The door to the attic clicks shut behind us and I quickly move to kick my shoes off, pressing the soles of my feet into the rug in the center of the room as I breathe it all in again. Only this time, it’s Kael with me.
The air is thick, as if it’s been frozen in time, but I inhale, wanting to feel every ounce of a life I’ve never known.
It’s like there’s a countdown above our heads, but I can’t see how long we have left. Regardless, I know we don’t have much time to hide away in here, and I want to make the most of having access to this room before impending doom strikes.
“You’re quiet,” Kael murmurs, tucking hishands into his pockets as he remains by the door, and I offer him a soft smile.
“My mind is quiet for the first time in my life,” I admit, but don’t add the fact that it’s because of him and Rion.
How they handled me, cared for me, fucked me, it had me shattering into tiny pieces, only for me to be recrafted with an air of contentment and calmness that I’ve never experienced before. I feel like I’m floating around in a daze and I’m making the most of it before my mind refires again.
“Are you sure you want me here? I can give you some time to?—”
“I want you here,” I interject, eliminating the few steps between us. “I want to share this part of me with you,” I whisper, staring up into his eyes as I let my vulnerability shine through, unfazed. “Besides, I don’t know where to begin with all of this,” I add, waving my hand blindly at my side.
He presses a kiss to my forehead before turning his attention to the room, and I follow his line of sight, trying to see it through his eyes, which is pointless when I barely know what to make of it on my own.
The last time I was in here, with Rion, Thorne, and Ocean, we were all delirious, running onadrenaline, but now I can see it a little clearer. The three of them are all preoccupied or sleeping, which leaves Kael to embrace this side of me as I learn about myself too.
Clearing his throat, he reaches for my hand, spinning me so we’re side by side, basking in the room from the same vantage point. “What is it you’re hoping to gain from being in here right now?” he asks, and my eyebrows pinch in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I think you’re going to learn something regardless, but what is it you want to learn about? Your ancestors, your abilities, your history?” he rattles the options off like it’s as simple as that, leaving me to blink at him as I run through the options in my mind.
Ancestors. Abilities. History.
Abilities. History. Ancestors.
History. Ancestors. Abilities.
Nervously running my free hand over my upper arm, I exhale. “I guess my abilities. I care about the other things too—a lot, actually—but as much as I’m growing more confident within myself, there’s still a lot to be discovered, and I’m going to need to be at my best if I have any hopes of making it outof here,” I explain, and he nods in understanding, leaning in close so the tips of our noses brush.
“You’re going to make it so far, Elodie,” he insists, reinforcing the determination inside of me, and I smile.
“I hope so.”
“Iknowso,” he promises, offering me a half grin in return as he squeezes my hand. “Now, let’s get to work figuring out where to look.”
I groan. “That means deciding where to start,” I grumble, and he shrugs.
“Well, The Book of Fractured Souls is where you learned about The Sanctum controlling the scythes and not Jude, right?” he clarifies, and I nod, appreciating the fact that he actually absorbed any of the facts I threw at him as we made our way up here. “Then let’s assume that it’s mainly about your history. The stack of books over there looks like journals, but I could be wrong. If I’m not, that leads me to believe it might be more about your ancestors, while this little organised pile here seems different,” he points out, edging us closer, and I’m right at his side as I read the words etched into the leather.
The Hidden Strengths of a Scythe.
I raise my eyebrows as I peek up at him. “Whoknew you were so smart?” I muse, and he shrugs, failing terribly at hiding how impressed he is with himself.
“Not me,” he mumbles, and I roll my eyes at his bashfulness.
“Want to help?” I ask, taking the top book to reveal another beneath titled,Noting the Abilities of a Scythe.
“For you, anything,” he breathes, blessing me with another kiss to my forehead as he takes a book from my hand, leaving me with the latter to read through. “Want to take them downstairs?” he offers, and I glance around the room, not ready to leave just yet.
“Do you mind sticking around here for a while? I kind of like it,” I ask quietly, my vulnerabilities feeling even more raw as I outright ask for something that feels beyond personal, yet he nods, unfazed.
I blush, acutely aware that I find it hard to ask for someone’s time, even though he was more than happy to be buried in my ass not too long ago.
“Absolutely,” he says with a smile, reaching for my free hand and tugging me toward the stack of pillows in the other corner so we have something comfortable to lean back on.
