Bleeding Ink

Chapter 53

***Fair warning like always!  Some NSFW content ahead!***

Chapter 53

With every step she and Meron took toward the university campus, Corliss seemed to sober up a little more. Maybe it was the few groups of people still out or the guardsmen that patrolled the streets to make sure everyone was safe. Mostly, it was because Corliss's curiosity was growing with those steps. She wanted to know what was in the book Fin had left behind and what more she could learn from the other he mentioned in Dewridge's office.

Meron, on the other hand, was growing more and more restless the closer they got.

"Why are you so fidgety?" she asked him, reaching over to take his hand so she could loop her arm through his.

His gaze wildly flicked everywhere around them before landing on her. Almost instantly, he eased, tightening his hold on her. "I'm not so sure about this anymore, Lis. Something doesn't feel right."

"Are you serious? You were the one who wanted to go in the first place!" She then continued in a bad imitation of his voice. "It wouldn't hurt for you to live a little."

That at least got a little smile out of him. "You're awful at that."

"Never said I was good at it," she grinned back, poking his stomach with a finger. "We'll be in an out in no time. Stop worrying."

"I will never stop worrying when it comes to you, Lady Lis."

Corliss had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from grinning up at him in the starlight.

They had something to do then. She couldn't be thinking of pushing him up against one of the buildings and finally kissing him.

Meron's curious eyes shifted to her as she shivered.

"Cold?" he asked, a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth.

She shook her head, snuggling closer to his side. "Nope."

"Mm-hm," he mumbled in response, wrapping his arm around her.

The university campus was lit up with just a few lampposts along the pathways between buildings. With both of them lifting their hoods of their cloaks, they could have just been another couple bracing against the chilly night air on their way back home. They kept to the shadows, which seemed to curl around them and guide them in the direction of the library and behind the back of the massive building to the back doors.

Corliss let go of Meron to quickly and quietly make her way forward, hand already tingling with magic as she undid the lock on the back door. She knew where this door would lead them – the back offices of the other library staff. She'd been there plenty of times, especially in those few months she'd worked there. With another sweep of her magic, she couldn't find anyone else in the building, so it was just the two of them.

She held the door open for Meron as he slipped in behind her. "No one else is here," she grinned up at him, pushing back her hood. "Shall the break in commence?"

"Dewridge's office?" he stated, raising one brow.

"Let's go!"

Without even making sure he was following, Corliss jogged through the staff office and pushed open the doors to the main area of the library. The lamps along the outer walls were dimly lit, casting the entirety of the room in a warm glow. There were still some sections of shelves where the light didn't reach...and those were the ones she was going to keep to as she ran to Dewridge's office.