Page 26 of Knave

He swallowed, pushing away his reckless desire, and gave Mouse’s hand a squeeze before leading her to the main entrance. There was no longer a door, but a round opening where it would’ve been. The entrance chamber was blacker than sin, not that it mattered much with their ability to see in the dark. He’d seen much more terrifying shit done in brighter places while inside the Ruby Heart Palace. Red’s castle smelled stale and dry with the sweet hint of death.

“We should try to find the library first and any rooms along the way,” Ferris mused. “If that doesn’t turn up anything on the beast, we can search somewhere else.”

Mouse scowled, then nodded once. “There’s a private library that belonged to the king and queen. If they held secrets about the Jabberwocky, they might have kept them hidden there.”

“I wonder why they didn’t send someone to kill the monster.” Ferris peeked inside the palace and found it empty, save for the layer of red dust. The floors were made of the same sandstone as the walls, the stones laid in a careful herringbone design. The gold flecks in the material were dulled but still visible. Overhead, strands of chains linked five chandeliers made of antlers. Black candles were still imbedded on the points, dried wax running down the bone. “Ifthey knew how to kill it, I mean.”

He’d wondered about this as they traveled to the palace, but hadn’t brought it up because it would mean this might be a wild goose chase. It made no sense to keep the Jabberwocky alive if they could’ve rid themselves of it. Unless killing it was a lot harder than living with it…

“We can worry about that later,” Mouse whispered, seeming to feel how he’d tensed. “Follow me. I think I remember where the library was, but it’s been a while since I was here.”

Ferris let Mouse take the lead, pulling him down dark hallways by the hand. Even the simple contact, her skin on his, had his body buzzing with desire. Dragging her into the nearest bedroom was a looping thought, but they had a job to do. Jabberwocky first. Fucking second, if she wanted to. So, he studied his surroundings in a desperate attempt to get his dick to behave.

The walls of the palace were all bare—whether it was because any artwork had been stolen or if it was a style choice, he wasn’t sure. Dust, leaves, and bramble had blown inside through the open doors. Tattered shreds of fabric clung to the empty window frames and splintered pieces of wood were shoved against the wall under a layer of dust.

They passed by rooms in disarray, finding nothing of use there—chairs toppled over, tables missing legs, chandeliers dangling precariously from the ceilings. Doors hung from the hinges, if there were still doors at all. Rust-colored blood stains splashed against paneled walls and on porcelain tile.

A skeleton sprawled in the middle of a large sitting room caused Ferris to slow his steps. The skull, however, was displayed on an iron sconce hanging from the wall. Judging by the powdered wig still framing the face, it had been a male.

“Interesting décor,” he joked.

Mouse followed his gaze, giving a snort, and led him away from the display. A few more rooms down, Mouse stopped in front of a set of open double doors. “We’re here,” she said and hesitated before stepping into a massive library.

Shelves were toppled, books spilling from them, loose pages scattered about. A pair of green sofas still sat across from each other with a round table between. Directly above was a domed ceiling made of glass with cracks webbing across it. In its glory, this must’ve been fucking badass. Even Ferris might’ve considered reading there.Nah.But maybe he would’ve dragged his drum set in.

He gave Mouse’s hand another squeeze and dropped it. “Where should we start?”

“This side? We can work our way across,” she suggested while chewing on her lip.

Together, they made their way to the far left and scanned book titles. Mouse used her fingertips to trail over them, pushing the ones on the shelf until they sat in even rows. He imagined those fingers trailing over him instead. Starting on his chest, skating down. Tracing the lines of his abs and down the V to unbutton his jeans. Those fingers wrapping around his cock. Stroking him. Ferris drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He ran his knuckles over the rows of books to even them, knowing it would please Mouse to see his shelves in proper order too. And also as a distraction to tamp down his damn lust.

The Balance of Life.

The Ballad of a Lady.

Bartholomew’s Theories.

Ferris ran a hand through his hair. The titles were arranged, seemingly, in alphabetical order but with no thought to what they were about. Romance novels were beside scientific tomes and poetry. He glanced over at Mouse, holding a weathered black book in her hands, opened to a diagram. She sucked on her bottom lip as she studied it, and he stared at her perfect mouth. Remembered how it felt on his. The way her lips moved over his neck. Holy shit, they had searching to do and all he could focus on was pleasing her and his dick.

“What do you have there?” he asked, clearing his throat, pushing himself to fuckingfocus. The old sketches on the page were too hard to see from where he stood.

Mouse jumped and snapped the book shut. “Nothing.”

Before she could place it back on the shelf, Ferris plucked it from her hands with a laugh. She bounced onto the balls of her feet to try getting it back, but Ferris held it over his head, curiosity piqued. The spine of the book was too worn to read so he flipped it open to find page after page of sketches with notations at the bottom.

Sketches of people fucking, their bodies in various sexual poses.

“This is definitelysomething,” he said with a grin.

Mouse sighed and crossed her arms. “I only looked inside because I couldn’t read the name of the book.”

He glanced at her, his grin widening. That might’ve been why she opened it, but she was most definitely interested in the contents based on how hard she’d stared at the pages a moment ago. “This one looks fun,” he said, and held the page open so she could see.

The woman laid on her back with one leg wrapped around the man’s thigh, the other draped over his shoulder, as he fucked her. A basic position, but given the year this book was made, maybe it was more intriguing. Still, itwasa fun one, and he felt himself stiffen slightly, throwing all his focus on searching out the damn window.

“Maybe add a blindfold to the mix for a little extra spice,” he suggested, watching her carefully. Their eyes met and he imagined having Mouse beneath him just like the drawing. Her pink plait wrapped around his hand, his cock sliding inside her, the sounds she would make. When he spoke again, his voice was husky. “He should be kissing her, at least. Showing her breasts a little love.”

When a blush tinged her cheeks, he closed the book and set it on the shelf behind her. She didn’t move as he leaned closer to do so. Only held her breath. He breathed her in, the light floral scent going straight to his cock. Ferris lowered his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear and she let out a small gasp.

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