CHAPTER 22: THE LIBRARY
1948 Words
AMADEO
Valentina’s been quiet the whole way back except for when she asks about lunch.
I replay what I overheard, and now our conversation the night of the flamenco show makes much more sense. If it were up to me, I’d keep her locked away from the rest of the world like my sister-in-law joked about if it meant she wouldn’t have to experience any more loss or any more horrifying visions. She’s been through enough.
“Is everything okay?”
She shrugs and shakes her head. “I want to do something for Orla, but I don’t know what. She has no connection to her magic, no idea how she has it, or any knowledge of her family and her ancestry. Everything she knows she’s learned on her own. I can’t imagine what that’s like. I had my grandmother and my aunt help me. She had no one. It must’ve been so scary as a kid to see things without knowing it was normal.”
I can sense the sadness and unease through the bond, and I don’t like it. “We can look into her biological family.”
“We can?”
“Of course. Family is important.”
“Thank you.” She presses her lips gently against mine. “Amira has started to look into it, but with both of your connections, I’m sure you could find something out.”
“What exactly happened today?”
“I would rather not explain it all again. It was disturbing.” She grabs my hands. “But maybe I can show you. I know how to receive and project images to other witches. Does it work the same way with dragons?”
“Yes. Just think of what you saw.”
Her golden eyes stare into mine, and within seconds I see her walk into a classroom, the introduction the teacher made, and everything that led to her sitting with Orla on the bench where I found her. The scenes flicker from one to the next like switching the channel on the television. She pulls her hands away when she’s done and takes a deep breath.
“What that boy did was extremely reckless. Anyone could’ve been hurt.”
Including Valentina.
“I know,” she agrees quietly.
“I hope you told Amira about the boy and the teacher. She can’t have staff who don’t know how to respond in a crisis, especially when dealing with teenagers who have powers. They’re going to be rebellious and impulsive naturally, so they need people equipped to handle them.”
“The one who healed Orla seemed competent enough, and when I spoke with Amira, she was not pleased, as you can imagine.”
“She’s going to be busy for the next while dealing with the students and the staff. I’m sure she could use your help.”
“I’m not sure I’ll make things any better right now. I do want to check in on Orla in a day or two, though. Do we have some time to go back? She had mentioned showing me the library there.”
“Por supuesto (Of course). We can go back whenever you like, or you can head over there on your own. Whatever you wish.” I caress her cheek and she leans into my touch. “Speaking of libraries, we’re on the way to mine. I have some documents to review. I thought I could do that in there while you look around and maybe find something to read. Are you okay with a quiet afternoon? We can have lunch brought to us?”
“I’d love a quiet afternoon after the morning I’ve had.”
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VALENTINA
I thought my office with my bookshelves was impressive, but this was an actual library with tens of thousands of books, probably more. Two floors of books, with a beautiful mahogany wooden banister all around the second floor.
I didn’t know where to begin as I turned to look at the entire room a few times. Amadeo stared quietly, a small smile on his lips. It probably looked like I was twirling and about to break out in song any second now accompanied by some forest animals.
I’d spend the rest of my trip here if I had the choice.
“Most of this section is contemporary literature and English.” He points to the far right corner. “Classical literature is directly above it on the second floor. I noticed you had quite a mix of both in your office.”
I smile over my shoulder. “This is incredible, Deo. You’re going to have to drag me out of here.”
“I have my ways to persuade you to leave. I’m not worried.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” I tease as I make my way to the stairs. “Come find me when it’s time to eat.”
I don’t know how much time passes when my phone starts ringing.
“Hey, girl!” Anessa’s face fills the screen, and then she moves over, and Giada appears smiling.
“What are you two up to?” It looks like they’re at Giada’s cottage on her couch.
“Not much. We thought we’d see what you were doing since there’s been radio silence on your end.” Giada scolds.
I’m not a texter. She knows this.
“Don’t tell me you’re in a library. Why are books keeping you company when you have a scrumptious dragon that’s more than willing?”
“It’s his library, Ness.” I switch the camera on the phone and move around a bit to show them. “This is the upper level. I’m reading while he’s working downstairs.”
“You must be in heaven with all those books!” Giada exclaims.
“How huge is his house that he has a library like that? Does he live in a mansion?” Anessa asks.
“A castle.”
Her eyes practically bug out of her head. “No f*****g way! You’re staying in a castle! When were you going to tell us?”
“Seriously,” Giada adds.
“It was a surprise for me too.”
“Is it really big? Like bigger than Castle Loma?” Anessa asks.
Castle Loma is the only castle in Toronto. It’s a historical landmark in our city and a huge tourist attraction. We often visited the gardens there and did tours during our break when we were children. I even took Giada there for lunch this summer.
“Much bigger.”
“I’m so jealous! Gia has her growly wolfman, you’re a dragon princess now or something, and I’m going to be a spinster for life.”
Giada slaps her arm. “You’re 26, not 60. Calm down. And you just told me this morning you’re happy using men like tissue.”
Anessa laughs, her bright blue eyes shining with delight through the screen. “I did say that.” She smiles. “For real, though. This sounds surreal. Wait! Would he have been king? Was his family the royal family for the black dragons?”
I nod and she squeals. “Holy s**t! You’d be a queen! A queen!”
“Don’t be silly. This is his ancestral home. There are no titles anymore and I’m just here to meet the Witch Council.”
“You are a shitty liar,” Anessa responds.
“Have you already met them already?” Giada chimes in.
“No, I see them at the end of the week, but I have visited the magic school. I think you both would like it.”
I’d take the job at the magic school right now just to have access to this library.
“You’re never coming back, are you?” Anessa asks, and Giada smacks her arm again. “What! I wouldn’t.” She shrugs. “Honestly, I love you both, but I wouldn’t.”
“So, how are things with Amadeo?” Giada smiles knowingly.
“Things are going well.”
“Well? What does that even mean?” Anessa turns to Giada and then back to look at the screen. “Who says that! Girl, you’re talking to your best friends, not your nonna. Give us some details. He’s a beast in bed, isn’t he? He has to be.”
Giada nods enthusiastically, and I want to laugh, but I don’t want to encourage them, or else they won’t stop.
“How are you feeling, Gia? How’s the nausea? Have you had another check-up?”
“Don’t change the subject,” Anessa interjects. “Talk to us about your dragon. Let us live vicariously through your life.”
“He’s not my dragon.”
“He’s taken you to his castle. His lair pretty much,” Giada says. “You know shifters, Val. They don’t do that for anyone.”
“Sure they do, Gia. They show off their things all the time and think it’s impressive. Listen, it’s beautiful here. It is, and I’m having fun and enjoying myself, but I’m coming home in a few days. That was the plan. It’s still the plan.”
Amadeo and I haven’t even talked about what he said on our first night together. We’ve just been having a good time. I’m waiting for him to bring it up, and he hasn’t. When he does, I’ll deal with it like everything else in life, but I’m not going to pretend like this was my life now, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell the two of them about things I wasn’t sure about.
“Have you spoken to him? Really spoken to him? I think-”
I cut her off. “This is a temporary thing, Gia. I’m going to ride it out while I can. That’s it. There’s nothing to talk about.”
Someone clears their throat, and I jump. I didn’t even hear him come up the stairs. How does a man that big move so silently? Even from a few feet away, I can see the red swirling in his eyes, and the way he’s clenching his jaw and his fists tell me he heard enough of the conversation.
My heart stills.
“Val, is everything okay?” Giada asks.
“I have to go.”
I jump up from the floor and run towards him.
“Lunch is ready.” He says gruffly, turning swiftly and making his way down the stairs.
I can barely keep up with him.
“Deo, wait.”
He doesn’t answer. The long table he was working on had been cleared, and two place settings were there with lunch and flowers in a small vase.
Damn it.
I reach for him, trying to turn him around, but he doesn’t budge, so I move to face him. “We haven’t talked about what we’re doing here. That’s why I said all that.”
“Right,” he answers coldly. “I’m going out. Eat without me.”
“When will you be back?”
He looks down at me finally. The hurt is displayed all across his face, and all the air leaves my lungs knowing I caused it.
“I don’t know.”
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A/N
Uh oh! Did Valentina mess up here? What do you think?
***Tomorrow evening (11PM EST) I will be posting a small bonus scene of Gia and Bash for Valentine's Day exclusively on my pages. If you'd like to read it, please follow Gianna Coppola Books on f a c e b o o k or @_gcoppola_ on IG.
- Writer
