Page 19 of Legends and Librarians
The edge of her mouth curled into a smile as she leaned closer. “Your sword, Roan.”
“Right, sorry.”
I took it from her, and like the bubbles, the moment popped. She was already off investigating the wash basin. I freed myself from the last of the bubbles, and after making sure her back was turned, got out of the tub. I quickly wrapped a towel around my waist before inspecting the laundry where bubbles were stillforming. At least my clothes were clean and dry, dropped on the counter next to it.
“Guess that’s the cause, huh?” She pointed at the bubble crystals that must have been warped by wild magic. “I’ll find somebody to take a look at them tomorrow. I already contacted a contractor about the holes in the roof and the windows earlier today, so what’s one more thing?”
Her face fell, as if the weight of all the repairs was too much. She wasn’t backing down though, just adding another thing to her list. There must have been a really important reason why she loved this library so much. I hoped she’d succeed with her plans. People who truly cared about something deserved to do well.
“Let me know how I can help,” I said.
“Guess we’ll have to see what you’re good at then, huh?” She smiled, holding my clothes out to me. “I might enjoy that.”
Water dripped down my chest, making me all too aware of my lack of clothes. This felt so uneven, her fully clothed and me with just a towel. The heat in her eyes made me want to say something, do something, but I didn’t want her to think there could be anything between us. Instead, I took my clothes, pulling my shirt over my head as she left the room.
The heat left with her and I shivered, rushing to put the rest of my clothes on and join her in the bedroom.
“The contractor wants us to pull down all the old patching.” Her voice was muffled behind her hand as she covered a yawn. “So we should get some rest. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”
I opened a closet, hoping there would be extra blankets and pillows in there. Sure enough, it was well stocked. I pulled some out to make a cozy bed on the floor, but Nyssa frowned at them.
“The bed really is big enough for two,” she said, “and I don’t bite.”
My skin tightened as warmth spread over me. I might like it if she did. “I’m really fine on the floor.”
“Suit yourself,” she said as she crawled under the covers. “Feel free to change your mind though.”
She yawned again, then snuggled even deeper under the covers. I stood there frozen, instantly regretting my choice to sleep on the floor. She looked so cozy and the idea of cuddling with her scrambled my thoughts.
“Sleep well,” she said, her voice thick with sleep already.
I laid out the first blanket out on the floor in front of the door. This was for the best. I was an adventurer in the middle of a library full of wild magic. I should be focused and on guard, not thinking about getting into bed with a beautiful woman like Nyssa.
I plopped down onto the still far too hard floor and leaned a pillow against the wall. This was fine. I’d slept in much more uncomfortable places before.
Nyssa’s breathing slowed as she fell asleep, her hand hanging outside the blankets a bit. The urge to tuck her in was almost overwhelming, but I forced myself to close my eyes and ignore my thoughts.
This was going to be a long night...
Chapter 8
Nyssa
The sounds of metal clinking pulled me from my dream, but my eyes were too heavy to open. I rolled over. Five more minutes.
Something pounced on my bed. I jerked awake as a slobbery dog tongue licked my face.
“Cerbie!” I said with a laugh, petting the three-headed puppy with vigor. “How’d you get in here?”
The room didn’t look familiar. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I was in the library. Right. And the little knights climbing up the bedsheets as if they were a castle wall were totally normal. And so was the giant golem staring at me from outside the window even though we were on the second floor. Yup. It was all so normal that I didn’t even blink an eye at the demon lounging next to a very fast asleep Roan.
Except, I somehow doubted an experienced adventurer would sleep that deeply.
“Uhhhh....Roan?” I called out as the knights finally made it to the top of the bed and started slapping each other on the backs like they’d won a great victory. “Roan!”
He jerked awake, stumbling to his feet. “I’m up, I’m up...”
“Ruining all my fun.” The demon shook his head. “It took me a while to get those poppies from the golem for that sleeping spell, you know.”
