Angel of the lake

Chapter Nineteen

First night alone. Meg laid on her side, tossing and turning restlessly.

Her body had already gotten used to the warmth of the demon. Sleeping without him felt weird.

She twiddled her thumbs, forcing her eyes closed.

Sleep wouldn't come. That much was a given.

She glanced towards the door, nibbling on her bottom lip.

The demon was trusting her to behave.

In the next room along, he laid in his own bed, surely fast asleep. He'd had a busy few days. It'd make sense. Tonight, he'd respected that she needed space and let her have her own room. She'd seen that look on his face. The demon had been on the verge of begging her to come stay another night with him.

He was trusting her to stay put. And Meg respected that. Of course she did—but there was so much left to learn.

He'd be glad to know I'm defending myself.

How could she possibly try to sleep knowing how little she knew? Knowing how close she was to her answers?

A castle like this had to have a jaw dropping library. And Claudio had given her library access. He'd written it into their agreement for heaven's sake.

Sneaking out of bed to go to the library wasn't really doing anything wrong. Besides, they'd agreed that he couldn't tell her what to do. If Meg wanted to walk down to the library, then by that logic, there was nothing stopping her.

Her body had gotten accustomed to sneaking out. Two hundred years' worth of night spying had corrupted her body clock. She wouldn't be able to sleep without it.

She half expected a guard to jump out at her as she slipped from her bedroom door, but the hallway was empty.

An old knight's armour stood at the far end. Other than that and the judgemental eyes of the portraits, Meg was out here alone.

She glanced towards Claudio's door.

He hadn't come out to drag her back inside, so that had to count for something.

Meg thought she had a sixth sense leading her directly to the library. A little feeling—a hunch from her gut—that told her the books were nearby. When she found it, her double take was to be expected.

Never seen so many—

Books lined the room from floor to ceiling. There were more books to a single shelf than there were in the entirety of the heavens. Somehow, having been kicked out of the heavens, she'd never felt closer.

She wandered aimlessly down book aisles, stopping at the V section.

The book she searched for was already sticking out, almost as though it'd been waiting for her.

She pulled out a book on Valkyries, turning the thick volume over between her hands.

One look at the spine said it'd been well-loved. The pages were barely holding on, as though they'd been read and devoured a million times over.

Claudio.

She resisted a smile.

It must've been him. On the surface, he didn't look much like the bookish type. And yet after a quick glance around the library, she could picture him spending most of his time in here.

There was something homely about it that reminded her of the demon. She didn't know if it was the log fire or those comfy looking couches, but something in the vibe seemed like a symbol of him.