Page 39 of Compass Points
“What do you mean?” Luc asked.
“I mean, Zrak sacrificed himself, but can a god really die? Do we even know what him sacrificing himself meant?”
“It’s been hundreds of years since the Flood, and we’ve never seen anything like this. Why now?” Luc challenged.
“You walked yourself into that one, Rose.”
Rose glared at Arie as he flew away, leaving her alone with the response. It was uncharacteristic of Arie to even allude to what he knew about her past, but his comment indicated he might know more than she even realized.
Something had changed. And what had happened to her ten years ago…as much as she didn’t want to think about it, the coincidence was too great to be ignored.
“Rose?” Luc asked a little softer, watching Arie fly away.
“I don’t know,” Rose said. The picture still didn’t make sense in her head. She needed more.
Luc stepped toward her. She met his gaze.
“Come on,” Rose said, interrupting his forward progress. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he got closer to her now. She didn’t trust her body’s reaction to him. “We’ll accomplish nothing with this staring contest, lovely though your eyes may be.” She smiled coquettishly at him.
He blinked, pulling himself from wherever his mind had wandered to and breaking their stare. He pointed his finger back towards himself.
“My eyes are lovely? You mean these?” He batted his long lashes intentionally this time, leaning even closer to her face. Mere inches separated them, their breath intermingling as the sun set over Suden beach.
“You know the ones,” she whispered into the inches between them. “The dark eyes with endless depth. The ones that make you think twice about all your rational decisions and offer reckless ones instead.”
She inadvertently leaned in closer as Luc replied, “Why, Rose, I had no idea.”
She laughed in his face, forcing distance back between them. “You had every idea and use it to your advantage at every turn. But in the spirit of this partnership, I’ll pretend to believe you if you take me back to the house and feed me.”
“Your wish is my command, my lady. As a point of clarification, for those keeping score, does this constitute a rational or reckless decision?”
She shook her head at him again, an increasingly familiar gesture as they walked back to the house.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Given what I saw of your home, I figured you’d appreciate this,” he said as he gently put his hand on the small of her back and guided her into the library. Dinner would have to wait a little longer.
It was beautiful, more beautiful than anything that she could imagine. With dark bookcases built into all four walls, the only breaks in the line of spines were the doorway and windows looking out to the lake. Every shelf was filled with beautiful leather-bound books.
The room was inordinately tall, reaching higher than she thought possible, with a ladder sitting on one side that was not a standard library size. The room had to be magically supported in some way. The curtains and seats of rich, plush materials made the room a place you’d want to get lost in for hours.
A man with warm brown skin and short dark hair sat in an oversized velvet wingback chair, book in lap, feet up on a matching rest. Though his skin color differed, Rose could see the resemblance to Luc in the set of his features; this had to be Luc’s brother Aaron. He was tall, too. She could tell even with him sitting down. Where Luc had that lean, coiled strength, Aaron had brawn. His shoulders were broad, and he had a more traditionally handsome face, square jaw, with a touch of stubble. Looking at him, it was hard to believe that this was the librarian of the Suden. He looked like he spent hours doing manual labor, not perusing books. She knew better than to judge a book by its cover, though.
The table next to him held a steaming mug that smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. Rose couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen such a peaceful repose. It reminded her of evenings in her family room reading, with Arie curled up as a black cat at her side. It reminded her of evenings with her family in the cottage, even if those memories were tinged with sadness.
She looked up to find Luc observing the flutter of emotions that had just crashed over her face. He gave her a sad smile like he knew she was remembering something painful. He just wasn’t sure what.
Undisturbed by the silent conversation, Aaron continued, unaware of their presence as he flipped a page in his book. Luc laughed as they moved closer.
“Even as a child, Aaron had this unique ability to read in any setting. No matter what chaos erupts around him—screaming, crying, laughing—he doesn’t hear it when in the company of a good book.”
“Hilarious, Luc.” Aaron finally looked up. He stood and reached out to hug his brother. His gaze quickly lifted to Rose over Luc’s shoulder.
“And you must be Rose.” He smiled warmly and shook her hand.
“And you must be Aaron,” she replied, sharing a genuine smile of her own as she surveyed the room. “You have a beautiful library. I’m envious of every moment you get to spend in here.”
“Oh, it is comfortable enough, and if you get past the dull histories, you’ll even find some fiction in there. I’m sure Luc already said this, but help yourself to anything you find.” He held up his hand and stage whispered to her, “Though Luc keeps the best fiction in his room.” He winked.
