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Dylan glances at me, his blue eyes glinting in the sun. “I grew up about a thirty minute walk from here and would sneak here every year. I’d spend full days here, figuring out all the hidden places, finding all of the less used or abandoned exhibits that this place carries with it whenever they travel to the next place.”
I don’t ask him about his family, because if the sad note in his voice is anything to go by, then his childhood home wasn’t all fun and games so I leave it be.
“One of my favourite places was always empty, and when one of the performers caught me there they gave me permission to stay as long as I’d like.”
I’m about to inquire what it was when we come to a stop just outside a blank tent. The fabric is weathered and frayed, and it’s only just inside the barrier, but I can also feel the strong magic that’s woven into the structure, protecting it. Dylan holds the tent door open and steps aside to let me in. My skin tingles as I enter the space. So much old magic. It’s as though it’s radiating through the place.
The feeling is so intense that it takes me a moment to actually take in the space, but when I do, an audible gasp falls from my lips. “Goddess.” It’s an awed whisper and the heat from Dylan’s body prickles my back as he steps closer to me.
The room is hexagonal in shape and probably about thirty feet from corner to corner. Floor to ceiling dark wood bookshelves line the walls, but that’s not what grabs my attention,no, it’s that even when I tip my head back I can’t see the ceiling. Or the tops of the bookshelves. That’s how tall the ceiling is, it’s just a faint blob in the distance and the shelves go all the way up it. Every so often on one wall there is a small balcony, then more bookshelves. It’s amazing. The shelves are full to the brim with books, and I spy tall rolling ladders staggered up the space, attached to the shelving. The lowest one across from me is practically begging to be used. Great arc’s of sunlight beam through the space, bathing everything in golden light, giving the space a calming ambience. It’s so beautiful that it’sunreal.
I take in a deep breath and am flooded with the scent of old books, candle wax and clean laundry. It has my eyes sliding to Dylan, his scent so similar that it has a smile tugging at my lips. Tension that I didn’t even realise was there, releases while a giddy feeling bubbles up in my chest.The urge to explore.
I do a quick scan of the rest of the room, too focused on the bookshelves before, to take in the rest. Two wooden desks—their colour and style matching that of the bookshelves—stand on opposite sides of the room, surrounded by beanbags, pillows, and fuzzy blankets. It’s literally like my fantasy safe space. It’s overwhelming.
I swallow roughly. “Wow, I can see why you came here as a kid.”
His breath ghost’s the back of my neck and I arch it to the side before I realise what I’m doing. I don’t move though, it’s like an impulse that’s humming just beneath my skin. An itch that I don’t know how to scratch. Dylan doesn’t react the way I think he will—which is in confusion, because I’m acting like I’m a weirdo—and it has me letting out a breath, my shoulders relaxing in relief. He cups my upper throat, drawing a gasp from me though, before skating his fingers down the length of my neck, bringing goosebumps to my skin, then breaks contact. I have to swallow a whine at the loss, but that odd impulse seems to have abated now that he’s not so close to my throat.Thank the Goddess.
My brows lower though as Dylan glides past me, heading to the ladder I was eyeing earlier. It’s like he could sense what was happening to me and knew exactly how to soothe it. My jaw twitches, eyes narrowing.Another unanswered question. After today I need to dive back into my search, I have so much to catch up on; The Drákon group, my magic, this new odd side of me, and of course, Ethan, so we can catch the bastard. This self proclaimed sabbatical I’ve been on ends now. With a decisive nod, I refocus on the present and find Dylan halfway up the ladder.
My thoughts shift back to that of this new, softer, almost more… primal side of me. It’s new and a little worrying, but I can’t be sure if it’s because of my magic or if it has always been there and the guys are just bringing it closer to the surface. Unintentionally coaxing it out of me.
Dylan looks at me over his broad shoulder, and it snaps me out of my thoughts, my focus zoning in on the way his blue eyes are twinkling with a playful light that I don’t think I’ve seen them have before. “You coming or what?”
A grin springs to my lips and I walk over to him, dancing around the comfortable furnishings on the ground then pausing to look up at his ass. The bastard has a fine fucking ass.
“Like what you see?” He rumbles. My eyes snap to his face, a witty comeback ready on my tongue, until I realise that he isn’t mocking me, but genuinely asking.
My grin turns downright goofy as any embarrassment I had vanishes. “Yeah. You’ve got an awesome ass.”
I laugh when he ducks his chin, a slight blush heating his cheeks. He’s fricking adorable, and it’s so at odds with the more dominant side of his that I’ve gotten peeks of. When we reach the first balcony I lean over the railing to the ground floor and whistle at how high up we are, with so much to go. “This is amazing. Is this magic? Or is the building actually this high? The tent seemed large from the outside, but nothing to this extent,” I ask Dylan, since he seems so knowledgeable on the space.
He rolls his shoulders before reaching out to grip a rung on the next ladder. “It’s a combination of both, well, sort of. This is one of the oldest buildings they have on the grounds so it was created using methods that are seldom used in our time. It originated back before the Monster classifications of A, B, and O class existed. Back then, your power level wasn’t outright labelled and if you were more powerful than deemed socially acceptable, then it was something you kept to yourself, rather than shared because people would fear you. When it was being made with natural materials, they wove their magic into everything. Sort of like crocheting a web into it. Which, though rewarding, is a very time consuming process. There is enough magic in this place to keep it pristine for hundreds—possibly thousands of years, including any novels added to the space.” He pauses, continuing the climb and I follow him. “The tent we saw outside is just an illusion spell to further dissuade bad people from entering due to the misleading rundown appearance,” Dylan finishes explaining, his stronger tutoring voice ringing through the quiet room.
Now my throat is dry for a whole other reason and those damn goosebumps are back. The next landing is slightly narrower, but no less trippy, but it also draws my attention to something else. “So bright, yet no artificial lighting or windows…?” I trail off.
“Magic,” he confirms with a nod.
We’re quiet for the rest of our climb other than me making a few comments on the books we pass and him interjecting interesting facts about the place. One of which being that with the amount of magic it contains, the building is able to pick and choose who enters. That little tidbit has happiness bubbling up in my chest, despite knowing it’sjusta building. But hey, they’ve been wrong before. Just think about Ghost Girl back at school, which no one seems to know about—somehow.
I shake my head again. As much as the silence is comfortable between us, it gives me too much time to get lost in my head, which is never a good idea when it comes to me.
Dylan’s hand on my shoulder startles me out of my musings and my eyes snap to his, an apologetic grimace on my face for zoning out. “Sorry,” I murmur.
He searches my face, barely a foot of space between us. “You okay?”
My breath catches before I force it to be normal, but apparently Dylan’s more attentive than he seems because his focus flicks to my chest briefly before returning to my face. “Yeah, I’m fine. So what was it you wanted to show me.”
If I was hoping that would appease him, I was severely mistaken. His eyebrows rise before he lifts his hands to my shoulders and manually turns me around.
It puts my line of sight to the view beyond a monstrous window and I suck in a breath. It’s the only window in the building that I’ve seen and it’s taller than Oscar. Dome-like in shape, it overlooks the entire marketplace and shows parts of the land beyond. Holy moly. “It’s gorgeous,” I whisper.
“Yeah.” His voice is low and when I look over my shoulder I find his gaze fixed to me instead of at the view. I shiver at the intensity in his eyes, and a flush works its way through my body. My focus shifts to his mouth and my tongue darts out to wet my lips. Dylan eyes follow the movement then he’s turning me again and stepping into me until my back is against the window. The glass is cold against my overheated skin as it seeps through the fabric of my top. Then his lips are on mine, one hand winding around my lower back to tug us even closer together while the other comes up to loosely grip my nape.
I melt into his touch like an attention starved kitten, hands coming up to clutch his shirt. He angles my head the way he wants andownsmy mouth, teasing my tongue and nipping at my lips. My grip on his shirt tightens and a strangled sound leaves me when we break apart. I suck in air, lips parted, watching Dylan with wide eyes. The intensity behind his kiss is so unexpected but appreciated nonetheless. He’s usually so shy that it’s hard to get a read on what he’s feeling. That, mixed with the hints of his more dominant side that shines through sometimes, I have no idea what to expect.
He reaches out to cup my jaw, and I lean into his palm, the urge to purr rising again. He strokes my cheek, blue eyes bright as he studies my features like he’s trying to figure me out. Then a sudden beeping starts up and I jump, smacking the back of my head against the window. I yelp, only for it to turn into a laugh when Dylan’s hand shifts from my jaw to the back of my head.
