Page 26 of Research with Rivals
Still seated on my shoulder, his wings poked at me as they ruffled. Why couldn’t he have picked Ambrose’s shoulder for his little tantrums?
“The best information I can give you is in the restricted section of the library. You should read the journals of the first Vesten Point, Kenna. She was there at the creation of the fae, and the language she recorded is what Carter believes indicates blood magic was used to create the fae.”
Vindication rushed through me. I was on my feet immediately, and Lord Arctos’s wing was flapping against my face again as I jostled him. “Excellent.”
“But only the Vesten historian is allowed in the restricted section,” Ambrose replied. It seemed almost automatic. He looked wistfully over his shoulder at the closed door that led to that particular section.
Had he really never been in there? Another crack formed in the image I had of Ambrose. It was comforting that his rules applied to himself, too. Maybe even more comforting that he gave Lord Arctos as hard a time about the rules as he usually gave me, but still. “I think we’ll be alright if the literal god of our court is telling us to go in there.”
Ambrose’s hand balled into a fist, and his brow pinched. “It really wouldn’t take that long to request permission from Gabriel.”
I smirked, and it felt dangerously close to toying with him. The awareness of him flared to life in my chest, a sensation of heat tingling down my spine. It caught me off guard. This wasn’t what Ambrose and I did. Still, the words slipped out, as if they, too, didn’t require permission. “Where is the fun in that?”
My chair scraped against the wood floor as I pushed it in beneath my desk. I knew it would make Ambrose’s hair stand on end.
“Evelyn,” he said, his hands moving to his hips. “It will take ten minutes at most to get Gabriel’s approval.”
“Which seems like a waste of ten minutes.”
Lord Arctos’s head swiveled back and forth between us as we needlessly debated this next step.
“If anything happens to us, he’ll have the record of what text we thought relevant.”
“What’s going to happen to us, Ambrose?” I tilted my head in consideration, feeling like I had untangled an entire ball of yarn but was unsure what to do with the accomplishment.
“Never mind,” he said before doubling down on his original point. “Let’s just get permission.”
“He told us time was of the essence. We’re doing as he requested.” Heat flared inside me as Ambrose’s ears reddened in frustration. I decided then and there that I liked pushing him in this way. What did he have to worry about? He was a full Vesten fae, his father retired from a position of honor in the court. Ambrose was renowned for his knowledge of the court’s history. He could do whatever he wanted without consequence.
That’s not what I saw on his face.
For the first time, it occurred to me that maybe he didn’t see himself the way I saw him. Maybe he didn’t think everything was within his grasp. The next question bubbled up the same way the awareness of him had—why didn’t he believe that?
I didn’t have time to consider it before he turned and walked away. “I’ll be a moment. Just wait here.”
The Great Room door hadn’t fully closed behind him when the Vesten God swept into my mind. He was all condescending authority, speaking the information I’d been intent to ignore. “When are you going to tell him that the two of you are magically bound?”
10
Ambrose
My shoulders tensed as I heard her whisper something to the Vesten God. I was almost out of the room, but I had excellent hearing thanks to my wolf. The words were too whispered to decipher, but she did not sound happy.
Some part of me was pulled back toward the hiss of her voice, like maybe she required me for whatever debate they were having. The urge was stronger than I cared to admit.
Another part of me heard my father’s voice in my head, warning me of the dangers of the restricted section. The least I could do was tell Gabriel our plan. I nodded to myself and proceeded toward his office.
Evelyn hadn’t asked for my help. I had no idea where this protective instinct was coming from. Likely from the same part of me that didn’t want to be away from her. Every step I took twisted that knot in my chest a little tighter.
So, I focused on something else.
At least if Lord Arctos and Evelyn spent the next ten minutes arguing, they couldn’t sneak into the restricted section while I got permission. As I took the stairs two at a time, I was torn between hoping they argued a while longer and marveling at the audacity of Evelyn to fight that way with the Vesten God.
I remembered coming to the library to visit my father as a child. He had often been behind the roped-off area. I was never allowed in. When I questioned him, he’d say that some things shouldn’t be known. The words had never sat well with me, especially from someone who worked in a position where knowledge was key. Even as I questioned them, they remained in my mind. It occurred to me that he hadn’t heeded his own words, and it had cost him.
Now, here I was, years later, with Evelyn’s taunts replaying in my mind, wondering if Father’s reason was good enough. What if the knowledge was handled with care and caution? I considered the reckless test the Vesten Point had conducted with Lord Arctos. Might there be situations in which it was more dangerous not to know? Maybe the best we could do was learn what we could to prepare for any eventuality.
My hand swept through my hair before I could stop it. I was halfway to Gabriel’s office but wondered if it wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t get permission. What if I just walked into the restricted section and grabbed whatever books I wanted? What if Lord Arctos sat on my shoulder and directed me to whichever journal of Kenna’s he wanted us to read?
