Page 58 of The Healing Dragon
“I was at the library doing some research.” She rolls her shoulders.
Her face is stone cold, as if waiting for me to question her further. Whatever she was doing, she obviously doesn’t want to part with the details. I do the opposite.
“I didn’t ask,” I say.
I pretend not to see the twitch in her armor by looking at my papers once more.
“What you do with your free time it’s your problem. You do have to find the Red Book again after all. Isn’t that the only reason you are here, anyway?”
Her eyes sharpen at my words. “Yes, that is the only reason I’m here.”
There’s a gentle ringing in my ears that only I can hear.
“Getting your magic back is the goal. The sooner you find the Red Book, the sooner you will get it back and leave.”
Her eyes don’t blink despite every word hitting a nerve. “As always, the Lord of Wisdom has gotten it all right. I’m here only to get my magic back. Now, if you excuse me, I have a long day tomorrow.” She stands up and heads into her bedroom.
I watch her walk away and shut the door behind her as the well-known melody of lies rings in my ears. Her lies give me air and with every inhale, it gets easier to breathe. She is here for something else and a small stupid part of me hopes that it’s me.
I toss the papers on the table and head to my room. Tomorrow will indeed be a long day. I have to speak to a few trusted sources we have in the forest. Whether other forest creatures knew of the traitors amongst their kind is yet to beseen. Brandon is planning to have zero tolerance for those who’ve allied with Duelo, but we need to figure out if his allies are strays.
Imake a pit stop at the library first thing in the morning. As I predicted, Santiago is sitting behind his desk. A plate of breakfast food sits beside him. Thinking of it, I haven't seen him in the dining hall in a while.
“Would it kill you to eat away from your desk?” I ask, crossing the distance between us.
He looks up from whatever he is reading and stands. He shuts the book and shoots me an odd expression. “The name Kitty Paws might need to be reassigned to you.”
I roll my eyes at the taunt that once had Roman fuming in anger.
“I made no effort to conceal my presence.” Gesturing to his untouched breakfast, I add, “I haven’t seen you at the food hall in months.”
“Yeah,” he says while running his finger through his hair. “I don’t know where to sit.”
I first think the comment is a joke because Roman and I always sit at the same table. We have been for years. Then I realize Santiago has never sat with us. He has always been part of small gatherings at Brandon’s, but when it comes to castle events, he always stood on the side withSofia.Thinking back, the last time I saw him in the dining hall, it was the last time I saw her there.
He huffs out softly, self reprimanding. “It sounds juvenile but,” he pauses, looking into space.
“It’s not,” I assure him. “Whenever you are ready, there will always be space next to Roman or me. You know that.”
“I know.” He nods. He clears his throat, then looks at me expectantly. “It’s there something I can help you with?”
I nod. “As a matter of fact, I heard Janelle was seen leaving the library late at night.” Admitting to waiting for her isn’t something I’m willing to do. “Do you know what she was up to?”
His all-too-knowing gaze tells me I’m not fooling him. I didn’t think I would, but I had to try.
“You have people watching her or something?”
His displeased tone will make my request more difficult than I thought.
“Are you offering?” I give him a teasing smile.
“Leave me out of it.” Both of his palms go up in the air as he takes a step back. “What I can assure you is that Matias and Janelle are not doing anything that could harm anyone in the castle or disobeying the King.”
I should’ve known Matias was with her, but he has better things to concern himself with. “Shouldn’t he focus on figuring out his own problems?” My question is rhetorical, but the sharpness in my tone is evident.
Santiago takes a seat without looking away from me. “What do you really want to know, Jesse?”
There isn’t a specific thing I want to know. I want to know what exactly she is searching for. I cannot ask her since I don’t want her to know I care. Yet I want to make sure that if there’s anything I can do, he needs to let me know.
