“And you don’t?”
This time, she really did feel his breath on her cheek. For a second, she let herself imagine the brief hint of longing in his gaze was real. Shivers wracked through her body. Cassia couldn’t keep her eyes from the curve of his lips. A tiny birthmark sat on the corner, only noticeable up close. It was one of her favorite things about it.
So maybe shedidknow what she wanted. What she lacked was the guts to act on it.
“I know what I want.”
That damned Warlock’s voice carried like a grating siren to their spot in the library corner. Suddenly feeling like she was suffocating, Cassia rushed backward. Only to hit a table. The hard wood smacked into the back of her thigh, sending a slice of pain down her leg. She gritted her teeth and pretended like it didn’t happen.
“A different room. You would think a palace would have thicker walls,” Archer said, appearing from around the corner with Finn.
“It was one night,” Finn replied. “Try living with them for a few months.”
“You’re always welcome to go back to the dungeon,” Cassia snapped, hoping she wasn’t as red as she felt.
Archer raised a brow. “You know, your ray of sunshine brother was a lot scarier when he…”
With a light cough, Finn elbowed him. “I think we interrupted something.”
Damn emotion reader.
“No,” she and Castor said at the same time. Cassia hated that his quick answer made her stomach twist. And since when had those two become so chummy? “What are you two doing in here?”
Finn gave her a knowing look. “We’re looking for—”
“Me.”
Echnav, or Stellan, or whatever the hell he was going by now, emerged by a far shelf. Like an invisible veil had been cast off of him. Cassia tightly rolled her lips together, remembering the same camouflage trick from when he’d been one of her tutors. “What the hell,” she hissed. “How long have you been there?”
Stellan’s only answer was a slight upturn of his lips. Did every single one of her conversations with Castor have to be overheard or seen by someone in her vicinity?
Cassia glared at them all. “So what is this? Another secret meeting that I didn’t get an invitation to?”
“I summoned them to the library because you were already in here,” Stellan said. “The information we need to discuss is vital to you, too. It’s clear Vega knows she has a foothold. The Wraith could have only been created with her help. We’ve already wasted too much time.”
Well, Cassia couldn’t really argue with that. And at least this time, she wasn’t fighting to be included.
Archer sighed. “Yeah, can we stop with the head invasions? A note under the door would have sufficed.”
“A foothold?” Castor asked.
Stellan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Where’s Bridget and Cade?”
“I know… we’re late.”
Hand in hand, Cade and Bridget peeked around the far library shelf. After a quick glance over his shoulder, her brother gently nudged Bridgetforward, never once letting go of her hand. For once, Bridget’s hair wasn’t pulled up and the sweater she wore, oversized and clearly from the human realm, was a faded navy with cracked white lettering that spelled out something Cassia couldn’t quite make out. It clashed horribly with the elegance of the palace, but who was she to judge?
But her mouth almost fell open at the almost overnight transformation of her brother. He looked so damnedhappy. Part of her was a little jealous. She snuck a glance of Castor out of the corner of her eye. He was now a few feet from her. Which was good, she told herself. That was the way it was supposed to be.
“Most of the guards are back on the grounds. We had to take the long way,” Cade muttered. “Could we have picked somewhere a little more inconspicuous?”
To Cassia’s surprise, Stellan glowered at him. With a flick of his head, he directed them toward the back shelf where she knew Cade’s favorite secret room was hidden. When the others followed him, she let herself fall to the end of line. That’s probably where they wanted her anyway.
“Someone’s looking perky this morning,” Archer said to Bridget.
Even though she couldn’t see it, Cassia knew Bridget rolled her eyes. “I actually slept without any dreams last night.”
Archer snorted. “That’s surprising. I didn’t think you’d slept at all based on the noises I heard around breakfast time.”
