Page 116 of A Baron of Bonds
He inclined his head, backing away. “You’re welcome. Glad to be of some use.”
“I’ll see you in the library when I’m done here.” I began to close the door before adding, “Has the Baron returned with Philius?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Should I check on them next?”
“No. Baron Revich has the situation under control, I assure you. Philius needs a good lesson on his role in Felgren and Revich is the one to teach it.”
“So we saw. Remind me to never question the Baron’s power.”
“That’s the thing, Mychael,” I responded, closing the door, “You’ll never need one.”
An hour later,Revich came through the library door, Philius behind him looking completely worn.
We all looked up from our books. I sat at the desk while Talon, Ilyenna, Rell, and Renn lay in varying degrees of comfort over the chairs and couches in the room. Mychael was up on the ladder, reaching for books on the very top of the shelves.
I raised a brow, waiting for Revich to speak.
“Have you found anything?” he asked, ignoring the pressing question of what happened in the forest.
Ilyenna rose and handed him a book marked with a page about Viridis and how the conduit author suspected it lived.
He opened the book and skimmed the page. “We knew this already, but thank you, Ilyenna. Good work.”
They turned back to their books while Philius joined them, taking one bound in red cloth from Mychael who offered it.
Revich came to the desk and bent forward, his hands palming the surface. “Nothing?”
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“And Pompeii?”
I closed my book, placing a strip of cloth on the page I had gotten to and sighed. “Mostly the same. Though, more full now, since Mychael made him some soup.”
He turned to glance back at the former guard. “He made soup?”
I nodded with a grin. “Yes. And Lia even helped him.”
He laughed shaking his head. “Well, that’s a miracle.”
“That’s what I said,” I whispered, leaning on my elbow, chin resting in my hand.
His eyes flickered across my face, landing on my lips. I flushed, sitting back, taken by the sudden heat from him.
“Wood.” He rapped his knuckles on the desk between us, and I swallowed—previously tired and hungry, now wanting something completely different to distract me from what plagued my heart.
He reached into his vest pocket, bringing his flask of styris tea to his lips, taking a long pull before handing it to me, my arm already reaching across the desk for it.
He turned around and addressed his channelers. “Thank you for your steadfast research. You all deserve a rest. We’ll meet on the Fortress steps in one hour. Get something to eat from the kitchens and relax.”
They left, Philius saying something to Mychael to make him laugh, patting at his back heartily as they walked out of the room together.
Revich watched each of them leave, Renn shutting the door behind her before he turned his gaze back to me.
I took an air of indifference, though my body was aching, begging for him to take me, right there on that desk and distract both of us from our frustrations and worries.
I stacked my pile of books and stood, holding back a smirk at his piercing gaze as I didn’t meet it. I sighed heavily, unbuttoning the top two buttons of my vest and moving to leave.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, hands in his pockets, watching me.
