Chapter Twenty-Five Rohak
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rohak
Thunk!
A large, brown object flew through the air, narrowly missing my face, to land heavily against the floor on the opposite side of the room. My eyes widened as it tumbled end over end before coming to rest against a tottering stack of books.
I winced as the unstable tower wobbled precariously, threatening to topple completely, and blew a breath of relief when it stabilized once more.
That relief was short-lived, however, because a second book—much thicker than the first and sporting the title Temple Construction Before the First Sundering—came flying through the air to crash solidly into the tower, sending books galore to the floor in a cacophony of thunks and slaps.
“Well, fuck,” Faylinn muttered from where she was kneeling on the floor, sorting through what appeared to be a sea of books.
Outside of the Academy library, I’d never seen so many tomes, so much knowledge contained in one place.
Even if some of it seemed rather useless.
Like Temple Construction Before the First Sundering.
“Faylinn,” I called tentatively, my Bonded lost to her mutterings and musings as she rapidly sorted through book after book.
She turned her gaze from the tome in her left to the other in her right, wobbling her head from side to side as she internally debated the merits of each.
With a sigh and a shrug, both were tossed over her shoulders.
One flew high, hitting the ceiling before falling to the couch, startling Cotton, who scampered away and under her bed in the other room with a screeched ‘meow.’
The second hit me squarely in the chest, knocking the breath from my lungs as it came to rest on top of my boots.
The Goddess’s Harem screamed at me in glittering gold letters. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I shook my head, ridding myself of thoughts about what could possibly be contained within those pages.
“Faylinn!” I called again. Her whole body shuddered at my voice before she dropped the two new books she was holding and turned to face me.
Her eyes were a bit unfocused, but she bit back a smile as I gestured to the book at my feet.
“You’re making more of a mess than there was to begin with,” I growled, but not unkindly. Stepping into Faylinn’s room was like entering a library—an unorganized and rather small library, but a library, nonetheless.
“Sorry about that,” she said with a sheepish shrug, crawling toward me to grab the offending book. I averted my eyes and desperately tried to tame the erection I’d suddenly sported when I watched her ass sway in the air with each motion.
Her hand grazed my boot, and I made the mistake of looking down, only to see Faylinn on her knees, mouth level with my cock. Thankfully, she wasn’t looking at my crotch, more fascinated by the book in her hands.
“Huh. I thought I put this in the keep pile,” she muttered, tucking it under her arm as she scooted away from me, back toward the pile of books she was sorting.
“Faylinn, we cannot bring all of these with us,” I muttered, adjusting myself as soon as her back was turned. She waved a tattooed hand over her shoulder as if brushing off my perfectly reasonable argument.
“You still have access to this room, Faylinn. There’s no reason to bring more than the essentials—”
“But this could all be essential, Rohak! What if I wake in the middle of the night with a thought, and I need my book on Plants of Southern Elyria, but all I have is Plants of Northern Elyria. Then I have to walk down the stairs, through the hall, unlock my door, turn on these Mage Orbs, sort through my endless piles of books, and hope that I find what I’m looking for before I forget my thought completely. ”
Her voice rose, hands gesturing wildly, as her pulse thumped in her neck and breath came in rapid pants.
“Whoa, hold on,” I said, moving without conscious thought until I was crowding her space, back folded over the top of her as if to shield her from the exterior stressors.
Immediately, Faylinn grew quiet, her hands falling back to her sides. She chewed her bottom lip with an intensity I was sure would leave it chapped and bleeding.
Seemingly of their own accord, my fingers reached up and plucked her lip from between her teeth, soothing the abused skin with the pad of my thumb.
My cock twitched, my thumb between Faylinn’s pouty lips, those big hazel eyes staring up at me in adoration.
I blinked away the visual.
“You’re worried about not being able to research in the middle of the night,” I said, tone completely neutral.
She nodded once, and I moved so both of my hands cupped her elbows. Even with her thin tunic separating us, I could feel the heat of her skin as it seeped into my palms.
I liked it—more than I’d ever let her know, especially with her half of the Bond still firmly locked.
“Then you wake me,” I said simply with a shrug of my shoulders.
Incredulity passed over Faylinn’s face, her brows twitching in surprise, before she spoke.
“Wake . . . you?”
I nodded.
“We’re going to be sleeping in the same room, right? Most likely the same bed so that our physical touch will settle the Bond?”
She made a noise of affirmation.
“Then just wake me up and tell me what you need me to do. I’m happy to be your research assistant in the middle of the night.”
A cloud passed over Faylinn’s expression before it brightened significantly, warming me through with its earnestness.
“You mean that?”
“Of course I do, Faylinn. You, me”—I gestured between us—“we’re together for the rest of our lives now. Whatever you need, I’ll do.”
She shot me a tentative smile before nodding in thanks.
“Then, do you mind helping me stack and organize everything in here?” Faylinn’s voice still retained a hint of hesitation, one I squashed immediately.
“I would love to organize your books,” I admitted truthfully.
Hours later, we were curled up on opposite ends of the sofa in my sitting room, blankets tossed over our laps as Cotton nestled between us.
The usually grumpy feline had taken to his new home immediately, wasting no time in pawing the couch until it was adequately comfortable and promptly falling asleep.
He naps more than any other animal I’d ever seen.
A fire crackled merrily in the hearth, the pops of the firewood the only sound in my rooms. That and the occasional rasp as Faylinn turned another page in her book.
I’d never seen her so relaxed, so at ease. As if my rooms were always supposed to be her home.
I couldn’t help but feel an immense amount of masculine pride over the way she simply melted into the couch, hair piled on top of her head, wearing a pair of loose pants and a tunic. She was breathtakingly beautiful and only served to bring life and joy into my usually dull living quarters.
I cleared my throat, pulling Faylinn’s attention from her reading with a soft smile.
“Would you like to look at that book I found now?” I asked, fidgeting with some loose fibers on the black blanket spread across our thighs.
Her face brightened further as she shut her book with a snap.
“Don’t you want to mark your page?” I asked, alarmed.
Faylinn simply laughed and shook her head. “I have my placement memorized. No need for a marker.”
“But you’re reading multiple books at once.”
She shrugged as she moved closer to me on the couch, only stopping when our shoulders brushed. Cotton vacated the couch when he realized his sleeping space was shrinking, opting for a spot in front of the fireplace.
“I have them all memorized.”
“You say that like it’s normal—like everyone does it.” I huffed a laugh, running my hand through my messy hair. Faylinn tracked the movement, eyes darkening as she watched my bicep flex. “It’s incredibly impressive,” I finished, voice huskier than normal.
Faylinn hummed and gestured to where the tome I’d found hidden in Alois’ study rested atop a side table.
I handed it over, fingers brushing hers in the exchange.
She sucked in a breath at the contact, and the Bond preened.
Fuck. If it feels like this with just a few casual, innocent touches, what’s going to happen when we have to sleep together?
I shot a glance over my shoulder at the door leading to the bedroom and swallowed roughly.
An exercise in restraint, this was.
Faylinn caressed the book reverently, fingers bumping along the grooves in the cover.
“There’s a few runes I recognize, but many that I don’t,” she admitted softly, continuing her perusal.
“That’s more than me,” I teased.
Faylinn laughed softly, but pointed to a rune at the very top. There were two interconnecting circles of runes embossed on the cover, overlapping in the middle.
“This one”—she tapped it lightly—“means beginning. And this one”—she tapped one at the bottom—“means end.”
They were so similar looking, I was certain I would need a thousand lessons before I could read even half as well as Faylinn.
“What about the one in the middle?”
Faylinn chewed her lip, something flashing in her eyes. “The Bondsmith,” she said, voice devoid of emotion.
“The Bondsmith’s beginning and end?” I asked.
Faylinn shrugged. “Something like that, I would imagine.”
“But the book is empty.”
She laughed, light and melodic. “Yes, I’m certain an artifact would be.”
I blanched, jolting in my seat slightly, but Faylinn seemed unfazed.
“The Bondsmith’s . . . artifact?”
She hummed and nodded. “Seems that way. There’s a few other runes on there that all but confirm it.
Life and death, for instance. I had a feeling when you said it was hidden in Alois’ bookshelves, tucked away from prying eyes.
It’s not something he’d want anyone to see—even if he didn’t know what he held.
It also pulsed with a sort of . . . energy when I held it initially.
Energy that felt like mine but different somehow. ”
“Wow,” I said rather inarticulately.
Faylinn laughed fully, her body easing into mine with each passing minute.
“Something like that.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
Faylinn was silent for a moment, the flames of the fire dancing in her eyes.
“Can you put it back where you found it for now? I’m not sure what I want to do with it yet, or what I’m even supposed to do with it. I just know it needs to be kept safe until the time for that decision comes.”
I was nodding before she even stopped speaking.
“Of course, Faylinn.”
She eased into me fully, then, and I opened up my arm, wrapping it around her shoulders and pressing her against my chest. Faylinn sighed, a slow, contented thing I couldn’t help but echo.
“Would you like me to show you Vespera now?” she asked quietly. I tensed but nodded, locking down any errant emotions I felt toward her before opening the Bond. It was like an immense relief to open those gates, like I’d been awake for far too long and could finally rest.
Faylinn sighed as her own barriers relaxed, the connection between us undulating and pulsing in time with our heartbeats.
“Are you ready?” Faylinn murmured, and I sent her a feeling of readiness down the Bond. A second later, the connection between us was awash with memories.