched it, the itch went away,” I say, and I start thinking it may have been a bad idea to ask for this proximity, until her skin touches mine. Her fingers are cool against my neck, instantly soothing the itch. I let out a short breath, closing my eyes. I almost thank her.
“I promise we’ll find a way out of this,” she whispers. We stay like this, closer than a human and a vampire should ever be. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t work with her, but as her finger draws a circle around the black moon on my neck, I cavein.
“Where will we look next?” I ask, looking up. Aliz’s expression brightens, lips parting as she realises what I just said. What I agreed to. I must be going mad.
“I still haven’t looked in the Palau Collection,” she whispers. The Palau Collection is the second largest library, adjacent to the history department, opened by a Catalan alchemist of the same name, in the fourteenth century. When she draws her fingers from my neck, the itch creeps up again, though nowhere near as bad as it was before. Almost as if the mark wanted me to stop avoiding her.
We leave our room, heading down into one of the tunnels to the campus village. Aliz stops at the top of a winding staircase to catch her breath, and glances down at me. “If we don’t find anything in the Palau Collection, we could also try the secret library.”
I gawk at her, and too late, I forget to hide my reaction.
“You’ve heard of it?” she asks, all while my pulse picks up.This isit.I’m finally going to finish my mission. Aliz, of all people, knows where the secret libraryis.
I suppose it’s a good thing I haven’t killed her yet.
“I have,” I say, and she stares at me a little too long. Maybe I should have said no. But she would have known I was lying. “I mean, I didn’t know if it was real or not. I did some research on Tynahine before coming here.” Penny did all the research. I just leeched off her hard work. “Where is it?” I ask in the most casual voice I can muster.
“Somewhere deep in these tunnels.” She leans against the stone wall. “But no one has ever found it.”
I hide my disappointment. My throat tightens, but I nod. “Right,” I whisper. Aliz knowing it exists is already a step in the right direction.
“Let’s go,” she says, suddenly grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I glance down at her fingers, cool against my own. I should tear my hand free. But just as I couldn’t slam the stake through her chest, I can’t seem to tug myself away from her now, either.
We reach the Palau Collection in a few minutes, a small building with a low roof. It’s roughly the size of Kinsnet’s archive, and the volumes are, to say the least, eclectic. Half of them cover transmutation, which is fitting, considering who compiled them. The librarian is an old woman, amongst the scarce human staff, and she stares at us with suspicion. Even if she’s new, she must be aware of Aliz’s reputation.
“Any books on blood contracts?” Aliz asks, and the librarian doesn’t appear to think much about the question. She types into an old-fashioned computer and tells us to head to the seventh aisle.
We’re the only students here, and as soon as we find the aisle in question, Aliz’s expression changes, black eyes studying the books with the same intense expression I’ve seen on vampires scenting my blood. The bookcases in the Palau Collection are all mismatched, some hundreds of years old, while others are made of glass and metal.
“Here,” she whispers, reaching for a book. Her other hand brushes mine, and this time, her fingers linger, not pulling back. I feel her thumb drawing a line against my palm, her touch incredibly light. Iopen my mouth, but I can’t find words. I could easily draw my hand away, but I don’t wantto.
The contact vanishes, and she searches through the pages of her book. I inhale, squeezing my hand, trying to get rid of the lingering sensation.
“Blood contracts between vampires,” she whispers.
“I’m human,” I say, crossing my arms, keeping my hands away from where she can accidentally touch them.
“I know,” Aliz says and continues reading. “Blood contracts with humans,” she finally says, leaning against the wall of books. Her brows knot into a frown. “Ah, this won’t do. A lot of killing.”
“We’re looking for Familiars,” I whisper, ignoring the last word she said. I reach for another book, getting up on my tiptoes to grab it, trying to slide my fingers between the pages to nudge it out. Aliz pushes my hand aside and grabs it easily. I wait for a quip of sorts, but she hands it to me without a word.
“How many can we check out?” I ask.
“Five each,” she says, standing too close.
And for the third time today, her hand finds mine. Her fingers brush down my palm, between my fingers, as though she doesn’t know if she should take it or not.
I step away from her. “Maybe we should go,” I say, grabbing another book.
“Good idea,” Aliz replies. We end up borrowing nine books, and the librarian doesn’t raise an eyebrow at the subject matter. I wonder if it’s normal for vampires and humans to read about this sort of thing.
“You take the tunnel,” I say, as I surveil outside the library. The history department is quiet. “I’ll go through the pine grove.”
“Why?” she asks, gazing down atme.
“People might think it’s weird if we’re suddenly best friends,” I say. “You did hiss at me two weeks ago.”
“That was my way of saying hello,” she quips. I roll my eyes.
