“I’ll give you each a handful of books to gather at a time,” Camilla explained as Manny looked from the parchment to the map and back again. “Bring them back to my desk, and from there, we’ll prioritize which ones to read first.”
She’d already marched over to the shelf and swapped out the massive ledger for another before Manny realized he’d been dismissed. He ambled off, glancing down at the map every few feet.
Camilla flicked through the pages and scribbled down more books, then wordlessly handed the list to Sera and fetched another ledger. Killian had to marvel at her efficiency, and her familiarity with the library’s catalog.
“You’re a little aroused right now, aren’t you?” Elyse whispered, nudging her elbow into his stomach. She knew firsthand how much he admired organization.
Killian let out a dry laugh and smirked back at her. “More than a little.”
Camilla snapped her fingers and held out a list for Killian. She nearly threw it at him when he didn’t reach for it right away.
“In another life, you would have made a great soldier,” Killian told her as he accepted the list.
“Who says I’m not?” Camilla snarked back.
As Killian turned to find his assigned books, Elyse muttered to him, “I thinkI’ma little aroused.”
Laughing, Killian left to search the shelves.
By the time he’d retrieved his third stack of books, he had a decent understanding of the layout. While the skylight above let in a generous amount of light, it also allowed in heat, and a few beads of sweat had gathered on his temples from climbing the stairs. He’d barely set the books down when Camilla shoved another list at him. With a sigh, he turned and departed.
This time, his search brought him to the second floor. He was looking for row “HDE” when he saw a familiar figure crouched down among a long row of shelves. Sera, her skirts in a pool around her, was nosing through the pages of an exceptionally thick book.
“Having much luck?” he asked, strolling into the row.
Sera snapped the book shut fast with awham!Alarmed, Killian halted.
“Sorry,” she breathed. “You startled me.”
“My apologies,” Killian said. He peered down at the book she had been reading, which was now clutched to her chest:A Pragmatic Guide to Portals.
“Portals?” Killian mused. “Do you think we can open one and shove Lazarus through it? Make him some other world’s problem?”
Sera smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Unfortunately, no. Portals can only be opened or closed with one person on each side.”
“Oh,” Killian said flatly.
“This wasn’t actually part of my list,” Sera explained, dropping eye contact. “I’ve always been fascinated with portals and thought I’d take the opportunity to read more about them.”
Killian smiled. “Well, I won’t tell Camilla that you’re neglecting your duties.” He lowered his voice and added, “To be honest, she kind of scares me.”
Sera laughed genuinely, a sound he cherished. “She’s very intense when it comes to her work.”
“I can respect that,” Killian admitted. He waved the list he held in his hand. “I guess I ought to go find…” He looked down at this list and read the first title. “A Compendium of Hell-Dwellers and All Their Forms.” He lifted his gaze to Sera and added, “Take your time. I’ll cover for you.” If there was something that she was excited about, something that would help lift her spirits, then Killian was happy to indulge her.
“Thank you.” Her voice was a quiet rasp as Killian turned back toward the main aisle.
By midday, they had gathered just over a hundred books. It took another hour to organize them, with Camilla deeming different levels of priority for each book. When it was finally finished, Killian was surprised by how tired he was.
He pulled up a chair to rest, and Elyse sat at his feet, her back leaning against his knees. Her attention was trained on the smallest stack: about twenty books that had been named the highest priority.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he stroked her hair.
“Good,” she said, nodding. “We should be able to get through those in about two days, and if we need to, we still have time to move on to the medium priority.”
A sense of contentment and excitement seemed to emanate from her, one that Killian breathed in and let fill his chest with warmth. He, too, was feeling optimistic about their research.
“The carriages are out front,” Manny said as he came marching down the aisle. “Ready to load up?”
