Shady

“Wardens?” Pratik asked curiously.

(Oof yeah that’s rough — I hope you recover fast!) They both let out a little breath of relief, but stayed tense. Tadaaki glanced at Ky to see if she ...

(Nooooo! I’m so sorry that’s awful! Are you holding up okay?) Ky and Tadaaki both involuntarily glanced at where she’d stashed the shears — their attention had been keyed in ...

Pratik considered for a moment then nodded in agreement. “Probably so. This place is enormous. It’s like a little city all by itself.”

“Truly,” Pratik agreed. “I was surprised. I assumed there’d be an unshakable chill. But that’s not true. At least not within the rooms. The halls can be a bit nippy ...

Ky let out a silent breath of relief. Good. This was fine. She relaxed ever so slightly. She didn’t have to eat. The woman had put away her shears. And ...

Pratik smiled slightly. “It seems nice to have a place to rest.”

Ky didn’t like decisions. But. Well. Tadaaki had literally carried her here. She needed to bite this bullet. She hesitated then dropped her gaze. “…I don’t think we’re very hungry.” ...

“Hah!” Pratik smirked. “Don’t it just?”

Tadaaki and Ky exchanged another glance. Right. This was her job. Tadaaki had protected them; now she kept them safe. Ky cleared her throat and looked at Ms. Miller. “We’re… ...

“And he’s got librarians to fetch whatever he wants at the drop of a hat,” he pointed out.

Aleth nodded weakly, too exhausted to answer. Tadaaki and Ky exchanged a quick glance. She was saying they didn’t have to yet… right? They both looked at her and dipped ...

“True enough,” Pratik conceded. “Maybe he does.”

By the last one Aleth had run out of fight and was instead collapsed fully against the bed, body limp and heavy. A tremor ran through his body again and ...

“Uh… looks like mostly the North… which I guess makes sense.” His eyes were still scanning the titles. “I’m not sure he lets the volumes leave the Keep, though… and ...