Page 60 of Legends and Librarians
“This isn’t over yet,” I said as I sat down beside her. “We’ll find the perfect writer soon, I bet.”
“Cocoa, huh?” Steam curled around her hands as she took one of the cups from me. “I expected you to get one of those magical drinks from earlier.”
“Hot cocoaismagical,” I said firmly, before taking a sip. Warmth spread through my body, sweet and delicious. I sighed with contentment. “Try drinking that and not being happy. I dare you.”
She smiled softly behind the rim of her cup before blowing on it to cool it down. When she finally took a drink, her eyes closed for a moment, as if fully enjoying the rich chocolate flavor. I’d even asked for double marshmallows because those always added an extra special touch to a hot cocoa.
The knight hiding in her hair leaned forward, sniffing the air. He grinned, climbing down her arm so fast he almost fell.
“Yes, I got you some too,” I said, pouring some into a bottlecap. “I hope this works for a cup. They didn’t have anything in your size.”
“That’s kind, Sir Roan,” the knight said, reaching up to grab the bottle cap. He drank deeply, apparently not caring that it was hot, and held the cap up for more. “It’s delicious.”
Nyssa’s small smile turned into a grin. “Have I mentioned how grateful I am that you both came with me today?”
It was hard to be anything but happy when sitting next to somebody you cared about with a soothing hot chocolate. If only we were at the library so we could curl up under the book tree, then this would be perfect.
“It might take longer than you were hoping for,” I said, “but we will find a great writer for the library.”
She nodded, taking another sip of her drink and watching the people around us. Some chatted with friends while others looked like they were interacting with fans, signing autographs and handing out books. There were a few people off on their own too, just eating a meal and resting.
Overall, it was a pretty good vibe. Maybe we’d have to come back to this festival next year when we weren’t on a mission to save the library.
I’d never planned anything that far ahead before, but being around Nyssa and the library just felt...right. I didn’t think they’d hurt me like other people had, so maybe sticking around wasn’t such a terrible idea. Maybe I could be happy here.
No, that was ridiculous. What would I even do? Be her jobless boyfriend? I was an adventurer, which meant being on the road. I could stick with jobs closer to the guild, but that would mean actually interacting with the guild and I definitely didn’t want that. So what did that leave me?
“What’s that?” a guy asked as he froze next to us, pen in hand. He stared at the knight, completely forgetting the journal he’d been writing in. “Is it a toy? Or some kind of magic?”
Instead of waiting for either of us to answer, the guy just grabbed the knight straight off our table. The knight’s eyes widened as he dropped his drink, spilling it all over his armor. His eyes narrowed as he pulled out his sword, obviously ready for vengeance.
“Nobody spills a man’s cocoa and gets away with it,” the knight proclaimed. “I challenge you to a duel.”
I’d have been more upset about being manhandled than the spilled cocoa, but I knew neither could be fun. I resisted the urge to grab my own sword and join the fight, but only because Nyssa was gripping my knee under the table, shaking her head slightly. She probably wanted to handle this calmly and quietly so we didn’t draw attention.
I could do that. For now. I nodded and she relaxed, turning toward the stranger.
“You shouldn’t just pick people up,” Nyssa said, holding her hand out for the knight. “Give him back.”
“Sorry, no offense intended,” the guy said as the knight dangled helplessly by his cloak between the man’s thumb and forefinger, feet kicking and sword swinging. “I was just curious what it was.”
Nyssa’s happy demeanor was turning into a glare, but she kept a smile on her face. “He’s a story spirit from the Misty Mountain Library.”
“A story spirit?” the guy asked as hedropped the knight onto the table, as if Nyssa was far more interesting than whatever the knight was.
I gritted my teeth, barely holding back angry words. Sure, I didn’t always appreciate the knight’s enthusiasm, but I’d never treat them like that. I set my arm on the table, motioning for the knight to stand by me if he wanted to. He saluted me and ran over, armor clinking softly.
“Our library has a special kind of magic,” Nyssa said,phrasing it just like we’d practiced with the other writers who’d turned us down. “It can bring characters from books to life as story spirits.”
Wait, she couldn’t really be considering askinghimto sponsor the library, could she?
“Nyssa —”
“That’s awesome!” the rude guy interrupted. “Does that work for any book or just certain ones? I’m a writer, so it would be cool to meet my characters, you know?”
He ran his hand through his hair, smiling awkwardly as he continued chatting with Nyssa, but something about the way he looked at her set my nerves on edge. He reminded me of wealthy clients who’d found a new toy to play with and wanted to experiment, no matter the cost. Those were the ones who usually caused huge magical disasters.
He wasn’t right for the library. We needed to end the conversation before he got any ideas, but the words hung in my throat. Was it really my place to tell her what to do? Sure, I’d been helping out, but I didn’t plan to stay there. I should probably let her take the lead...
