“Good.” He nodded enthusiastically, peeking around me at the mess I was cleaning up from my dinner preparations. “You didn’t have to do that. I was just coming in to start.”
“That’s okay, I can take a turn now and then.”
“How long have we got?”
“Perhaps an hour?”
“We should be quick then.”
“Quick?”
Tap gestured for me to follow him, leading me down the hall to the workshops. He pressed the engraving for the library, and when he opened the door I gasped.
“When did you have time to do this?” I asked, rushing over to the beautiful new second writing desk and chair.
“Seir and I can get many things accomplished when we have a limited timeline, apparently. He responds very positively to being challenged. If it’s not to your liking?—”
“It’s perfect,” I gushed, running my finger over some of the intricately carved details in the edging. The wood was a winecolor, and the grain pattern in the top had been set to resemble a starburst with alternating light and dark pieces.
Pleased, Tap gathered inkpots, quills, and sheets of parchment. “I rarely use my desk anymore. If there’s something you need more of, please take it from there or the shelves. Nothing is off-limits.”
“This is beyond generous, thank you.”
He dipped his head at the praise. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” He turned to leave.
“Wait. Could you please stay? You don’t have to join me, but I’d like your company.”
He turned back, movements hesitant. “Of course.”
I settled into the plush chair, wiggling around and rearranging things until I had everything I needed just within reach. I dipped my quill and realized I had no idea what to put on the blank page under my hands.
“What’s the matter?”
“I always copied words down. Now that I have blank pages and endless ink, I’m not sure what to write.”
“It doesn’t have to be words,” Tap suggested as he pushed his glasses up. “Perhaps you could start with some pretty flourishes on the edges of the page?”
I experimented with the quills, going through three before I found one that was the right weight in my hand and left the best line. He pulled a sheet of the heavy paper toward himself and dipped a quill, grinning softly as he drew the same symbol over and over until the ink was faded and broken. It was an interesting blend of symmetrical crosses and loops, but it wasn’t centered and had some other details that I couldn’t quite figure out. Tap set the quill down and smeared the final one, which was mostly just ink splotches, with his finger.
“What’s that?”
“My sigil.”
“Oh.” A demon’s sigil was in a way their signature, their true name. If one had a sigil, they could in most cases, use it to summon that demon, or in some cases do them harm. And he’d just drawn it for me, several times, as though it were of no significance. “It’s lovely.”
His cheeks pinked and he moved to pick up the page. I simply held the corner down with one finger, indicating I wanted him to leave it. His silver eyes widened, but he ducked his head and let go.
After a long moment of intense eye contact, Tap wandered over to the bookshelves. He ran his finger over spines and ducked down to see what the bottom shelves held. Eventually he chose a few tomes and set them all on the low table between the sofas. I did my level best not to stare, but there was something incredibly attractive about his wide-shouldered stance as he evaluated the shelves and the way his jaw clenched as he adjusted his spectacles.
“Hailon will be going into the city tomorrow,” he said. “Would you like to join her? Visit d’Arcan? Or would you like to wait a bit longer?”
I glanced up from studying the sigil he’d drawn. There were perhaps ten drops, which was only ten short days’ worth left in my vial of tincture. As much as I wouldn’t mind putting off another new experience for a bit, I needed to speak with the woman who might be able to help me very, very soon.
“Yes, I’d like to go.”
“We’ll plan for it then.” Tap sank into the sofa cushion and began to flip through one of the books. He set it down and repeated the process with the others he’d selected. I smiled, watching as he returned to the shelves, gathered several more and began flipping.
“Are you actually reading those?”
