Page 8 of Bound By Honey

Freddy put his hand back up on the shelf’s now empty spot, and soon a soft click could be heard. After replacing the book in its home, he grabbed the shelf itself and pushed.

The bookshelf slid back silently.

With a nod of his head, Freddy looked back at her. "Are you coming?"

She didn't know if she should. While comfortable around Freddy, she only knew him as a stone statue.

Sage could hear her mother's voice telling her not to go to strange places with strangers. Especially men. Did she trust him enough to enter a space she didn't know how to escape?

He took a step into the secret hallway behind the shelf.

Freddy turned around, waiting for her.

With a deep breath to calm her nerves, she hesitantly followed him in.

It seemed magical to her, almost like the walls held some sort of secret enchantment, keeping them from closing in on Freddy and her for fear of trapping them. It felt strange to think about it, but it felt true.

The magic surrounding the hall was strong. She could feel it gently brushing against her.

As Freddy turned a corner, Sage saw a small fire illuminating the room.

Shelves and stacks of books from the floor to the ceiling covered the space. No windows could be seen, but in the center sat a small table with two chairs and a trunk beside an oversized plush chair.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"My home. At least the space I can call my own."

"How? This doesn't make any sense. I've walked around the entire library. There's no space that this room could exist in. Are we underground?"

Freddy walked over to the table and poured two glasses of water. "We're not underground. The library has several places like this that were created long ago. Think of it as a magical pocket inside the library. Somewhere to keep the things that need protection the most."

Sage nodded. "So the books with dangerous spells and enchantments on them are here?"

"That's right. It's not just spells, either. Anything our king or head librarian doesn't want people to see or touch is stored here. It's a magical vault that very few people know the existence of or how to access."

Sage couldn't believe she was standing in front of one of the library’s secret places.

Books have been her passion since she was a little girl, especially magic books.

She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at him. "So why are you showing me then?"

Freddy chuckled as he climbed into the oversized chair.

"Because someone decided to be a stowaway. If it were anyone else, I would have kicked them out before the library was sealed. You, though," he swirled the water in his glass before continuing, "have earned at least a bit of my trust. I assumed if you were hiding in the library, you must have a good reason."

Sage looked at the fire. She walked to the table, picked up the glass he had poured earlier, and took a sip, avoiding his gaze.

She lowered the glass. "I have nowhere else to go," she mumbled.

"Why is that?"

She pulled out the chair and slumped into it, dropping her small bag of belongings on the floor beside it. "My parents moved, and I didn't have the heart to tell them I couldn't find anywhere to stay before they left. I tried... No, Iam tryingto find somewhere. It's just been much harder to do than I expected it to be."

Freddy stood from his chair and joined her at the table. He placed his large hand on hers. The heat from his hand made her gasp. "You can stay here if you want to for a few days. Not permanently, but I'll give you a month to find somewhere else to go."

Tears began to well in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't thank me yet. I won't kick you out, but it may become an issue if anyone else finds out you are staying here. Besides," he gestured around him, "I don't have the most comfortable arrangement for non-gargoyle guests."

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