Page 36 of A Taste of Torment
“You’ll see.”
And I did. At the end of the hall, I found us on the edge of a massive staircase spiraling down. We are at the top of a five-story library. Each level has a wide circle balcony with mahogany railings and walls covered in books.
“Good lord,” I whisper.
Jarron is smiling again. “Anything you want to know about anything can be found here. Even hidden information. Ancient spell books. The secrets to power hidden around this world and many others.”
“Think there’s something here that will help us understand my sister’s death?”
He purses his lips. “Not without more information. I’m still waiting to hear back about the autopsy. Should be in within a few days if my source pulls through.”
“Really? It’s that easy?”
“Everyone wants to do me a favor.” He shrugs.
“The wonderful life of a demon prince.”
“Something like that,” he mumbles, his shoulders slumping. He averts his gaze and runs his fingers over a set of books against the wall.
I narrow my eyes. “What does that mean?”
He crosses the balcony and leans against the railing, staring down at the walls and walls of books below, as if they hold some treasure he’s been searching for but no longer believes is attainable. I wait, and when he finally looks at me again, my eyebrows rise in a silent prompt to go on.
“There are definitely benefits. But—”
“But what?”
“Nothing ever feels real,” he says, his voice low. “When every single person you meet wants something from you, they tend to never look past the surface. It’s hard for me to trust that anyone actually likesme. They want my power but don’t care about who I am as a person.”
I swallow, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach. Is he talking about me? Am I using him the same way so many others do? Did I prove his insecurities right when I walked away from our friendship three years ago?
Or am I thinking too much into this?
“Anyway.” Jarron gives a gentle shake of his head, just enough to ruffle the edges of his dark hair. “Once we get the autopsy, we may have a better idea of where to start looking. If there were any substances in her system. Residue of magical dust. I don’t know. Lots of options.”
My lungs seize. It’s very hard to hide my reaction to the absolute terror rolling through me at the thought of seeing a report of how my sister died. Seeing pictures. I clench my jaw, heart pounding.
She was my sister. The one person I told everything to. And now, she’s just a report in someone’s filing cabinet Jarron has to promise favors to get access to.
“Do you want to walk around down there?” Jarron nods to the rest of library.
My lips part. “Um, no.”
His eyebrows rise.
“Not right now. There’s a lot of people down there.”
“Right. Not ready to face—” he cuts off, like he determined his last word was not a good idea. “People,” he finishes.
I’m curious what he was about to say.Suspects? Powerful supernaturals? His friends? My rivals?That replaced word could really tell me a lot about his mindset.
“We could go to my room,” he says gently, avoiding eye contact.
I pause, unsure how to respond. A whole thirty minutes of walking through Elite Hall probably isn’t enough time together to convince people we’re in a real relationship. He initially suggestedtwo hours. But I’m also not ready to face my suspects.
He nods slowly. “Want another drink?” he asks, motioning to my empty mug. I’d downed the drink before we even reached the library.
My shoulders relax ever so slightly. “Sure.”
