Aden sighed, pulling his paw away from her hands. “I already felt so... broken. I did not want to shout my weaknesses to the world.”
“To me,” she corrected.
You are my world,Aden said in his head, wishing he had the courage to say it aloud, but knowing he had nothing to offer except for a few falling rose petals. He stood, breaking the closeness between them.
“I never thought of you as broken,” she said, standing as well. “I am angryforyou that you have been cursed by this awful burden, but I have been continually awed that you spend each day enjoying those around you. I would have crumbled completely under such a weight.”
Aden wished he could see her face, but he breathed in the confidence of her words instead, letting them wash over him like a soothing rain.
“Let’s go read something together, right now!” she said, her voice light and excited.
“Read something?” he repeated, trying to comprehend the fact that she still wanted to spend time with him even after he had exposed his weaknesses.
“I’ll read to you, in the library. Come on.” She pulled his arm toward the eastern hallway. “I might even let you choose the book!”
Aden smiled, her joy infecting him. “That sounds wonderful. Oh, wait, actually...” He paused, seeing the mud—not blood—on her dress. “Do you want to go get out of your wet clothes?”
She looked down. “I suppose I should, for the sake of the books. I had already forgotten. Meet you there!” She ran off, dancing up the steps and down the hallway.
He still had time—precious little time, but he would make the most of it.
Chapter 25
Isa returned to the library, her heart soaring. The Floutast was nearly ready for the Council. The bridge was nearly complete. And their beastly companion had turned out to be very much human after all.
She had been repeatedly repulsed by his constant staring, only to find that he had not been able to see her this entire time.
Maybe that was why her heart felt so light. She could talk to him truly, like a friend.
He was waiting for her at the crackling fireplace. “I asked Luca to light a small fire to fend of the damp,” he said.
“Thank you,” she responded. She had changed into a dry dress, but her braided hair was still quite damp. She sat down, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She had the sudden desire to continue their conversation, to learn more about his curse. They had argued so many times, yet they had shared very few genuine conversations. “Shall we... read?” she asked.
He nodded, seemingly at a loss as much as she was.
“You can choose the book,” she said generously, “since it has been so long since you’ve had the pleasure.”
His angular mouth smiled at that. “I choose Floutast,” he confidently replied.
“I thought you hated Floutast?” she said, confused.
“I do. And I intend to continue hating him. But I want to see if perhaps I missed something in my earlier assessment. I am very intrigued as to why the Council is so intent on having it.” He absently scratched above his pointed ears.
Isa stood and retrieved a newly bound book from her worktable. Settling back into a chair by the fire, she basked in its dry warmth. The crackling flames mixed with the rain pounding on the windows outside to create a cozy atmosphere in the old library.
Aden sat across from her, his massive shoulders hunched over the already-large chair.
“Let’s start somewhere in the middle, then,” Isa said, opening the book at random. The handwriting was thick and condensed in the typical style from that time, but she was used to parsing the subtle differences in letters and was soon reading freely.
Aden was right. This book was boring. It felt more like a marketplace ledger than a book. She plunged through several pages of supply lists and soldierly formations before closing it in frustration.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “What in the five kingdoms could the Council be looking for in this text?”
“Your voice is very soothing for reading aloud,” Aden responded. “It is energetic but still in a low enough register not to grate on the ears.”
“Thank you?” Isa responded. That had sounded like a compliment, unless her voice was grating at other times.
“What do you know of Floutast himself?” Aden asked.
