Page 41 of Liminal

“Unfortunately, nothing that’s within your power to give.” I withdraw completely.

The handle turns, and I panic. The Arcanaeum isn’t letting me close it. I’m having a battle of wills with the building, and I’m not winning.

“Omubolosi,” I stutter.

It works—sort of. The door freezes, open halfway, and Lambert sticks his head through the crack. “Kyrith, I?—”

His eyes fall to my arm, and he lets out a ragged breath. “Shit.”

“Leave me be, Lambert.” I try to inject some strength into my tone, but it comes out wounded.

A second later, my spell fails, and the door swings the rest of the way. Two more probing stares linger on the cracks up my arm.

“This is my sanctuary.” I summon what dignity I have left and address the three of them. “Myprivatesanctuary. It isn’t open for visitors. Especially not you three. Leave.”

“Come down to the desk,” Lambert says, ignoring me. “Or even just over there.” He hikes his thumb at a cosy nook with a sofa and an armchair just behind them. “We should talk about this. North still hasn’t apologised.”

“Neither have you.”

“Sorry!” He rushes to get the word out. “I don’t… I mean, the word is fairly meaningless, right? I figured actions would be better, but maybe I was wrong.” He frowns. “Was I wrong?”

“Librarian,” Galileo cuts in. “Lambert might be…brash, but he’s right. We’re deeply sorry for what we did. Please give us the chance to fix this mistake.”

I look past him to North, my jaw stiff.

He’s about as far from apologetic as he can get, and the hostility in the air becomes charged.

“If you’re hoping I’ll fall on my knees and grovel like these two—” he begins.

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” I reply, chillingly.

“I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, but I have to get that book. I don’t give a fuck if I broke your rules to do it.”

Is that the closest he can get to a true apology? Given the muscle ticking in his jaw, I think it might be.

“Well, it’s not here,” I retort. “And if I ever catch you in the Vault again?—”

“You won’t.” Lambert inserts himself between us, and I flinch back, unaware that I’d been slowly drifting closer. “I swear,boss. We’re all going to be model patrons. North won’t sneak anywhere again, because he needs tutoring, too. He knows less than I do.”

I wait for him to deny it. A vein throbs at his temple, but he says nothing, accepting the description.

“Josef basically yanked his liminal ass off the street and onto your doorstep,” Lambert continues. “He barely had a few months of magic lessons before he was enrolled.”

“Lambert.” North’s gold eyes are as hard as the metal they resemble, and bruised pride shines from his haughty gaze.

But I don’t care about that. A lack of education is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m more concerned with the news that Josef is yanking his bastards off the street and shoving them before the Arcanaeum to gain a foothold here. No. Not even a foothold. He wants the grimoire, and he believes I have it. Which means he doesn’t.

“He’s gotten so desperate,” I whisper to myself, breezing around them before I can think better of it.

Thankfully, the door to my tower swings shut behind me, blocking them out of my safe space. As a last reassurance, the handle disappears again, though I don’t trust it.

The Arcanaeum wants me to be around these men. It wants me to court disaster, and for the first time, I find myself wondering if it truly does have my best interests at heart.

I hover by the snug opposite my door, watching as they settle into chairs around the table.

“I’d like to propose a new deal,” Galileo says smoothly. “In exchange for resuming our tutoring sessions, the three of us will put our considerable resources towards finding answers about your condition.”

“What makes you think I don’t have answers?” I retort, carefully examining the wood grain of the tabletop.