Chapter 59
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Knox
I continued to the fourth floor, where I discovered her with another stack of books. She shifted the books into one arm before pushing aside some ivy cascading over the shelves. I didn’t have to see behind the ivy to know the shelves weren’t continuous there. Instead, the ivy hid a secret alcove.
I followed her to the doorway and brushed back the ivy to discover her examining the books within.
Only one wall in this area held shelves, while a table set between two plush, brown chairs occupied the other two walls.
A lamp hung from the wall above the table; Briar must have turned it on, as its glow illuminated the small alcove.
It had been years since I visited this space; it was one of my favorites, but my mother preferred the one on the third floor with its plush blue settee and overstuffed ottoman. I’d spent many hours tucked away here, reading adventure stories and hiding from my father’s disapproving eye.
Briar flipped through the pages of a book before returning it to the shelf. She rose on her toes to reach for a book on a higher shelf. Her fingers brushed the spine, but she couldn’t quite grasp it. Gripping the shelf, she pulled herself higher as I strode toward her.
Jumping on her toes, she managed to knock the book free a little; it teetered on the shelf. When it started to tumble toward her, I snatched it out of the air before it hit her.
Briar turned toward me, her shoulder brushing my chest as she did. I should back away, but I didn’t move as she stood before me with her chest inches away.
To keep my focus off her, I examined the book, A History of Demigods. “Are you interested in the demigods?” I inquired.
“Of course, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s why I read this book many years ago. It’s how I know some of their language.”
“Was it good?”
“It’s interesting and mostly about the gods they believed themselves descended from.”
“You don’t think they were descendants of gods?”
“I think they were extremely powerful eternals who let their power go to their heads. Whether their power came from gods or not, I don’t know.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t believe in their gods, the casters don’t believe in them, and neither do the elves or the gorgons or any of the other kingdoms.”
“The shifters don’t believe in any gods.”
“I’m aware.”
When I handed the book back to her, she took it and pressed it against her chest. “The casters have gods and goddesses they worship,” she said.
“Not the same ones as the demigods. I think it’s possible they believed they were descendants of gods, but weren’t.
I could also be completely wrong, and they are the children of gods and goddesses.
That book will tell you about which ones they believed themselves descended from and their different abilities. ”
“Did they all have different abilities?”
“They all had varied abilities, but many of them overlapped. Some were precognitive, others had superior strength, could read minds, control the weather, swim in the seas without air, talk to animals, and others could heal. There are many more abilities, but that’s just a few of them, and they often had a mix of different powers. ”
Briar stared as she stopped breathing. Then she inhaled sharply, and her gaze fell to the book.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes, just tired,” she muttered as she twisted the book in her hands. “I’ve always wanted to learn more about them.”
I rested my fingers on the cover. “Then you’ll enjoy this.”
She stared at my hand for a minute before her eyes lifted to mine. They were the same striking color as always, but I’d seen that glow in them earlier. And now she had different abilities than the other casters… or at least she drew power differently than they did.
“Do you feel different?” I asked. “Since your Needing.”
“Yes.”
“Are you okay with it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you experiencing any difference in your powers?”
“Yes. They’re stronger… or at least I feel stronger. I haven’t really experimented with them too much.”
Her eyes darted away, and she bit her bottom lip before looking at me again. I thought she might say something more, but she didn’t.
“You’re different than the other casters now,” I said.
“I always was.”
I almost smiled, and I wanted to believe it, but I wasn’t ready to trust her completely.
Her lopsided ponytail had shifted further to the side, and some of her hair had slipped free from its confines.
Without thinking, I lifted a strand and slid it through my fingers.
It was as soft as silk, and the glow from the lantern illuminated the different, vibrant hues in it.
Briar didn’t move as she stared up at me. When my gaze shifted to her mouth, her breath hitched a little as she bit her plump, lower lip. She nibbled it between her teeth in a way that sent blood rushing straight to my shaft.
I pushed her hair behind her ear, tucking it away while she watched me. When my fingers brushed her cheek, she turned her face briefly into my touch before stopping herself and closing her eyes.
Her breathing changed, and her heartbeat kicked up enough that her pulse rushed through her neck. Entranced by the beat of it, I slid my fingers down the delicate column of her throat.
It would be so easy to grip her throat and squeeze; to make her suffer as I’d suffered all those years. It would be easy to show her all the many horrific things done to me, but instead of aching to hurt her, all I wanted was to touch her.
For years, I’d hated her while craving her nearness. For years, I was determined to make her suffer along with all her miserable kind.
And now I didn’t know what I wanted from her.
No, that wasn’t true. I knew exactly what I wanted from her.