“I’m looking for a book.”
“Okay,” she drawls. “What kind of book?”
“Got anything on demons?” I ask.
“A few.” She shrugs. “Not as many as Arcane, though,” she says, referencing the hotel. “But I can loan you what Ido have.”
“I appreciate it,” I reply.
She hands me a stack of books, and instead of hanging around to browse through them, I go straight to my car and call Zav.
“’Ello,” he answers in a very poor imitation of a British accent.
“Hey,” I reply. “I need to go to Arcane. Do I need a pass or something? Isn’t it sort of a members-only thing?” I ask.
He hums thoughtfully. “Why do you need to go there?”
“I picked up some books from Jade on demons, and she mentioned there would be more at Arcane.”
Zav chuckles. “You’re doing research on Levi, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I answer through gritted teeth.
“I’ll meet you there in twenty. Gotta let my girl finish first, you know?”
“Finish what?” I ask dumbly.
That’s when I hear Celine moan.
I immediately end the call.
It takes thirty minutes for Zav to arrive, and when he pulls in beside where I stand beside my car, he rolls down his window and says, “Sorry about that. My girl is greedy.”
“I don’t need to know about your sex life,” I grumble.
“You sure you don’t need some pointers?” He slaps me on the back. “I’m happy to help.”
“I promise we’re all good in that department.” I adjust my hold on the books in my arms.
“Good guess on assuming you need a membership to get in here.”
“It seemed like the type,” I mumble as we approach the doors.
“Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll get you your own membership before we leave.”
Zav leads me into the building, nodding at a few people as we go along. The elevator takes us down, instead of up, and when the doors open, my jaw nearly drops. It’s the largest, most expansive library I’ve ever seen. Greater than even the libraries where I come from in Virtue.
I could get lost in here for days—months, maybe evenyears—trying to absorb all the information stored away.
“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think they have any bodice rippers on hand.” Zav smirks, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
I roll my eyes and shove my stack of books at him. “Find a table and stay there. I’m going to find some more books. We have to keep this stack separate, though, since they belong to Jade.” I tap the top book.
“Why do I have to babysit the stack of books?” He frowns.
“Because this is my thing.”
He sighs. “Fine.”
