“And does it even truly matter?” Griff added.
“It all has to do with Starfire, I can feel it,” I said, pointing out all the places the blanks appeared.
“Then let’s look at that.” Griff bent closer to look at the page with me, his breath tickling my cheek. “‘Pull the Starfire the earth has mined.’ Could it be some latent power from the universe itself, deep within the earth?”
We all stared at him.
“What? I grew up with him.” He looked pointedly at Finn, even as he shifted in his chair to press his knee against mine. “I learned some things.”
“Interesting thought.” Finn started musing on some theory orphilosophy about the universe and power and balance. He went deep pretty quickly and lost me.
Griff’s arm was draped along my chair. With Finn’s attention focused elsewhere, he began to play with my braid.
“Stop that. He’s going to notice.”
“Doubtful. He’s talking about some arcane history thing. Besides, you dragged us out here and now we’ve spent all night in a fucking library instead of curled up in bed. I need to touch you.”
I conveyed my scoff mentally.“You’re making it sound like you’re deprived. You can go one night without me.”
“Doesn’t mean I like it.”He started massaging the nape of my neck.“When it comes to you, I can’t help it. I’ll always want you. Even when I’ve just spent myself and I’m still inside you, I want you again.”
I fought the rising blush and the need to move closer to him.“Now he’s really going to notice.”
“I still doubt it. But if you keep blushing like that, he may get curious about what you’re thinking.”
His finger traced the shell of my ear before trailing down my neck to toy with my neckline, leaving warmth every place he touched. I bit off an audible moan, but let it go through the bond.
Griff stood abruptly, cutting Finn off mid-sentence. “It’s late. Or early, depending on how you look at it. I suggest we all go get a few hours of sleep and pick back up in the morning.Laterin the morning.” I might have been the only one who heard his emphasis on the wordlater.
“Go, go.” Finn waved a hand at us, not even bothering to look in our direction as he moved to the stacks, excitedly reading titles and running his fingers down the spines of books.
Griff waited until we left the library before grabbing my arm and tugging me to our room. We barely made it back before he had shoved my pants aside and claimed me.
Afterward, we both fell into the deep sleep that only came from being thoroughly loved.
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
Wraith wasn’t there today. He can’t have left me, can he? He has to feel this too, right? This tug? This pull?
—From the journal of Violet Andrever
For once in my life, I slept past the sun. When I finally woke, he was still there, which would take some getting used to. Even with how early I typically woke, most days he was gone. Unsurprisingly, I was using his shoulder as a pillow, my leg thrown over his hips. I cuddled into that nook between his shoulder and collarbone.
“I could get used to this,” I murmured sleepily.
He kissed the crown of my head. “Get used to it. I’m not going anywhere.”
My arm was resting across his chest and I squeezed his shoulder. “Thank all the gods.” Then I sat bolt upright in bed. He half rose in alarm as I turned to him. “What day is it today?”
“March twenty-fifth,” he said, confusion coloring his voice.
I looked at him in dismay. “I missed your birthday,” I cried.
He laughed, the tension leaving his body as he tugged me back down. “I don’t need to celebrate my birthday.”
“I had plans for it,” I protested.
