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Lucian’s sexy smirk should come with a warning. I practically lost my footing. “This house wouldn’t allow anyone topaintit. I’m not sure what would happen, but it wouldn’t be pretty.”

“We should ask Gideon to try.”

He chuckled. “He would, wouldn’t he? We’re here.”

Herewas a dream come true.

Give the general grandeur of everything I’d seen so far, I expected yet another cathedral-like structure, fancier than Belle’s library in the cartoon, but instead, the room was inviting, warm, well lived in.

Except for the great arched windows with stained glass, every single wall was covered in books—thousands of them, in dark wooden shelves that reached the top of the ceiling. A few shelves were covered by glass, some locked, and unless I was mistaken, a handful kept under freezing charms that acted like a refrigerator—a miniature version of the cooling rooms we had at the archives for old, precious volumes.

There was a large triangular table at the center, marked with a circle of runes to protect the room from any magic coming out of those pages. The armchairs around it were no less regal than the one Lucian sat on back in his reception room, though a little higher.

Zazel, clever boy, was already here, settled on a deep green chaise with a little side table. I could imagine Lucian lounging right here, the candle floating over the table alight as he brought his thumb to his mouth and wetted it before turning a page.

Welp. That was enough imagination in public.

“This is such a great space,” I told him. “I don’t know why I pictured a library like the one at the archives.”

“Because you’re starting to get to know me,” he replied with a snort. “This is my personal library, love. The Regis collectionis down in the first basement. Frankly, it’d put the library’s archives to shame.”

I couldn’t say I was surprised.

“That said, I’ve always been fascinated by runes, so my books should give us a place to start. No point starting with an ocean when we have a lake to drain first. Let me show you how my cataloging works.”

I should not be as excited as I was at the thought ofcataloging.

Lucian moved to the triangular table, and to my surprised, the runes carved on the table started to move, not changing their direction as such, but flickering a little, like they were shaking in anticipation.

I could relate.

He pressed his hand to the middle of the table, and before my baffled eyes, those very runes projected a dancing light up in the air, right at eye level. “Library, I need all books on runic rituals, particularly those with mentions of dark and or sacrifice. Please list them by relevance. I would like ten on the table at any given time. Prioritize at your discretion.”

The runes pulsed blue, and exploded like a tiny firework in all directions, each one aiming for a book, which gently floated down to the table. On the table itself, a list was starting to manifest, line after line appearing.

The History of Blood Sacrifice, by Murielle Dawn, 11th shelf, 7th stack.

Vengeance of a Hag, a Biography, main library, floor 3, row 102, shelf 6, 3rd stack.

The table inserted titles higher or lower, seeming to think about where they should go in the order of things.

“I’m never going to leave your manor,” I announced. “You’ll have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming.”

Lucian shrugged. “If you bake for your keep, we have a deal. Speaking of, I’d appreciate my tin of baked goods from the drawing room, if you please.”

One of the runes rushed out of the room.

“How…how does this evenwork?” And why the hell wasn’t every house functioning exactly like this one?

“The manor’s old,” Lucian said. “Pour enough magic into something for long enough, and it ends up being positively magical. I drain my power rather frequently in the pool down in the atrium. It feeds the gardens, the trees, the manor itself—hell, half the street.”

I gaped. “You have adraining pool? Is that even legal?”

I would have demanded he take me there immediately, except that would mean leaving the library, which I wasn’t. Possibly ever.

“I’m a Regis, Kleos,” he retorted.

I got the feeling this was his answer to many questions.