But sometime in the three and a half months I was gone, Jaxon not only put it back together, but he actually redecorated the place.
I stroll around the room, vaguely paying attention as Jaxon explains to Flint and Macy fully about what the Bloodletter said we need to do to get Hudson out of my head. Flint has some succinct words about the Unkillable Beast—and the Bloodletter, for that matter—but he’s obviously into it. He’s hanging on Jaxon’s every word and even offering a ton of suggestions.
For once, nobody’s paying any attention to me as I run a hand along Jaxon’s bookshelves and take in all the new decor. And can I just say I like it? The lack of attention and his decorating choices…
Now, instead of a couple of big, comfy chairs dominating the sitting area, there’s one big, comfy chair and a huge, overstuffed black couch that is definitely large enough for two people to stretch out on. There’s a new coffee table—which looks a lot sturdier than the one he turned to kindling during one of his telekinetic losses of control—and in the corner, under the window that nearly killed me when it shattered, is a big table with four black upholstered dining chairs positioned around it. Because of course everything in Jaxon’s tower is black. Of course it is…
Except for the books. They’re every color under the sun, and they are still everywhere—on the bookcases, stacked on the floor in the corners, stacked on the coffee table and underneath the big table, piled up in random places throughout the room—and I love it.
I love even more that there are books I’ve never heard of mixed with books that are old favorites of mine mixed with classics I’ve always wanted to read. Add in the artwork on the wall—the Klimt sketch that made me swoon the first time I came up here along with a few other haunting paintings—and this room is pretty much my favorite place on earth.
Then again, how could it not be? Jaxon is here.
I expect Hudson to make a ton of snide comments about the decorating, but he’s strangely quiet, staring intently at something on one of Jaxon’s shelves, a carving of a horse from the looks of it. It’s not a super-intricate carving, but clearly it’s something Jaxon loves, the edges smooth and shiny as though his fingers have spent hours rubbing each curve of the horse’s neck or body.
Just when I start to wonder what’s so interesting about the horse, Hudson shoves his hands deep into his pockets, shaking his head as he walks away. I think I hear him mutter, “Loser,” but it’s so faint that I can’t be sure.
Hudson has been in a weird mood since breakfast, and I refuse to let him ruin my focus again. I’m determined to not wait for Jaxon to take care of me anymore. I need to step up and figure out how to solve my own problems.
Jaxon piles the books on the main table, and I pick one up called The Myth and Mayhem of Gargoyles. I don’t know why I chose it, except for the fact that I like the idea of causing a little mayhem—me, Grace Foster, pretty much the most un-mayhem-like person on the face of the earth. As I flip it open, I can’t help but wonder for a second—or several seconds, if I’m being honest—what it would feel like to just give in to the havoc. To say whatever I want instead of always filtering it, to do what I want instead of what I think I should do.
Then again, now’s not exactly the time for that. There’s too much going on right now to shake things up just to do it. So I stretch out on Jaxon’s very inviting couch and start reading, while everyone else claims their own separate corner of the room.
Flint settles at the main table and flips open one of the laptops, announcing he plans to start researching the Dragon Boneyard—how to get there, the best time of day to go, and how to get out alive, because apparently not getting out alive is an actual thing. Yay.
Macy picks up a book on the magical nature of gargoyles, curls up in the comfy chair across from me, and dives in while nibbling on a giant stack of Oreos.
And Jaxon—Jaxon grabs the other laptop after offering it to me and settles down at the end of the couch to do more research on