Following my gaze, Soren nodded. “We do.”
At first, I was comforted. Then my brain pointed out that while some fae might be locked out, other fae—like the one right beside me—would be locked in. There was no such thing assafehere.
I let my hair fall forward and covered my face with my hands so Soren wouldn’t see my silent tears. My shoulders shook a little as I tried and failed to hold them in.
The couch shifted under me as he stood. “You should get some rest. Follow me.”
Hands still over my face, I nodded, taking a few deep breaths. I started to say thank you, then caught myself. Instead, on an exhale, I said, “That’d be great.”
He led us toward the ladder, and I dried my face the best I could with my hands while his back was turned.
He didn’t try to make small talk.
I wasn’t usually one for it either, but exhaustion loosened my tongue. “What if Caius hadn’t brought me back?” The question beneath it was the one I really wanted to know:Would you have abandoned me for real?
Climbing the ladder, he disappeared onto the balcony, but his voice floated down to me. “Gwen followed you the whole time.”
My mouth fell open. “Oh.”
I shouldnothave felt so grateful to hear that. I climbed the ladder after him.
Up here, the lights dimmed, casting shadows across the books. It smelled like dusty old pages with a faint hint of woodsmoke from the fireplace below.
He’d already strode partway down the narrow balcony.
I wanted to slow down and peek at the titles, but the daybed built into a cubby between the shelves ahead called my name. Thick blankets plus four fluffy pillows lay on it. My eyes fluttered as I pictured myself sinking into them. “Oh, thank you,” I whispered.
Then I slapped my hands over my mouth.
Eyes wide, I waited for Soren to react, but he didn’t.
That was close.
He stopped beside the daybed and tapped one finger on the thick wooden railing across from it, looking over the ledge at the library below instead of at me. “If you need anything in the kitchen, help yourself. You already know where the bathing room is. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Since I wasn’t supposed to thank him, I didn’t know what to say.
Turning, he continued on down the balcony, away from the ladder.
It looked like a dead end.
“Where are you going?”
He glanced back as he reached the last shelf and selected a book. When he pulled, it shifted forward, but instead of the book coming loose, the entire shelf from floor to ceiling swung out toward him on silent hinges, revealing a hidden doorway behind it. “My room.”
Stepping inside, he let the shelves glide back into place and disappeared.
