“No,youare a mess.” He approaches to give me the full effect of his dark glare. “You are gullible and impulsive. You barged into this world without a fucking clue about its workings. Now we’re not only saddled with you but also this godsdamned book you’re lugging around, acting like a child when we tell you it’s dangerous. Sort out your thoughts and let me do my fucking job.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LOOK UP
ADELINE
“Is he always this annoying?” I ask.
“Not always,” Ardruna says.
“Great.”
“To be fair… I agree with what he said.” Now she’s licking a paw with her ruby tongue, like an oversized housecat. “Not everything, of course. I don’t think you’re stupid.”
“He didn’t say I was.”
“It was implied.”
“Oh, nice.” My face burns. “I don’t care about his opinion of me.”
“Child…” She lifts her head and puts her paw down. “He is the warrior librarian of Areon. He is the wielder of Sampsera and Makhaira, the shadow and the thorn, the two legendary scimitars, and tamer of Simu, the phoenix.”
“Does he pay you to sing his praises?” I huff, doing my best not to be impressed. “I’ve never heard this story before.”
“Don’t let his familiarity with us fool you. He is a powerful creature. That book… It’s not hurting you because you’re doing its bidding. However, obeying a book’s whims, anyone’s whims for that matter, just to avoid getting eaten by a giant serpent isn’t the way to go.”
Crouching down on the floor, I lift the dried meat and tear a thin strip out of it. Grimacing at the smell and taste, I start chewing. “This is wildcat, huh? You get them in here a lot?”
“Changing the topic, I see,” Ardruna says. “Fine. The wildcats aren’t the kind you’re used to. These ones are gray, not yellow, and have horns.”
“Horns!”
“And saber teeth.”
I chew some more, pondering that, wondering if everything I have taken for granted in all my life will be turned on its head in this strange world. “I’m not used to eating dried meat. At home, we usually add it to broths. This is tough on the teeth.”
Ardruna peels her gums back until she looks like she’s grinning. “Poor little baby.”
“Funny.”
“I’m not laughing, Aline. You’ve created a situation here. Can you somehow guarantee the book won’t attack us again? Can you protect us if it does? You don’t even know how to hold a sword.”
I sigh. I hate that she’s right. “Tell me more about Roane.”
“He gets lonely sometimes,” Ardruna says more quietly. “We keep him company but you can tell he craves the closeness of his kind.”
“He doesn’t seem to want or enjoy my presence. And I’m not his kind.”
“No, you’re right. But you’re a part of him that’s been missing. He needs a smile, a touch. A warm body to curl up with.”
“I’m not curling up with him. Forget it. People are… different from lions, Ardruna. We don’t pile up together at night to sleep.”
“Maybe you should.”
Gods, the image… That long, muscular body curled around me, those corded arms hauling me against him, those clear, dark-fringed eyes gazing down at me…
The skin on my neck and cheeks is turning blistering hot.
