OffSpring | ✎

Chapter LXVII

Chapter Sixty-Seven | Gathering Knowledge
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K A I T L Y N

"Up here?"

My gaze flickers to the stairway that leads up to the second floor of the castle. The hall Audrey, and I exited leads into a small open room with the stairs located in the middle, its deep red carpeted surface blending in with the areas' aesthetic. Audrey steps beside me, moving to ascend up the steps.

"Yes, the library is just down the hall."

I couldn't help but sigh, the thought of walking upstairs after venturing down the lengthy hallway did not settle well within my head.

"Why is everything so far from each other?" I voice out, taking the first step. "No wonder everyone seems to be in shape."

Audrey chuckles beside me, our steps finally reaching the landing, a set of double doors within our sights. Walking the path toward the library, my mind shifts from reality and into the depths of my thoughts, venturing down memory lane of yesterday's existence, I recall the conversation between Delano and me; shock still breathing its life inside my veins.

A part me of still assumed that he would withhold information from me, his utterance of his and Adam's plan rendering my heart at a standstill— the crack that has formed among my heart tears further, the contents caged inside flowing in a small stream.

The function of my mind reels me back to the moments before I drifted to sleep, the scent of his being cocooning me in a bubble, stripping me of my own breath, and exchanging it with his aroma. I took notice of the change in his demeanor, the one I was originally was accustomed to long gone as if it never existed and, in its place, a more settled one.

He was calmer, collected, and. . . gentler when he spoke to me, my heart thudded more frequently in my chest than its slow pace: pumping blood through my veins with its awareness of his change.

To fall asleep while he still occupied the space beside me wasn't my intention, but the comfort he brought caused my eyes to weigh heavy, slowly slipping into a sweet slumber with no regrets; and to wake with his scent of pine-cone and woodsy aroma in the spot he once filled— still warm and indented with his weight— alerts me that he stayed longer than he has before.

The pestering thought of him watching over me as I slept, Adelia and Cassius sheltered between us sent my being into overdrive, memories, and sensations flooding my system with warmth.

"Ms. Kaitlyn?"

I blink rapidly, brought back to the realm of the living. Casting a glance toward Audrey, her brown orbs glitter with a question, analyzing my form. Swallowing away my distracting thoughts, I provide her with a smile to assure she had my full attention before returning my gaze at the open entrance. . My eyes are immediately drawn above, the rich cream color of the ceiling contrasting deeply with the woodsy appearance of the library, though it was not the color of the ceiling that draws me - the embroidery that is carved into it; each groove, crease, dive, and lump etched with years of stories beneath creation.

I glide my attention to the rows of bookshelves that lined parallel from each other and stretched as far as the area would let them, their bodies full of books, thick and thin, seizing the surrounding area in its aroma. The glow in the room intensifies, my thoughts of stable lighting fueling the ball of energy that feeds into the flame of light. The smell of ink and wood slams against my nose, dragging a deep sense of content from my veins as it seeps from out of my pores and removes any tension from my muscles.

"Wow. . ." I breathe out.

"You're a book lover too?" Audrey asks, coming to guide the way.

"Yes, I actually love reading," I quirk a brow at her form, "Who's the other person?"