Page 135 of Liminal

“I’ll be back in a couple hours,” I promise her, like I’m twelve and not pushing thirty. “Besides, Kyrith kept me safe before.”

“Never trusted that Librarian,” she murmurs. “What did she get out of it, huh? Meddling in family business?”

“It was her collector who found me,” I remind her, checking my new phone—which is a lot slimmer than the one I had ten years ago—one last time before putting it on the table and leaning in to kiss her.

“Talcotts,” Ma says like it’s a curse but tugs me down and presses a tub of something into my hands. “Your grandfather would’ve had a heart attack, just like he did when you two started hanging around one another as bairns. Here, share those with him. Maybe they’ll sweeten him into a respectable lad.”

Shaking my head, because no amount of homemade tablet is going to turn Dakari into anything close to respectable, I offer her an easy grin and head for the stable door.

“Ad Arcanaeum,” I say, knocking gently against the unfamiliar dusty green paint.

When I left, the doors were white. Just one of the adjustments I’ve gone through since returning home. Thank magic they left my bedroom untouched.

It takes a second, but it swings wide, revealing the foyer in all its yuletide glory. The decorations have turned from Christmas red to UAA black and gold, and I grin as I wonder what the others will say when they realise I’m joining them next term.

My application was accepted this morning, and I’m hoping Kyrith will tutor me so I can catch up and spend more time with her.

“You okay?” Dakari asks, pushing away from the wall as soon as I cross the threshold.

“Fine.” I brush him off with a grin and offer Ma a wave before the door shuts and I can finally slump. “Relieved, to be honest. They won’t stop fussing over me.”

“Your family always were good people.”

“She made you tablet.” I hand him the box. “It’s supposed to sweeten you into someone respectable.”

He snorts, leading the way through the main doors and down Botanical Hall towards the Rotunda. “Good old Mama Dee. Fixing the reprobates of the world one candy at a time.”

“She wouldnae have to try so hard if you just settled down. You could move up north with us. They’d grumble, but you’re my saviour. They love you really,” I say, only half-jokingly, but he brushes me off with a grunt.

“Kyrith already offered me an obscene amount of money to make sure I could find somewhere safe to call home.”

“She wants you to move out?” I suppose the Arcanaeum isnae really a hostel.

His mouth twists, but he just shrugs. “It was a weird conversation.”

I want to ask more, but the room that’s become a mini cinema of sorts is right there, and the second we enter, my gaze lands on Kyrith. Thoughts tend to flee when she’s in my vicinity, and tonight is no exception. Magic, she looks so cute and cosy with a blanket hovering over her lap and Lambert’s jacket around her shoulders.

She seems more translucent than usual, but I think that might be the brightness of the wisplights decorating the place, and as I step into the room, she offers me a soft smile.

It’s a sweet picture. I want to join her under the blanket and snuggle her, only to have her order me to slip under it and eat her out while she watches the game.

It’s a compelling fantasy, but it would only end in disaster.

“I was gifted something today that I think will help with your magic,” she says, in place of hello. “I’d like to try it before the game starts, since we have time.”

There’s a melancholy touch to her expression that makes me frown, but she’s holding onto the book like it’s a shield, so I’m not sure she’d take well to me pushing her. She’s been a wee bit distant since she blew my brains out and then ran off. I’m trying not to let her obvious regrets bother me, but it’s hard when what we shared was a damned-near spiritual experience—no pun intended.

So instead of asking why she looks like she’ll break at the next fragile wind, I nod and settle onto the sofa beside her. “Sure.”

“I’ve gone over the runeforms a hundred times,” she babbles, like she’s nervous. “Everything looks correct and?—”

“He’s not Leo,” Dakari tells her. “You shouldn’t let that prick knock your confidence.”

Wait. What did Leo do?

“As if I would.” She sticks her nose up, defensiveness falling off her in waves. “But this spell is a new one, and Jasper’s been gone a while. His family might?—”

“They haven’t found anything that will fix it.”