Page 29 of Tales of a Monstrous Heart
‘Again? Has everyone forgotten I’m a recluse?’ Emrys rubbed his brow as he took it. The envelope was deep burgundy, which I found strange, the wax seal a golden hue.
‘I see,’ he muttered.
‘Good afternoon, Kat,’ William greeted, his smile a little too tight as his eyes kept returning to Emrys, studying him to gauge his reaction.
Emrys cleared his throat, folding his hands behind his back to hide the letter. His eyes darkening, lips tightly pressed together with displeasure. ‘William, gather my most recent files for Kat to study.’
‘One minute.’ The boy spun on his heel and began to rummage through the nearest shelves.
‘I’m certain you’re anxious to catch up on the most recent breaches,’ Emrys continued speaking to me, something strange about his voice. Distant and cold, remembering what part he was supposed to play.
Breaches. What they called surges in dark magic that came from the earth, caused by the misuse of magic, or so the Council claimed. I found things not to be as simple as that when it came to dark magic, especially the kind that could break the earth’s natural seal and disturb what ancient Kysillian kings had buried.
‘I’ve been summoned to Merton Valley,’ Emrys announced, his face an unreadable mask.
‘In the north? It must be a mistake.’ William frowned, continuing to grab papers and files from the mess of the study shelves, knowing instinctively what was valuable, and stacking them on the side.
‘It will be. That’s why I’ll leave Miss Woodrow in your care, William.’ He nodded, making the boy flush as he ran his hands over his tunic and darted between thebookshelves, continuing his search for the papers Emrys had requested.
The lord turned to excuse himself but those dark eyes drifted to see the items littered across my desk. Stopping him.
‘That’s Hale’s copy.’ He reached out cautiously to turnThe Myth of Shadowaround, as if moving it could cause damage. He turned to the first page in curiosity. ‘I never thought the old fool would let anyone touch it.’
‘I think he probably wanted me to strengthen my studies.’ I pushed my hair back from my face as it slowly slipped free from my poor excuse of a braid. ‘I was hassling him about it before—’
Before I ruined everything. Only as I looked back to Emrys, he was considering me thoughtfully. Those pale grey eyes with that same curiosity made a foolish thought enter my head. That perhaps I hadn’t ruined anything at all.
Maybe fate had just finally played into my hands.
‘I’ve been hassling him about it for a decade.’ His head inclined to one side in consideration, revealing the strong line of his throat.
A strange nervousness moved through me at the ease of talking to him. Then I decided to be a little braver.
‘Perhaps if I can see your notes on Ren Cardia Theory, you can borrow it,’ I challenged, sliding the large book carefully out of his reach, never breaking his gaze.
His dark eyes shifted to where William was swearing at a tome that seemed determined to fall apart as he tried to move it from its dusty shelf. Then his focus came solely back to me, as intense as a caress, a small uneven smile on his lips.
‘How did you work that one out, Croinn?’ he asked quietly.
‘William said something about Pervanthus herb. Ren Cardia was the only one who connected it to dark summonings and Insidious sickness.’ I shrugged.
‘I’m beginning to worry I’ll have nothing left to teach you, Miss Woodrow,’ he cautioned wryly, the ghost of a smile still there as he rubbed the back of his neck.
‘I’m certain a man of your expertise will find something.’ A challenge lay in my words I hadn’t anticipated as I returned his smile, feeling the intensity of his focus brush against my skin, as if I stood too close to a fire.
‘I was …’ I began, raising my hand to brush the loose hair from my face, only for a different tension to ripple in the air between us. The mirth in his eyes replaced with a darker grey like a storm blowing in.
His attention fixed on my forearm, a tightness to his jaw with displeasure. Then I saw it. The nasty fading bruise from where I’d fallen in the ruins on my forearm. His annoyance clear from the reminder of just how much of a liability I was.
‘The consequences of dabbling with a gobrite.’ I flushed, quickly rolling down my sleeves.
‘The healer wasn’t summoned?’ The words were cold and flat.
I blinked in surprise at his tone. ‘Nobody asked.’
Frowning at the ridiculous notion that the Council would care about anything that happened to me or waste coin on a healer. ‘I have a balm for bruising. I just need to remember to put it on.’
‘Got them!’ William exclaimed, making me jump and turn to see him stumbling between the books and boxes littering the study, arms full of ledgers. ‘I left them in one of the storage boxes on the back shelves.’
