When the library doors were finally in front of me, I hesitated. It wasn't that I didn't want to see my best friend, but so much had happened in such a short time that I wasn't sure what she would want to know and what I could divulge. The guys hadn’t said anything about keeping what happened a secret, but wasn’t it illegal to tell humans certain things about Fae Court? I sucked in a breath and decided that it didn’t really matter. Nellie was my best friend. She was exempt from such laws … hopefully.
I pushed open the heavy wood door and saw Groffet sitting at his workstation. He gave me a nod of greeting and said, "Your human friend is in the back stacks on the left."
"Thank you," I said, flashing him a quick smile.
I wound my way through the aisles of books and other items, most of which looked like scrolls and leather bound volumes of ancient texts, but other items didn't look like anything I'd seen before—jars of weird looking animal body parts, herbs-like branches that looked more humanoid than tree-like. My steps slowed as I passed them, but I kept walking until finally, I saw Nellie sitting in the furthest corner, surrounded by cushions and books, with a heavy tome open on her lap. Despite the open book, however, her eyes were closed. I got closer, only realizing when I was a step or two away that she’d fallen asleep. Soft snores were emitting from her half open mouth.
"Nellie," I whispered, trying not to laugh as I sat down on the cushion next to her.
When nothing happened, I shook my head and reached out—patting her arm and then pushing it gently until her lashes fluttered. Nellie jerked up and blinked, looking around. It only took her a moment to realize I was the reason for her sudden awakening. As soon as she saw me, her face broke out into a wide smile. She shoved her book aside and flung herself forward, her arms wrapping around me. "You came," she said as she pulled away. “I was worried you’d get sidetracked again.”
“Well, better late than never, right?” I said with a wince. I wasn’t surprised by her assumption. The Princes had taken up pretty much all of my thoughts recently. A result, I assumed, of all that we’d been through together, and okay, maybe the fact that I was, kind of, stupidly falling for them.
"I know, but those Princes keep you pretty occupied," Nellie replied with pursed lips as if she’d been reading my mind.
I narrowed my gaze on her. “You haven’t picked anything magical up since you’ve been here, have you?” I asked suspiciously.
She smacked my arm. “I am not the one who goes running into any castle they find,” she replied tersely.
There was a brief moment where I widened my eyes at her innocence and she stared at me with a reproachful look that I knew so well. Then, all at once, the two of us burst out laughing. I doubled over, clutching my stomach as my laughter ricocheted up to the rafters of the library and Nellie shook her head at me.
When the giggles died down, she sighed and then touched my arm, reaching down to take my hand and pulling it into her lap. "I want to know everything that's happened,” she said seriously. “I was so worried for you, especially when they came back from that other Court without you."
I took a breath. “It’s a lot,” I admitted. "I don't even know where to start.”
“At the beginning,” Nel suggested, her fingers tightening on mine.
“Just the trip to the Court of Frost was intense,” I told her. “Then when we got there—I met the Fae Queens.”
Her eyes widened. “What were they like?” she asked, her voice dipping to a whisper as if they were watching. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, if those two rotten, old hags were spying on me—especially the Crimson Queen.
“They were perfectly horrid,” I snapped. “They hated me—that much was clear. And Roan…” I stopped and groaned. “He didn’t help matters when he just suddenly announced me as his fiancée.”
“He did what?” Her jaw dropped, her mouth gaping open.
I nodded and pulled one of my hands out to pat the top of hers gently in understanding. “Oh yeah,” I said. “Didn’t ask, just announced it. To be fair, he did it thinking that it would act as a protection against anyone who tried to hurt me.”