level appears to have older books. Directly in front of me is a large fireplace, extending upwards the entire height of the room and in front of that are two couches and small side tables. To the left of the room, next to the stairs, are two computers. The walls have deep green wallpaper decorated with golden swirls.
“Oh my. This room is beautiful.”
“Claire is the only one that really comes in here anymore. She loves books.”
“I used to love reading. I haven’t read a lot since my mom passed. But I love just sitting in a library. Something about the smell of old books is comforting to me.” I walk towards the stairs and slowly ascend. David follows behind me. At the top, I walk to the nearest bookshelf and run my fingers across the binding of a row of books. Many of them are adorned with a sturdy canvas cover, but some of the larger ones are leather.
I feel tears start to well up in my eyes. I don’t know why. I hadn’t cried in over a year and now I seem to cry a lot. I wonder if it had anything to do with coming into my gifts. My magic is correlated with my emotions. Dang it, it’s like going through puberty all over again.
Something about this place…I don’t know how to describe it. It is relaxing and quiet and I instantly feel safe here. I wipe the tears away and turn towards David. Without saying anything, I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his waist, giving him a hug. His body tenses against mine initially, but after a couple of seconds he relaxes and hugs me back.
“Well, if I knew this was going to be your reaction, I would have shown it to you earlier.”
“What’s going on here?” I feel David stiffen again as he turns and looks at Colton. He slowly drops his arms and pushes me back. I don’t understand the sudden change in behavior.
“I was showing Ryanne the library. She apparently has a thing for books.”
I hear them both continue to converse in harsh whispers, but my attention is elsewhere. I grab a step stool from the corner and place it at the bottom of the third book shelf. Stepping up, I reach up to the top shelf and pull down the book.
“Is this what I think it is?” The whispers stop behind me, “Is this a first edition of Pride and Prejudice?”
Colton walks over to me, “Probably, Claire collects books like that.”
With my best British accent imitation, I say, “‘I have no pretension whatever to that kind of elegance which consists in tormenting a respectable man.’ That’s one of my favorite lines. This book is worth a lot of money. I can’t believe I’m actually holding a first edition. Oh my goodness, it’s in excellent condition.” I start rambling. I stare at the book in awe. It is amazing. I am more excited now than when I found out that I had magical gifts. That’s not a very good example because I wasn’t very excited then, but whatever.
Standing on the stool, Colton and I are about the same height, but he is still slightly taller. He steps behind me and leans forward, reaching for a book on the top shelf. His chest brushes against my back. I bite my lip to keep from making any noise as his breathe hits my neck. I watch his hand as it moves upwards and grasps onto a dark clothed book.
“This one is one of my favorites.” He says lightly and hands me the book. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.
“You read? I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
With a shrug, he says, “‘Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of a man could invent.’ But don’t go spreading that around. I wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation.”
“Who would I tell? You two are the only people that actually talk to me.” I turn my attention back to the books, refusing to acknowledge the looks they both give me.
David walks over to me and puts his hand on the small of my back. “Would you like to see the rest of the house?”
“Maybe some other time. I want to look around here a little more.” Colton hisses something to David, but David just laughs. Removing his hand from my back, he winks at Colton. What is going on between them? Both brothers turn away and start descending down