Page 33 of Insolence
“I already told you everything.” I repeat the same lie I’ve been using since last night. Spinning away, I start up the wide steps to the Archive.
“You keep saying that. And yes, while I believe you told me everythingelsethat’s ever happened between you two, there was definitely something in that weird cave that you are leaving out.”
“Mind your business.” I push through the heavy Archive door.
Once inside the dim anteroom, it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. The earthy-sweet aroma of aged paper tickles my nose, inspiring a wistful sigh.
Sadrie and I are close enough that our arms brush in the cramped space. She turns to take my hands, her touch sending hot desire bolting through me so intensely, my breath stalls.
“You still haven’t told me why you havebruiseson your wrists,” she hisses.
“Don’tworryabout it. How many times do I have to say it?” I try to pull away, but she tightens her grip.
Her expression sobers. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”
The careful way she says it cramps my heart. “No, she didn’t hurt me.”
“Are you sure? We don’t have to tell the sisters or anybody else, but I could make sure you weren’t alone with her again.”
Again, the urge to kiss her is overpowering. “Thank you.” I squeeze her fingers, warmth flooding me. “And yes, I’m very sure that she didn’t hurt me. Not in a bad way, at least.”
Sadrie’s eyes bulge, and she clutches my arm. “Excuse me, is thereanotherway?”
“Oh, gods.” I shake her off, but she’s already cackling with triumph.
“I knew it!” she crows. “That’s alotto take apart and examine, Tiss.”
“Can we not, please?”
“What happened? What happened? Whathappened?”
Kicking myself for saying too much, I twirl on my heel and take off running. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
She whoops in response and hightails it after me. She’s right on my heels as I dash through an arched pass-through hung with heavy curtains into a high-ceilinged room. Loaded bookshelves and cubbies full of stacked scrolls crowd the space.
I dart to the left and sprint toward the end of an aisle.
“You should know this is my idea of a good time!” Sadrie cries, racing to catch up.
My feet pounding the floor runners, I dodge between the shelves and cubbies. They’re wedged and crammed into the cozy space, forming somewhat of a maze.
I’m gasping with laughter as I wheel around the end of a shelf. I break into another spurt, careening between two more shelves, then between two more. She’s hot on my tracks, no matter how many times I try and shake her off.
Bursting through the gap in the shelves, I come to an open area with a cluster of wooden card catalogs in the center. They’re shorter than the surrounding shelves, coming waist-high on me.
I put them between us and spin to find Sadrie flushed, grinning, and heaving for breath on the other side.
Running with the extra weight of my cloak has me just as winded. The wool garment probably weighs ten pounds by itself. “You belong in a circus, you know,” I say between gulps of air.
Doubled over, hands on her knees, she glances over the card catalogs. “There’s a high probability I’ve been told that before.”
I unfasten my cloak and pull it off, laying it atop the low cabinets. “There’s a high probability you were carted directlyfromthere to here.”
“That’s rich.” She straightens. “You’re the one racing through here like an animal.”
“And you chased me like a maniac!”
“Oh, you love the attention, Itissa.” She unfastens her own cloak and tosses it on top of mine. “You’d be devastated if I ever decided to ignore your shit.”
