to her in the past without words. By the time they reached the top of the steps and the room with the Ruscica, Tella was grateful the library swallowed up sound. It didn’t enhance her other senses, but it made her more aware of them, and more aware of Legend as he came up beside her and silently brushed his fingers against hers. The movement was quick and subtle, and she might not have noticed it if she’d been standing there waiting for him to speak, rather than paying attention to his silence.
The map didn’t give any indication of where in the room the Ruscica rested, forcing her and Legend to split up as they searched. Many of the volumes had spines covered in numbers, symbols, or languages she didn’t read. There were also a few spines with titles that she would have liked to read, had she not felt pressed for time.
Mermaids and Mermen and How to Become One
Ten Essential Rules of Time Travel
Shape-shifting for Beginners
Cakes, Cakes, and More Cakes
Turning Your Shadow into a Pet
Love, Death, and Immortality
She might have picked up the book on cakes or immortality, had the latter not been sitting right next to a thick flesh-colored volume with one word crudely stitched into the spine: Ruscica.
The book slid out from the shelf in a cloud of red-tinged dust that made the tips of Tella’s fingers tingle as she took it.
She found Legend on the opposite side of the silent room. When she showed him her prize, he smiled. Neither of them knew if it would have the information they needed, but Tella finally felt victorious as Legend took her hand again.
* * *
After the Maiden Death and the Assassin had visited his home in the Spice Quarter, Legend had decided they needed to move every night. But a part of Tella thought he was just showing off his many homes. His four-story coastal cottage looked as if it had been built around the same time as Count Nicolas’s estate, but whereas Nicolas’s estate had appeared as if it was in need of magic, Legend’s house was the opposite. Full of glittering windows and expansive balconies that looked over the foaming ocean, the house sat on Valenda’s rocky coast the way that Tella imagined Legend would have sat on his throne, demanding attention by simply being there.
They’d started about a mile away, and Legend’s fingers stayed entwined with hers for the entire walk. She should have broken free; earlier his touch had grounded her, as he pulled her through the spiders and steadied her in the library. But now, he wasn’t helping, he was making a claim. Tella reminded herself that nothing good could come from this as she looked down on their clasped hands. But she didn’t let go. He had long fingers, strong palms, neatly trimmed nails—and no traces of ink.
She lifted their hands, peering closer. “Your black rose is gone?”
“Did you really think I’d keep it?” He dragged her hand up to his mouth and brushed a kiss to her knuckles. “You don’t have to be jealous of the tattoo anymore.”
“I wasn’t jealous.”
“Then maybe I should have left it on longer.” The rose reappeared on the back of his hand.
“You’re wretched.” Tella lifted her free hand to playfully smack him with her book.
He caught her wrist before she could, and then he took her other hand and trapped them both behind her. They’d finally reached the porch of his cottage, and in one quick move he spun her around and pressed her back to the door. “I think you like me because I’m terrible.”
“No.” Tella wiggled against him, but he didn’t budge. “I’ve decided I like nice boys, like Caspar.”
“Lucky for me he doesn’t like girls that way. And I can also be nice. But I think you like it when I’m not.”
He freed her wrist and wrapped his hands around her hips. Tella’s heart raced as his fingers spread out, claiming her as he drew her closer.
Maybe one more kiss wouldn’t hurt.
Waves crashed against the nearby coast, filling the air with salt and damp, while Legend continued leaning—
The door behind her opened wide.
Tella stumbled backward, and she might have fallen if not for Legend’s arms tightening around her.
“Sorry about that.” Julian ran a hand through his hair, looking mildly embarrassed, though she sensed he actually wasn’t. There was something hard in his eyes that wasn’t normally there. And was it Tella’s imagination, or was he refusing to look at her?