Making our way up the stairs to River’s office, I wondered whether it would be too much to ask her to jump us outside it. I quickly realised she might be uncomfortable travelling unseen through a foreign castle, so I let the thought go. It was a ridiculous thing to ask anyway. Mere hours from now, I’d be setting off on an hours-long hike through the woods or Gods knew what kind of terrain, so I should just suck it up.
Soon we found Michael standing in the entrance to the main library, leaning against the doorframe with a book in hand while River stood opposite, typing away on his phone.
Miriam snorted, more of an instinctual reaction than a desire to draw attention to herself. When I looked at her, she shook her head in disbelief. ‘You think he’s pretending he can read?’
‘Miriam!’ I scolded her and failed to contain my chortle.
‘Lovely to see you too, Mabel.’ Michael closed the book with a thud and walked across the hall to hug me, then whispered in my ear, ‘Rescue me, Ava. That sister of yours is seriously mean.’
‘Spare me your tears, boy,’ she said, tensing a little.
‘You see what I mean?’ he asked, his eyes locked on her, tracking her movements like the spy he was. ‘It’s like she wants me to prove I am a man. Please ask her what she has in mind for me. I’m happy to comply.’
Standing between them felt like I was intruding on something that should be dealt with privately. Yet nosy as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to move.
‘Ava,’ Miriam turned toward me. ‘How about you ask your mate’s little brother if he needs me to read that book for him?. At least then he might be able to understand it.’
Michael’s whole face beamed at her comeback. Eyes glinting with something slightly darker, I already knew she backed herself into a corner.
‘Like a bedtime story?’ he purred, inching closer. ‘Will you also tuck me in,Minerva?’
I found their dynamic entertaining. Casting a quick glance to River, it was clear that so did he.
My grey-haired sister tapped her manicured fingers against the wall, looking like a goddess ready to smite him. ‘Do you also need me to feed you supper like a good little baby?’
‘It depends on what’s on the menu, Miriam.' He stepped closer, and for just a second I thought she might have blushed.
‘Michael, tell me, boy—do you sleep well?’ she asked innocently, closing the distance between them in a single step.
Her breathtaking eyes twinkled with something I hadn’t seen before. There was a surge of something beneath the surface, something she usually kept on a tight leash, now straining to break free.
His gaze locked onto hers, as if he couldn’t tear himself away, before he quickly masked it with a smug smirk. ‘I’d be willing to bet I’d sleep better with you next to me, if that’s where you’re going with this.’
In a movement so swift I barely registered it, she slid a long fingernail beneath his chin, drawing a bead of blood. It gathered at the tip before she licked it clean and backed away.
‘More like drowning your dreams in nightmares. I’ll enjoy your screams.’
He diminished the distance she just created in a couple of hurried steps.
‘As will I yours, though my plans for the circumstances are slightly more relaxed. Perhaps we test my way first,’ he snickered at her serious expression, masking a small shiver that worked its way up his shoulders.
It was intense, I had enough.
I made my way over to River, who was still leaning against the wall. His eyes searched my face, and just as he opened his mouth, he closed it again and lowered his gaze to the floor.
‘What is it?’
The melancholy in his eyes made my heart clench. ‘Nothing. I’m glad to see you.’
‘Don’t make me think about this for the rest of the day. My mind goes straight to the worst scenarios,’ I explained. ‘Please.’
‘There is nothing to worry about, Ava,’ River assured me, rubbing his arm in a self-soothing gesture. ‘I was going to ask for a hug too, but I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.’
‘Oh.’
He bit his lip, and momentarily his amber eyes darkened from pools of vibrant dusk to all-encompassing night. A night I wouldn’t mind getting lost in. The wordplatonicrang in my mind as my core clenched, wanting him anyway.
‘I’d like that,’ I said. My breath caught before I could stop it.
