His mouth opens. Shuts. “It was cute, and she has a hairless cat,” he mutters.
I can’t help the smile tugging at my lips. “Fine. You’re in.”
His shoulders drop like he’s been holding his breath. “Good. Because I was going to follow you anyway.”
There’s a beat of silence. I smile—soft, a little undone.
“You’re kind of brave, you know?”
He blushes so hard I’m surprised the butter doesn’t melt off his roll. “I’m really not.”
Tamsin sighs, flopping dramatically into her chair. “Ugh. You two are the slowest burn I’ve ever watched. It’s like watching tree sap flirt.”
I snort and roll my eyes, while Nolan proves he wasn’t as red as he could get.
Tamsin leans forward, jabbing a finger in my direction. “Okay, ground rule time.”
I blink. “Ground rule?”
“Yes. You.” She points again, like I’m a toddler reaching for a hot stove. “No touching the book this time. I don’t care if it whispers sweet nothings or promises you immortality. Letmeor Nolan touch it. You just…supervise.”
I open my mouth to argue, but Nolan immediately nods. “Honestly, I second that. Maybe even third it. If the book starts glowing or hissing, I’ll be the sacrificial nerd.”
I roll my eyes but grin. “Fine, I won't touch it. But if it tries to flirt with you, I’m stepping in,” I joke.
Tamsin laughs. “Great. Now we’re all doomed.”
She excuses herself not long after, muttering something about grabbing extra chalk for distraction runes—though, at this academy, I’ve learned it’s more likely to be shimmer dust or moon-bloom ink.
That leaves me and Nolan alone at the table, the quiet settling around us like snowfall.
He shifts in his seat, fingers fidgeting with the edge of his sleeve. “So…you really think there’s something in that book?”
“I don’t know.” I trace a finger along the rim of my cup. “But everything that’s happened? The mark, the tether, the Veil breach yesterday, and Kael showing up every time I’m in danger. It feels connected.”
Nolan's brows pinch, concern knitting into the corners of his eyes. “That’s not exactly a comforting pattern.”
“No,” I admit. “It’s not.”
He’s quiet for a beat. Then, softly, “What if the book has answers you don’t want?”
I glance at him. “What if they’re answers Ineed?”
He doesn’t argue. Just exhales through his nose and leans back a little, the tension still in his shoulders. “Okay. But Tamsin’s right—you don’t touch it. We don’t know what kind of magic it’s laced with. And I know you’re powerful, but Lindsay…if it reacts toyou. That’s not nothing.”
I give a small nod. “No touching. Promise.”
He nods too, then offers a soft smile. “Good. Because I’m not above tackling you away from a haunted book.”
I laugh, and some of the heaviness lifts. “You’d tackle me?”
“If it means keeping you breathing?” He shrugs, cheeks pink. “Every time.”
Something shifts between us then. A warm undercurrent that wraps around the conversation like a secret. His hand rests on the table, close to mine but not touching. And for a second, I swear the mark on my arm pulses, not in warning, but in recognition.
I look up at him, at the quiet bravery behind the nerves. “You know, for a bookish guy who panics when I say ‘forbidden,’ you’re kind of reckless.”
He grins. “Don’t tell my grandma. She still thinks I faint at the sight of blood.”
