“Sock rule?” I squeak, hating the pitch of my voice. “What in magic’s name is the sock rule?!”
Does she know what we just did in there because of this obscure code?
It’s a rhetorical question, but evidently, she feels the need to deepen my humiliation.
“Universal sign that someone’s having either a wank or sex and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
Oh.Oh. I see. She thinks I walked in on him and hastily left… To be fair, that was what I planned to do. It’s definitely what Ishouldhave done.
But he asked so nicely, and he’s leaving soon, and I just…
“Not that universal, evidently,” I grumble, turning away so they can’t see my guilt-laden expression. “Isn’t it a little early in the morning for such impropriety?”
“It’s not like there’s a lot of other stuff to do.” Eddy shrugs, gesturing to the board between them. “No offence, but chess? Really? Are you sure we can’t have electricity in here?”
“That won’t lessen the amount of wanking,” Dakari comments, then turns to me, a twinkle in his black gaze that gives me pause. “I collected the book you requested.”
Book? “What book?”
Surely not Ackland’s grimoire?
He shrugs. “The desk assigned me a new job.” He slips something out of his coat pocket, and I accept it automatically. “Although, I didn’t know the Arcanaeum had a romance section.”
It…doesn’t. The only romance books here are my own personal and veryprivatestash. I’ve even kept them hidden from Eddy.
But there’s no denying that the man-chest covered paperback belongs to the genre. And, unhelpfully, the subtitle proclaims it a magical reverse harem. The Arcanaeum rushes forward and grabs the book from my hands, adding it to the collection before I can dismiss it. Then the stupid building tucks it safely away.
On my nightstand.
Far below us, the tiled floor of the Rotunda rattles with laughter, and I shoot it a quelling glare.
“Back to the internet,” Eddy says. “I’m dying without access to my games, and my phone has been out of charge since I got here.”
“It wouldn’t work here,” I remind her. “And we have draughts, and darts, and if you’re bored, then there’s always something that needs dusting, or you could try interior design. I’ll let you start out in my office, but if you have flare, we could?—”
Jasper opens the bedroom door—fully dressed, unfortunately—cutting off my list of activities. He looks flushed, but otherwise decent, and altogether far too tempting in the soft V-neck and jeans he’s pulled on.
There’s a gentle hope simmering in his eyes as he looks at me, and I know it can’t be allowed to develop. He has alifethat he needs to start living. His family is downstairs, right now, ready to take him home and love him.
No matter my own traitorous, fruitless longing for more, I refuse to steal any more years from him with useless promises.
So I blurt the one thing I know, without a doubt, will shut down any discussion of what just happened.
“Clan McKinley is here for you.”
Everyone goes quiet, and Jasper stills, wringing his hands together in a subconscious tic I doubt he’s aware of.
He doesn’t meet any of our gazes as he finally asks, “My parents?”
“They’re here, along with your sister, parriarch, and plenty of others. They’re cluttering up my Rotunda and making it impossible for other patrons to reach my desk. I’ll be glad to get rid of them, if that’s what you want.”
It’s his choice. Personally, I don’t think he’s healed enough to leave—and no, that’s not a cover for some selfish ulterior motive.His magical well is healing but slowly. His memories haven’t returned, and the one time they came close, he had a seizure.
The longer the silence stretches on, the more unsure I become.
He…he’ll stay, right? It’s not safe to be outside of the Arcanaeum when the Carltons snatched him so easily before. He has no way to defend himself without causing more damage to his well, and?—
“I’d like to see them,” he whispers. “Only…what if I’m not…? It’s been tenyears.”
