Page 91 of The Exorcism of Faeries

The pair of them climbed into the front seats and it reminded Atta of their nights spent in her car or his Capri. He took her hand in his as they drove, a comfort and balm. It wasn’t until he pulled into campus that her anxiety came flooding back.

“I’m not supposed to be here.”

Sonder took the keys out of the ignition. “Have you gotten this far by following the rules, Atta?”

“I could be arrested if Lynch finds out I was here.”

“He won’t call the Garda. I told you, Agamemnon functions by council.” He squeezed her thigh right above her knee, and she was momentarily distracted, but it didn’t last long. “But this is Trinity business, not Agamemnon business.”

A sad smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Darling, it’s all the same. You weren’t expelled because you traipsed through the cemetery. You were expelled because your ideas scare the Society.Wescare them. If we eradicate this plague separate from Agamemnon, then we disembowel everything they’ve done.”

“The public may not know Agamemnon’s name, but we all know of the secret society that claims they’ve made great strides for Ireland,” she argued.

“But they’ve never before claimed they would do away with something like this, something so massive. If they aren’t first, the public will lose their faith. HPSC will take a hit.Politicianswill take a hit. ”

“Good,” Atta punctuated the word.

Sonder ran a knuckle down her cheek. “But not for them. We threaten their foundation.”

“They’re going to figure out it’s us. Me, at least.”

“Probably.”

“And what will we do?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“How?”

“I don’t have the answers—right now. But I will.” A sly grin spread across his face, and she knew it was intended to make her laugh, but it didn’t work. “We’ve only just begun doing whatever it is we’re doing. We’re still figuring out what that is. And while we figure it out, failures will come. The Inhabitations will continue to come; the Society will continue to come.Wehave to continue to come forward. Not give up.”

After a long moment of silence, Atta gathered her resolve. “All right.”

“There she is.” He smiled and leaned across the car to kiss her cheek. “I want to show you something.”

The campus was quiet, even for a Sunday. Very few students milled about and they spotted no other faculty as Sonder led Atta to Freeman Library.

Several students were hunched over desks trying to finish up assignments at the last minute. There was an ache in Atta’s chest as she passed them. She’d been so busy down the rabbit hole of faeries and exorcisms that she hadn’t paused to consider that she should be one of these students.

Christ, had it only been a week since she’d been expelled? It felt like ages and no time at all.

Sonder walked to a door situated in the back corner that Atta had never noticed before and produced one of the several keys on his chain, letting her inside.

The tiny room was a mess of disassembled books. A work table stood in the centre with an apparatus of wood and screws, surrounded by spools of thread and other materials, and it sandwiched a bare-pages book within its wooden slats.

“Is this a bindery?”

Sonder closed the door and walked around the work table. “This is where I come when I’m trapped on campus but need to get away.”

“You bind books when you’re upset?” she teased, secretly pleased that he had cheered her up.

“I do. It’s just mindful enough to keep your mind empty.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I also play banjo.” He smiled, his cheeks turning pink above his beardline.

“What?” Atta sputtered.

“When I’m upset, I play the banjo.”

“Oh, I have to see that.” She felt her face stretch with a wide smile.

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