Page 140 of The Alien in the Archive

I don’t turn immediately, but the moment she steps into the room, my focus sharpens like a blade. I canfeelher again, steady and warm, anchoring me. She always does. When I look up, her eyes meet mine across the room. She smiles softly—so small no one else notices, but I do.

The hum of conversation continues, the scholars lost in their discussions, oblivious to Page weaving between the tables until she’s next to me. She sets a thermos down in front of me without a word, her fingers lingering on it.

“Earl Grey,” she says quietly. “You’re overdue for a break.”

I reach for her hand instead of the tea, letting my fingers brush over hers. “I missed you,” I murmur.

“I know,” she replies softly, squeezing my hand before pulling up a chair beside me. “Davina says you’ve been scaring the undergraduates.”

“I have not,” I say, though I glance at the gawking scribe and immediately revise the statement. “Not intentionally.”

Page laughs, and it’s a sound that fills the hollow spaces in me. I lean back slightly, watching her sip tea from her own cup as she looks over the document I was translating. She pretends to read it, but I feel her mind circling something else.

I know her well enough to wait her out.

“You’re busy,” she says finally, “but I think we should talk about the ceremony.”

The Elixir Ceremony.

I blink, startled by how much the thought of it fills me with warmth. Withwant.

Davina raises her head at the word “ceremony,” looking curious but polite enough not to interrupt. Page ignores her, turning her full focus on me.

“It doesn’t have to be soon,” she continues, setting her tea down, “but we can’t wait forever. The bond already feels permanent to me, but…”

“But we need to make it real,” I finish for her, my voice quiet. “For both of us.”

Her face softens. “And for your survival.”

I don’t like the reminder, but she’s right. The Elixir Ceremony isn’t just symbolic—it will strengthen the bond between us, ensuring that I remain anchored tolifeitself. I spent so many years frozen between existing and dying that the thought of permanence feels almost too much to hope for.

But I want it. I want her.

I reach for her hand again, lacing my fingers with hers. “Whenever you’re ready,” I say softly. “I’ll be there.”

The words mean more than they should. It’s not just about the ceremony—it’s about everything we’ve fought for to get here. For her, for me, for the Obscuary and the truths hidden within it.

We sit like that for a moment, a strange calm settling over the space between us.

Davina clears her throat gently, not unkindly. “You can discuss the details of your…ceremony later,” she says with mild amusement, “but I need Thorne to finish translating this ledger.”

Page sighs dramatically, leaning back in her chair. “Don’t let her work you to death.”

“Impossible,” I remind her, earning an exasperated look. “I’ve had one foot in the grave for years.”

“Not funny.”

“Not inaccurate.”

Page swats me gently on the arm before standing. “I’ll leave you to it,” she says. “I need to catch up with Thalara about the cataloging.”

Her fingers trail along my shoulder as she passes, and when she’s gone, I find it harder to concentrate. The ledger in front of me feels heavier now—not because of its content, but because I’m thinking ofher.Of the life we’re building out of the rubble of my past.

An Elixir Ceremony…and this bright, endless future.

I want to show her so much.

Hours later,the work begins to wind down. The glow of lamplight softens as scholars filter out of the reading room, satchels heavy with notes and revelations. Davina finally calls for a break, her antlers dipping with fatigue as she gathers her things. The room empties slowly, leaving me amidst the scattered pages, the air still heavy with the scent of ink and age.

---