I cut myself off, heart kicking wildly. Fucking hell! I have the fleeting urge to spank her perky ass for that, but she’d crush me to the floor if I tried.
“A parriarch is dead?” Leo snaps. “Which one? How?”
Kyrith studies me, like she’s trying to determine the truth of my guilt from my expression.
“Josef,” I answer for her. “They think I killed Josef.”
He’s dead. That’s…
Well, I’m not exactly devastated. But from the way they’re all looking at me, I’m probably about to find out why this isn’t the perfect happily ever after I hoped for.
“You can’t honestly think I’m responsible?” I say, folding my arms.
“No offence, but no. You’re not that good at magic,” Leo answers for her. “Josef was a destruction magister. It would’ve taken a whole lot more than just one liminal with a few months of magic practice under his belt to take him out.”
“The real question is, why do the enforcers think you’re responsible?” Jasper asks.
“Because I hate his guts.” Come on. Surely that’s obvious?
Kyrith says nothing, but she starts to drift across the room and back in that ghostly version of pacing that she does when she’s thinking. She floats higher and higher until Lambert gently takes her wrist, forcing her back to her physical body. She casts around as he catches her, as if checking for witnesses, but he’s already lowering her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her waist, and drawing her against his chest. It takes a long moment, but she softens, just a fraction.
She might keep turning him down, but there’s something there between the two of them. Fuck, they shouldn’t look so perfect together. One short, stern Librarian and a tattooed guy who’s built like a brick shithouse. But they fit. My already painful ribs squeeze a little tighter at how easily she relaxes into him.
“What are you thinking, boss?” His gentle tone is at odds with the concerned glances he keeps shooting down the hall. Is he expecting these enforcers to simply barge through and drag me out of here?
Nah. Kyrith wouldn’t let that happen… Right?
“Northcliff has three options,” she murmurs. “One, run.”
“I like that one.” Now that I’m free of Josef, I can leave this shit behind.
Fuck magic. I just want to go back to my easy life working on cars and getting wasted on the weekends.
“You wouldnae last five minutes,” Jasper says. “They’re highly trained and have people working in inept law enforcement across the globe. It’d take a greater mastermind than you to outwit them.”
My hands curl into fists, but I don’t voice the angry retort on the tip of my tongue.
Kyrith tugs at her sleeve, frowning. “The second option is claiming Sanctuary, though I’d hesitate to grant it.”
“Wait, what?” Lambert echoes my thoughts.
She granted it to Eddy, Dakari, and Jasper. Why not me?
Probably because none of them tried to rob the Vault, I admit to myself sullenly. I thought maybe I’d made up for that over Christmas. Apparently not.
“He’s accused of murdering a parriarch. Getting involved would put the Arcanaeum at significant risk?—”
“You’d do it, though, right?” Lambert pushes. “North’s one of us.”
A spark of gratitude flickers to life at his easy acceptance, but I smother it. I doubt she will. Kyrith’s made it perfectly clear that she doesn’t like me much.
The building rustles, and the Librarian sighs. “Yes, I suppose I would. It’s still not my preferred option.”
“Well, what is?” I demand. “Going to wizard jail?”
She frowns. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the Ackland heir. Being imprisoned would harm your chances of ever becoming parriarch, leading the entire family into decline and ruin, sending society into chaos, the likes of which someone like Isidora Carlton would only use to her advantage.”
I gape at her. “You’re fucking kidding me. Why would you want me to become parriarch? You hate me. And you hate theAcklands as much as I do. What does it matter if they’re fucked?”
