The silence returned slowly, like a tide creeping back to shore after a sudden disturbance. Luca’s footsteps faded, swallowed by the maze of shelves, until only the library remained—vast, ancient, and listening. The towering walls seemed to lean inward, heavy with centuries of stored thought, as if the room itself had witnessed moments like this countless times before. Aniela stood still, arms folded loosely around herself, trying to slow the restless beating of her heart. Her skin still remembered the warmth of Kafziel’s hands, the certainty in the way he had caught her, and the memory unsettled her more than the fall ever had.
Get a grip, she told herself. You almost got hurt. That’s all this is.
But her body hadn’t listened. Her pulse throbbed in her ears, and her breath felt too shal
