I don’t have the heart to tell her that even if I felt ill, there’s nothing she could do about it, so I just nod.
“Right,” I clear my throat. “Where were we…” I move toward the third wall filled with books. I don’t know if my attempt at looking unbothered works—not with how my heart continues to hammer in my chest. But with every breath, I try to compose myself as much as possible.
Damnation! Why is it so hard? It was just a kiss on the cheek.
Granted, no one’s ever kissed me on the cheek before. I can still feel the warmth and softness of her lips on my skin and?—
Stop it, Nykander! Get yourself together!
Easier said than done when she stands so close to me. Less than one step separates our bodies, so much so that her fragrance fills my nostrils, drowning me in that sweet perfume of hers.
“The third wall has classic Tartareian literature and some plays. And then on the fourth wall—” I pause when I see her walk straight to the middle shelf on the fourth wall—the one containing my prized possessions.
“The Adventures of Hippo,” she whispers as she hovers her hand over the spine of the books. “All of the volumes…” Her brows furrow as she reads the titles. “Why are there so many duplicates?”
I smile at her as I pick up the first volume. “This one is a first edition,” I say proudly and give it to her.
She receives the book with both hands, handling it with great care.
“You have a first edition?” She echoes in wonder. She glances at me. “I never asked you. How did you start reading the series?”
“All of the upper shelves are fiction books I’ve collected through the years. As you can see, not that many. One reason was that books are expensive, and I would typically only buy one as a treat to myself. But on the other hand, there aren’t that many fiction titles being published.”
She raises her brows in question.
“You’d think that with their lifespans, immortals would create innumerable works. Sadly, it is the opposite. Very few are involved in the arts, and those who choose a career in writing usually dedicate themselves to chronicles or plays. It was bychance that I discovered the works from the Mortal District, and since then, I’ve been buying almost exclusively from there.”
“This was the first book I ever bought from the Mortal District. The bookseller told me it was a new author and they only had that copy in stock, so of course I had to buy it. After I read it, I was so eager to find out what happens next that I went to that bookshop every single month to inquire.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I think it was a year before the second volume was released. Whenever I would go to the bookshop, the seller would always say the same thing: it’s the author’s first book, if it doesn’t sell well, it’s unlikely they will release the next volume.”
Her eyes widen in shock. She looks from me the duplicate titles on the shelf and then back to me.
“The duplicates of volume one?”
She starts counting them. “One, two… Twelve. You bought twelve of them?”
“One every month,” I say wistfully. “I thought that if the author knew there were readers out there appreciating their work, they would keep writing. So I kept buying them and sure enough, they released the next volume. I did the same for the second volume, and by the end of the second year, the series had become a success. Everyone was reading it.”
“You…” She mutters. Moisture clings to her lashes, and a few drops make their way down her cheeks. “You did that? For someone you didn’t even know?”
“I may not know them personally, but I know them through their words.” I smile and take out a handkerchief from my pocket. Dabbing at her cheeks, I wipe some of the tears away before handing it to her.
She glances away, flustered. “That is… That is very kind of you, Nykander.”
I cough nervously. “Let me show you the washroom.”
She just nods and follows me.
We exit the library and walk further down the hallway. The washroom is one of the larger rooms in the house, twice the size of my bedroom. That is mostly due to my father’s preferences. He loved to relax in a hot tub for hours.
The entire room is insulated with a special wood that keeps the moisture inside and maintains the temperature. In the middle of the room, there is a rectangular pool. The depth makes it comfortable for one to sit inside fully submerged.
On the left side there is a steam room while on the right side there is a separate shower.
“Here, let me show you the controls,” I tell her, walking to the wall right next to the shower.
