Page 25 of Enchantment of Silver and Sea
“No.”
I raised my brows at him.
He huffed out a sigh. “The books belong to someone who The Council had to release outside the walls yesterday. Someone who obviously didn’t want to follow the law, or care to understand how Cyllene’s laws protect each and every one of us.”
Cato was always reading people’s tics and the nuances of their behavior, usually in a way that was discreet. But his warm brown eyes searched mine openly, gauging my reaction to his words.
I was trying my best to project acceptance and neutrality.
And I must have failed miserably at it because he frowned.
“Things aren’t like they used to be,” he went on. “Before my time. And long before your time. There were jails, prisons…waysof keeping someone confined. Our government could afford to do that. Just keep someone in a cell, feed them, clothe them, provide them with life’s essentials. We don’t have the means to do that anymore. When someone does something unacceptable, we have to do something about it, right? You know this, Maila. People can’t just do whatever they want.”
I bit my lip.
There were few things in life that I wouldn’t have given to have this many books. Even from a distance, I could see that the genres were many and varied. The weathered bindings of old biographies. The dark, ominous jackets of mysteries. The swirling, intricate fonts gracing the covers of romances. Without even knowing this person, I understood that “devastating” was probably not a big enough word to describe the loss of this private world of books that he had so lovingly built.
“Our job today is to divide all of these into two piles,” Cato explained, already starting to sift through a stack on the counter. “Books that should be transported to the Library, books that should be disposed of, and books that we can make available to the public. TheEnforcerswill be by tomorrow to begin moving everything out of the house, including the books, so we don’t need to worry about actually hauling them anywhere. Just separating them.” When I remained silent, he added, “Making some of these books available to the public was my idea. Yes, we probably won’t have copies of most of these, and we have to protect what’s contained in each of them.” He grabbed a book at random from the pile and held it up for emphasis. “But you and I won’t be around forever. We need to make sure we’re instilling a love ofbooks in the next generation. Otherwise, who will protect the books when we’re gone?”
I was beyond curious to know what books, if any, The Council was going to be willing to make available to the public when this was all said and done. But something about the sincerity in Cato’s words had me opening my mouth. “Cato, do you ever think about the people Outside? How they get by? What they go through in order to survive?”
He set down the book. “I have two answers for that.”
I dipped my head in an almost imperceptible nod, willing him to continue.
“My first answer is yes. I do think about them. I think about them when I’m enjoying the safety of the walls. When I’m reaping the benefits of thousands of years’ worth of knowledge in the Knowledge Center. And when I’m kissing my wife and kids goodnight, taking comfort in knowing that they have a roof over their heads and food on their table every day.”
His throat bobbed.
“My second answer is—don’t ever ask me that question again.”
CHAPTERSIX
I practically collapsed onto my bed that night. My hair was still wet and tangled, and my skin chilled from the shower. I had barely made it into my nightgown.
After riding the bicycle across town, then back again, plus over five hours of leafing through book after book after book, I was spent. Every part of me ached.
Literally every part of me, thanks to the bicycle seat.
For the first time in weeks, my mind was pleasantly quiet, too tired to even form a thought. I savored the feeling, snuggling deeper into my pillow and pulling the blankets up to my nose. The warm fuzziness of sleep began to drift over me, like a leaf floating slowly downward from a branch.
A knock sounded at the door.
Not my front door. The balcony door.
I catapulted out of bed and jerked the door open.
There they were.
I couldn’t stop myself from flinging myself at them, wrapping them both in a giant hug. Nya grunted in surprise. Kieran justlaughed, and a comforting warmth enveloped my back as he snaked his arm around me.
“As much as I’m enjoying this,” Nya said dryly. “I think we’d better get inside before someone spots us.”
She was right—if Brielle could sometimes hear me out there by myself, surely she or someone else would hear us now. I let go of the two of them and stepped aside so they could enter.
Nya strode in, making for the chair at my desk.
Kieran lingered on the balcony. His eyes were alight with that amusement that seemed an almost permanent fixture on his face. But there was something else, too. His eyes flicked down my body, then back up to meet my gaze.
