Page 17 of Entranced By the Basilisks

We both jump when there’s a knock at the door and it opens in the same breath. Agnes pops her head in before coming the rest of the way into the office. My heart starts beating again, much quicker, hoping Agnes doesn’t hear the hissing sounds that the hidden creatures on my head emit.

Agnes knows about the supernatural world, but I’d rather keep my current condition under wraps. She’d undoubtedly scold me for being here and send me home, then I wouldn’t have anything to distract me from this catastrophe.

“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting. I just wanted to check if you were able to get in touch with Director Adder? It sounded like this was urgent. He rarely takes time off, but he usually answers his phone.”

“Um,” Grace starts. “He hasn’t gotten back to us yet.”

“That’s so odd,” Agnes says with a frown.

“Yes, well, we have the situation under control for the moment—” Grace starts, but Agnes has already shifted gears.

“Oh, Emilia, did you have an answer on whether you could restore those two books from Anderson?”

I blink in surprise and mentally curse, realizing the issue.

“I-I’m sorry, thought I’d cc’d you when I emailed Adder. I can restore one of the books within the week,The History of Fae Gates, but not the other.” As I speak, I go tuck my hair behind my ear, a nervous habit. When I touch scaled bodies instead of my hair, I jump and knock against the glasses, sliding them down my nose.

I scrabble to push the heart-shaped glasses back into place, but it’s already too late.

Agnes. Warm and loving Agnes, with the can-of-hairspray updos and novelty sweaters, stares back at me, unmoving. Her colorful ensemble and rosy cheeks turn gray, turn to stone. A statue takes the place of my lovely coworker.

I shut my eyes, trying to not think about the sight before me.What have I done?

All I’d wanted was a moment to reset being distracted by my work and now I’ve hurt someone.

Everything crumbles around me, my scream freezes in my throat, but my heart races and I can barely breathe. My panic attack swallows me whole.

Distantly I hear a crash and curse. Someone approaches me and I stumble back, throwing my hands up to keep the person away. To keep them safe. A warm body brushes past my flailing limbs.

“Breathe for me, Ms. Rivera, breathe.” A deep voice spreads over my skin, but I dispel it, shaking my head. Tears prick my eyes, and my heart is on the verge of pounding out of my chest.

“Emilia!”

A hand grips my throat before gentling. The tiny shake to my throat distracts me from thoughts of Agnes. The warm touch is such a shock that I forget the danger and blink my eyes open.

I’m caught.

Golden eyes bore into mine, and for a breath, everything stills.

“That’s it. Inhale.”

My actions aren’t my own. They can’t be. I was just dissolving into sobs, not calmly sucking air into my lungs.

Nothing is right. The world is broken. Director Adder is collaring my throat, staring into my eyes, and I can’t look away.

My breath shudders out without him commanding it from me.

“Good.” His voice carries a melody to it that I’ve never heard from him before. It soothes me and I want to roll in it. Distantly my mind screams at me, but my body doesn’t tense with awkward nerves.

“Again,” he says.

I comply with the order. My heart slows its rapid thunder, and my brain picks up silly details like the way his golden eyes almost seem to glow and the barely there freckles around them.

Director Adder is somuch. He’s intense in a way that I haven’t figured out how to solve when it comes to my interpersonal struggles. My mitigation strategy has always been to avoid eye contact. Something I can’t do at the moment and wouldn’t want to. Because this lulling calm that comes from our locked gazes feelsgood.

I feel safe.

The grip around my throat eases and falls away.

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