Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
LILY
Normally this library can perk me up, but not so much today.
The smell of sage is heavy in the air. Teddy was pissed about the ending to a romance book she was reading and is now convinced she must cleanse the space of negative energy or we’ll be cursed with only man-ho books or ones with dead exes.
The thought gives me a chill. Maybe I should help her.
Except I don’t want to move from my spot where I’m curled in the window seat, staring at the same paragraph I’ve read four times.
Teddy tosses the sage into the fireplace before disappearing again.
A few seconds later she’s back, wielding lightsabers.
Where does she get all of these? And how the heck does she have an unlimited amount of energy?
“You need to move,” she says, tossing me the purple one. “You’ve been moping.”
“I’m not moping.” I catch it, barely. “I’m reading.”
“You’re sulking. There’s a difference.” She ignites her lightsaber, and the pink blade hums to life. “Come on. Killian taught me the forms. I’m basically a Jedi now.”
I snort a laugh. “You’re a dorkball.”
“And you’re a grump who needs to hit something.” She swings at me playfully, and I roll off the window seat to dodge.
Minnie watches from the fireplace mantel, her tufted ears twitching. Teddy’s lynx is a rescue and technically illegal, but the same could be said about Killian. She yawns, showing teeth, and settles back into her sunbeam.
I ignite my light saber, the purple beam lighting up.
The sound fills the space, bouncing off walls covered floor to ceiling with books.
The library is ridiculous, something out of a gothic novel—three stories of walnut shelves, rolling ladders, and a spiral staircase up to the second level, where the rare editions live.
The fireplace alone could fit a small car.
Right now, it’s cold, full of last night’s ash, because neither of us knows how to work it without setting off smoke alarms, and then we’ll both be in trouble.
I don’t know who’s worse when we’re in trouble, Roland or Killian.
My mind directs to Tristan. What would he think of me going head-to-head in a lightsaber fight? Would he think I’m silly? Showing my age, I suppose, not classy like Sasha.
“En garde,” Teddy says, lunging. I let out a small scream and barely get away. What the hell?
We circle the central table, her pressing, me retreating, until my back hits the velvet couch and I trip over the arm, tumbling backward into the cushions. The lightsaber deactivates automatically. Teddy stands over me, grinning, her blade humming inches from my nose.
“See?” she says. “You have to smile when you’re wielding one of these.”
“I’m not smiling.”
“You’re also not thinking about who we shall not name.” She deactivates hers and collapses beside me, the couch groaning under the shift. “Better?”
“You’re wrong,” I tell her.
“Yeah, it happens a lot.”
I laugh. “I meant that I wasn’t thinking about him. I wondered what he would think about our library duel. Would he think it was stupid? And then I thought about how Sasha would not wield a lightsaber.”
“Because she sucks.”
“This is true.” I stare at the ceiling, which has three beautiful chandeliers. “I found my MIT shirt folded in the closet.”
“Roland, he’s always folding crap. You should see the creases he can make with an iron.”
“No.” I swallow. “Like it was in my bag, and this morning it was out and folded.”
Teddy goes still. “Lily—”
“And my bathroom was organized. And my ribbon is missing.” I sit up, facing her. “I know how this sounds.”
“It sounds like—” She stops and reconsiders. “Like the housekeeper got to your room.”
“Shut up.” I hit her with the back of my hand. “The ribbon?”
“Probably put away where it belongs.”
Shit, I’m reaching here, aren’t I? Maybe it’s more wishful thinking on my part.
“No one is getting in or out of here without Killian knowing.”
I nod, but I’m not so sure I agree. Anyway, I need to get these insane thoughts out of my head. Tristan isn’t sneaking around my bedroom. Why would he do that?
The last of the sage Teddy had earlier burns out in the fireplace where she’d tossed it.
“Let’s light it,” Teddy says suddenly. “The fire. It’s cold, and I’m cold, and you need to stop thinking about phantom laundry folders.”
“If you want. It’s your fireplace.” Teddy glances down, then her head snaps up.
“Yeah, you’re right, it’s my fireplace. I can light it, and no one can tell me that I should come and get them to do it.” Oh crap. I know that look. It’s the one she gets when she’s determined to make a point. There’s no turning back now.
“Is this no one Killian?”
She ignores my question. “I’m freezing. There’s no way I can last another second in these conditions.” She is full of shit. I watch her bounce over, grabbing the iron poker. “Can’t be that hard, right?”
Minnie lifts her head, watching us closely, which should have been our cue. Teddy opens the grate and starts poking at the ash. I join her because apparently, I’m incapable of making good decisions, and together we stare at the cold logs like they might spontaneously combust. No such luck.
“There,” I say, pointing to a panel on the wall. “Gas starter?”
“Oh, fancy. I’m sure that was a Grams update.” She flips it. Nothing. Flips it again. Still nothing. “Maybe it’s—”
The whoosh of gas igniting cuts her off, followed immediately by the shriek of the estate’s fire suppression system.
An alarm starts to sound, and suddenly grated metal walls slide down, covering all the books half a second before water sprays from the ceiling, cold and shocking, drenching us both in seconds.
Teddy screams. I laugh, actually laugh, bent over with my hair stuck to my face and my lightsaber on the rug dying. Minnie has vanished, probably to higher ground.
“Killian’s going to kill me,” Teddy wheezes, wiping water from her eyes. “Actual murder. With a real sword.”
“Worth it,” I say and mean it. Fuck, that was a good laugh.
“I’m guessing when Grams made the update, she got the grates installed too?”
“I didn’t even know it could do that,” Teddy admits. Her grams was always thinking ahead. I’d guess she had them installed when Teddy started walking. The books are saved; we are not.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I ignore it, but I know who it is.
Who else would it be? Everyone I know is under this roof.
Mr. M, short for mysterious, who I’ve been texting with most of the morning.
Nothing big, just small talk. But I have to admit it’s nice, or I’m starved of human connection. Gah, I don’t know.
Teddy follows my gaze to my pocket. “Him?” She perks up.
“Probably.”
“Tell him you’re drowning in a library and he needs to step up his rescue game.”
“Theodora!” Killian’s voice bellows through the house.
“Oh shit, he said my real name. That means big trouble.” Teddy’s eyes are wide. It sounds like a herd of rhinos is barreling down on us before the doors to the library are thrown open.
“It’s my fault!”
“I did it!” Teddy and I both say at the same time, both trying to take the blame.
We look at each other, then over at Killian. I nod, and we lunge for our lightsabers.
“I’m not going down without a fight!” Teddy screams and runs toward Killian, making me laugh harder.
I love her. Only Teddy could make me laugh when I wasn’t sure I’d ever smile again.