Page 152 of Firestorm
More surprise, and a gentle nudge at my brain, but that was all.
I huffed.
Landon’s quiet steps pulled my attention back to the staircase, where he descended with two books for me. He slid them onto the table with a sigh.
“These are all I could find,” he said. “I checked them out, so don’t worry about getting caught with them.”
I glanced at the titles with excitement before groaning internally.
A children’s dictionary.
And a children’s thesaurus.
Both for the old language, but each book was full of cartoon pictures and kid-level phrases. Colors, numbers, days of the week.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling slightly defeated.
I attempted to read the dictionary while Landon pulled out his laptop and began typing.
After almost an hour of silence, I glanced at the time on my phone to see it was only nine. Aiden wouldn’t be out of his detention until ten. I blew out my cheeks, then did a sudden double-take.
There, on top of my pile of books, was another ancient-looking tome. I pulled it from the pile, not recognizing it at all. It definitely hadn’t been here before.
I furrowed my brow as I wiped at the dusty cover. My breath hitched as the letters on the front became legible.
The Quintessential Old Language Linguistic Reference for the Modern Adult.
My heart pounded while I blinked several times before gingerly flipping through the worn pages.
While old, it was more legible than the first book, and it had everything I needed. Detailed vocabulary, syntax structure, morphology.
I grinned, then stilled as my shadow brushed across my mind.
Thank you,I projected.This was just what I needed!
You’re very welcome,a masculine voice whispered back to me.
I fell out of my chair.
An hour later,Landon and I were leaving the library. He insisted he was going in the same direction as me, though I was pretty sure he was just being a typical man and walking me back to my dorm as some misguided form of protection.
I almost laughed at the irony that Landon had once been the very thing I needed protecting from. Landon was hardly the first man to corner me in the dark, but he was the only one who’d made it out unscathed.
Landon sighed as he held his phone. I glanced at his screen, raising my eyebrows in surprise when I saw what was a younger picture of Lana smiling at the camera. Instead of her usual bangs, a bright blue headband held her dark hair out of her face.
“You can answer a call from your sister, Landon, I don’t care.” I teased.
Landon shot me a look I couldn’t quite decipher, then he sent the call to voicemail.
“Are you two not close?” I asked. “I’d never ignore a call from my brother.”
“You have a brother?” Landon asked, clearly deflecting.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, he’s older. I’d be devastated if he didn’t answer my call.”
Landon grimaced. “Lana is…a lot.”
I snorted. Typical male answer.
