Hand of the Goddess ✔️

Chapter 20: Moonlight

She paces on the carpeted floor, unable to fall asleep. Aaron's words ring in her head. Where was home for her? And did she really have a say in which dimension she belonged to? She was tempted to consult the goddess about her issue, but Lillian stayed silent in her head. Ever since she witnessed a glimpse of the butler's true demon form, the Fallen Mother had barely let out a peep.

She was alone again, with only the company of her thoughts to comfort her. But her mind was rarely a comfortable place to be in. If she truly paid attention to the collective roar of her thoughts, she had a feeling she would never sleep. So, as she basked in the moonlight shining from her windows, she decided that she would seek out a distraction. It always helped her to find an activity and focus on it to the point of exhaustion.

She tiptoes out of her room, quietly turning the doorknob before sliding into the halls. She makes a beeline for a pair of dark, oak doors and enters the room.

Rows of books greet her, filling endless shelves. Her fingers trail over their spines, causing her heart to thrum with glee. When she was bedridden, the Lord had insisted that she kept herself occupied with the books from his library. It was like he had given her keys to a personal heaven.

If he hadn't seen her as a sister, she would've kissed him on the spot.

She peruses a shelf full of fiction, looking for the next fantasy to get lost in. Cedric had told her that he enjoyed Dickens. But which book should she start with? She had always been a fan of A Christmas Carol. She reaches out to grab the book but another question nags her. What was the Lord's favorite Dickens book?

Before she could remind herself that she didn't need to know Cedric's favorite books to enjoy his library, she hears music drift from the other side of the room. Entranced, she grabs A Christmas Carol and makes her way through the forest of shelves to the source of the sound. What she found took her breath away.

The Lord was playing a piano in the center of the room, eyes closed in a reverie. She wanted to say he looked ridiculous, sitting there so freely in his nightshirt, but the moonlight made him look ethereal - like an angel. And the music coming from the keys was beautiful, so much so that she felt tears well up in her eyes. She was bewitched by the simple sight of the demon boy caressing the piano. He touched the instrument with enough love and care to make her wish those hands were on her.

Cedric stops playing, his eyes snapping open to the view of his lone audience.

"Nicole," he said, breathing her name like it was a prayer.

"Cedric," she whispered. They stood staring at each other, both of their cheeks red as roses.

Snapping out of her trance, she curtsies to him with her book tucked under her left arm. "I didn't know you were still awake, my Lord."

"I see you're making good use of my library," he said, regaining his composure.

"I am an avid reader, my Lord," she said, showing him the book she chose.

"Dickens," he said, nodding. "You have good taste, although I can only read A Christmas Carol during the holidays. But I've always had a place in my heart for Great Expectations."

"Oh," she said, "I found that book sad."

"Really?" He sits back down, this time facing her instead of the piano. "I thought the opposite. I felt that it was full of hope."

"What makes you say that?" She crosses her arms, trying not to feel awkward standing above him.

"Pip's fortune came from an unexpected place," he explains. "Even though there are a lot of scenes in the book that are sad, he always hoped for better things. It helped me believe that my life wouldn't be spent serving my sister."