She smiled widely at the request, recognizing that in a roundabout way, I was calling her my friend.
“As you wish, Lila,” she replied sweetly with a giggle. “The Library is enchanted. It has been for so long that I think it has taken on its own personality. No one actually staffs it. The enchantment was meant to keep it tidy and organized, but I think it has evolved over the centuries to be protective of its information. I am curious though. What did the High Lord want you to read?”
I handed her the anatomy book I was holding. It had randomly flipped open to a picture of a naked male. I focused my blurry vision on the page, burst into laughter, and said plainly, “Fae dongs.”
She blushed, then burst out laughing with a snort. I could not help laughing along with her as she nearly spit out her wine. We laughed uncontrollably until tears streamed down our faces.
We sat together eating off the tray she had brought, gossiping and talking about our lives. I told her about Jared, how we met, and the funny things he used to say. And what a dad joke was. After our laughter had died down, I asked,
“Did you, or any other staff, set up these candles?”
“It wasn’t me, but I can’t speak for any other staff,” she replied, her words slightly slurred.
Why did it bug me so much? Why did I feel like I needed to know?
I downed my last gulp of Faerie wine and attempted to stand, accidentally kicking the empty bottles and sending them rolling away. Calpurnia helped me up. I could tell she felt the effects of the Faerie wine, but not nearly to the extent that I did. I glanced at the tall stack of books on my desk and felt instantly annoyed at how heavy they would be to carry all the way back to my room.
“Ugh, I wish I didn’t have to carry these books,” I said in frustration.
One by one, each book floated into the air and up toward my room. We looked at each other and cracked up laughing again. I had not expected my vocal frustration to result in actual action, but I was very pleased by it.
In unison, we shouted, “Thank you, Library!” and laughed again.
She helped me up, and I slung my arm around her shoulder. We were only steps away from exiting the library when I asked her to stop for a moment. In a whisper, I asked the library to send a bottle to my room.
Calpurnia did not seem pleased, but she allowed it. She reminded me that I had training tomorrow and that being hungover would not be pleasant. She was right. It just felt so welcoming to be careless and happy. I could not remember the last time I had laughed so hard.
CHAPTER 11
Homework
DELILAH
She escorted me, or rather practically carried me, to my door. I opened my bedroom door and stumbled inside, noticing that the fire in the fireplace looked bigger than usual. On the desk, I found the books stacked neatly beside a full bottle of Faerie wine. I thanked the library aloud.
She drew a bath and made sure I did not drown. Then she helped me into a silk nightgown and told me dinner would be brought up to my room soon. I thanked her several times and told her to clock out for the night, assuring her that I would stay in my room and not get into any trouble. She gave me a hug and bid me good night. I think all the wine and my shenanigans had worn her out, because she almost seemed relieved that I dismissed her early.
I looked toward the table by the window and noticed a rectangular box waiting there. It was accompanied by a note with a single word written on it: “homework.”
I vaguely remembered Titus mentioning something about sending homework to my room at breakfast, but all the Faerie wine had left my mind a little fuzzy. It was probably another book, or maybe some worksheets. What did he want me to do? Write a book report on howperfect he was? I chuckled to myself, realizing that the probability of that was not entirely farfetched.
Though I was not prepared for what I saw in the box, perplexed I sat on the bed with my jaw practically on the floor in utter shock. I reached into the box, and I pulled out the largest dildo I had ever seen. It was unnaturally warm, magically heated somehow. It was as long as my forearm, veiny, and so girthy I could not close my hand around it. It seemed so realistic, so many details with the texture and routes of the veins. Had it not been comically large and made of a red silicone-like substance, it could have passed as a real male appendage. I was not a stranger to toys but never anythingthatbig.
I could not even remember the last time I had sex. It had to have been almost a year by now. With my body in such a fragile state for so long, arousal was never something I felt, only unrelenting pain. Now, being back in my body without cancer and growing stronger every day, I noticedthatpart of me had started working again. Maybe it had something to do with Gleeda restoring my womb.
The first time I met Titus, he said he could smell my arousal. He was right. Jerk. I had been taken aback by his appearance, even if he had a terrible personality. But I was aroused. I felt a warmth stir within me, awakening something I thought had been gone for good. The realization left me both relieved and deeply unsettled.
If I must share my body with someone other than Jared at least it was someone I was physically attracted to, I suppose it could be a lot worse.
I held it. Just the weight of it in my hand shocked my senses, sending pulses of fire through my body. My temperature climbed. I had to swallow the extra saliva pooling in my mouth. I glided my fingers down its length; I hadn’t touched one in so long. My nipples hardened, and the brush of silk against them sharpened every sensation. Why did he want me to have this, and how could this possibly be homework?
Just then a knock came at my door. I jolted like a teenager caught masturbating, I panicked, making me toss the behemoth back into its box like a hot potato. I hurried to answer the door. To my surprise, it was Aurelius, holding a silver-covered tray. He took one look at me and his face changed, eyes widening, gaze darting away. I stood in the doorway staring at him, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Then I realized I was wearing only the skimpy nightgown, and my nipples were fiercely pressing against the thin fabric. My cheeks flared bright red. My heart thumped so loud I was sure he could hear it. I squirmed, crossed my arms, tucked my hands into my armpits, and forced a smile.
“Oh God, I am so sorry. I forgot I was not appropriately dressed. I was not expecting you. I thought a fire sprite bring me my meals,” I explained. If I was not going to die from burning alive in a volcano, then I was surely going to die from embarrassment.
He cleared his throat, seeming to compose himself, then replied, “Yes, well, I was in the kitchen and saw your tray. I thought I would bring it up and see you… uh.” He cleared his throat again. “I mean, see how you were feeling.”
