Earlier this evening, at the top of the tower, when Aunt Addie and her entourage arrived, I’d felt something similar then too, a warning that something wasoff. At the time I assumed it was because of Nelle cruelly taunting the fuck out of me.
But now, as I stood beside the library’s fireside, that same sensation scratched my nerves and hackled all the fine hair on my body.
32
Nelle
After Graysen left our residence, I waited an impatient hour before throwing on a dress and winding a shawl around my shoulders to ward off the chilly air. Borrowing one of his messenger bags, I tucked my secret notebook into its pocket and strode across the courtyard, my chin held high. Thankfully, Graysen had kept his earlier promise that I was free to roam the estate. I’d simply turned a steely gaze upon the sentry, and without a word, he opened the massive door, and I sauntered inside the Keep as if I had every right to be there.
Now I was crammed into a utility closet across from the library, waiting for the godsdamned Crowthers to finish whatever they were doing. And they were taking fucking forever. Seated on a mini-stepladder, I’d scribbled down everything I learned today. All the hallways I traveled, the servants’ apartments, the Great Hall and library, and even the shared garden.
My ass was sore, and my patience wearing thin.
Footsteps thundered outside the door. A male voice muttered a long string of curses, and cold wrath made my fingernails curl like claws. I wanted to annihilate Jett Crowther on instinct. Graysen’s leggy stride followed a moment later, his footsteps growing fainter as he retreated deeper into his family home.
Heat scorched my cheeks. I’d allowed myself one girl-moment to bask in that glorious kiss, and of course he had to barge in and catch me beaming and stamping my feet because I couldn’t contain my delight. Godsdammit.
When the hallway finally went quiet, I cracked the door.
No one. Good.
I needed to start my escape plan. I couldn’t rely on manipulating Graysen—I needed another way out. The library was my best chance to find site plans, old records, anything that hinted at an escape tunnel. Every estate had them. We’d be stupid not to, especially with the bloody feuds that arose between Houses. And the Crowthers were wily enough to have several. The Heart of the Keep was ancient, and the library sat right at its core. I was willing to bet there was a tunnel somewhere in there.
I scooped up the blue cloths I’d used to block the light, shoved them back on the shelf, and slipped into the hallway. Sage stalked at my heel.
The heavy door to the library swung open as I pushed against it and ducked inside, the messenger bag rubbing against my hip with my stealthy movements. Moonlight flowed through the mural cut into the wall up high. The darkness behind the colored panes muted the sunshine and summoned its opposite, the dark of fall washing the glass night sky in deep violet. The artist’s interpretation of the moon and stars seemed almost real, almost as if I could reach up on my toes and pull the starlight down to have it dance upon my fingertips.
Sage and I padded between tall rows of bookshelves. The smell of paper and knowledge itched at me to pull a book out and soak up its words. As I neared the end of the row, I saw antique seating gathered around a long table lined with brass-frosted lamps. The collection of wooden chairs, spanning eras and cultures, was charming in its arrangement. And for a painful moment, it reminded me of the cottage beside the lake with its cheery colors and chipped crockery.
It was just as I’d stepped out from between the rows when I heard noises. A soft sweep of feet shifting on a woolen rug, the rustle of parchment, a dull thud of a book closing. My gaze swung wide and locked on the back of a man the same moment he realized he wasn’t alone. His bowed head snapped straight.
Sage released a spine-tingling growl.
The stranger spun around, a book in his hand.
Pure rage exploded and raced across my skin in chilling waves.“GET THE HELLS OUT!”
Seriously, enough. Get the fuck out!
I hadn’t waitedforeverto be denied the library. And I certainly couldn’t search for an escape tunnel if he was here.
Sage erupted into ferocious barking. Saliva whipped away from his fangs as he surged forward. The man jerked back, the book jostling in his fingertips and falling to the ground.“Holy—”
Sage’s savage baying drowned out whatever else the stranger was about to say as he was bailed up against the table, leaning as far away as he could from my wraithwolf’s fangs snapping within reach of a leg.
I let Sage scare the hells out of him for a full minute before I quietly spoke his name, commanding my wraith-wolf to stand down.
The barking and growling ceased immediately, emptying the library of sound. Though Sage slowly backed off to return to my side, he kept his silvery eyes fixed on the man.
The stranger blew out a long breath of relief as he sagged against the edge of the table. “Oh my gods, I thought I was going to be torn apart and eaten alive.” His gaze met mine, full of apology. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Shifting forward, his arm rising as if he were about to offer a handshake.
I refused to give him the opportunity.
My heartbeat spiked with the flash of panic billowing through my chest. After Danne, being near a male I didn’t know made me incredibly uneasy. I jabbed my finger at him. “You stay right the fuck there!”
The stranger startled. “I-I-I…” His gaze darted about the library, and he half-waved a hand awkwardly as if searching for the words to explain himself. “I didn’t expect… This is really…” He suddenly canted forward into a deep bow. It was so ingrained in the Houses to hold to tradition when meeting a member from the Great House, yet the gesture pissed me off and turned my alarm into something more manageable—anger.
“Don’t fucking bother,” I snapped. Because why the hells should he?
