Page 107 of Liminal

“Mr Carlton…” I trail off, unsure what I can say to this man that I haven’t already tried.

He’s looking at me strangely now, like he’s calculating something or considering another angle.

“Yes,Kyrith?”

The way he says my name, like he’s entitled to it, sets my spine straighter. “It’s Librarian to you.”

“Seems like unfair treatment for someone who’s supposed to be impartial.”

It does not! Indignation has me pursing my lips for a second. “Jasper hasn’t threatened me.”

“I’ve only ever been on your side; generously so, I might add.”

Pierce slips past me with a smug little smirk I don’t trust. “Think about what I said,” he calls over his shoulder. “You know where to go.” A pause as he reaches the wall of muscle that is Dakari. “Oh, would you like me to help you pick a ring for Anthea? She likes pearls, hates sapphires, and?—”

Pierce Carlton flies up into the ceiling like a rag doll, slamming against the rafters with an awful crack that makes me flinch. As quickly as he ascended, he drops, splatting ontothe carpet with a surprisingly muted thud. The three of us wait apprehensively for him to get up.

He doesn’t.

Oh dear. Not another incident to deal with? I swipe a hand down my face in exasperation.

Dakari didn’t even need to move or speak an incantation. His hand slips free of the pages of his grimoire as he offers me an unapologetic shrug.

“Now he’s unconscious and cluttering up the room,” I grumble.

“What did I miss?” Jasper asks, frowning. “Why are you both so…?”

“What did Pierce say to you?” I float over the top of the Carlton heir and examine him for any lingering paleness or disorientation from last night.

“Just that my family was aware I was alive and making trouble for his mother.” Jasper pushes out of his chair with deliberate slowness, giving me a chance to move away. “Some warnings that they might be in danger. What did I miss?”

He raises a hand to my new cracks, but I dodge back before it can make contact.

“Don’t touch me. You’ll make it worse,” I tell him, honestly. “North accidentally caught me before your seizure, and then when you did…”

His face falls, and guilt eclipses his warm eyes, turning them cold and morose.

“So I was partially responsible?”

“It was an accident. I don’t understand why it keeps happening, and why it’s only you six.”

“Six?” Dakari edges his way between me and the unconscious Pierce.

“Yes,” I admit, resignation weighing down the word.

I avoided talking about it, but keeping it a secret didn’t stop it from happening. They all know now, anyway. Everyone except the arcanist on the floor behind me and Lambert.

I’ll never tell the former, for obvious reasons, and the latter… One of the others must have mentioned it, because there hasn’t been a hug-attempt since the shower incident. Not that it matters. He’s moved on to his next conquest now, anyway.

I amnotbitter about that.

Being bitter would mean I had expectations, and there was literally no way a relationship could have worked. Even if there was, Lambert isn’t that kind of guy. He has a different girl tucked under his arm in every class. I knew that when I decided to join him.

I turn back to Pierce to distract myself from the topic. “I should probably heal him.”

If I don’t, there will be allegations of favouritism—more than there are already. Reluctantly, I float closer, only to freeze.

His eyes are open, the grey orbs focused and alert.