We The Kings: Book Two

Chapter 15

We began to pull away, but Carlo pushed my head back in for more. I didn't protest. His lips were soft. I gently nibbled on his lower lip. I had felt like he was something I was missing for a very long time.

I had to snap myself back into reality, giving myself a bit of anxiety doing so. I needed to find what I needed and move on. I couldn't allow my heart to distract me. I pulled away.

"I should really get back to reading." I said.

"You kiss me like that and you're really trying to say you have reading on your mind?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

My internal struggle felt like a ball bouncing up and down. I needed to stay low and stay to the ground, but every moment with him was magic. A magic that was rare in the cruel world I was born in.
I bounced the ball.

"I need to keep reading. It's important." I explained, beginning to get up.

The thought of telling him the truth crossed my mind briefly. I had to remind myself all the dangers of doing so. I couldn't trust him. And if I did, I wouldn't want him to get mixed up in the complicated business of killing his king.

"I'll read with you, then." He followed me. He picked up a book and began to study it. I wanted to protest, but it wouldn't do any good. I knew he had no plans to leave.

The next morning he came in with freshly baked bread. He was too kind to the man who was going to assassinate his king.

"I could really help you if you told me what you were looking for." He said, sitting down by me.

"I thought you'd stop asking questions." I flipped a page of the book.

"It wasn't a question. More of a statement. I just think I could be a great resource to you."

"It's fine, I'll figure it out." I said.

I continued to read. I couldn't figure out how Samuel managed to find out about dragons. It's almost as if they weren't real. There were myths of them, but that didn't tell me much. Just that they existed and that they were dead. I didn't know how they died, and I had no idea if it were even possible to resurrect. I had learned about so many mythical creatures. I wondered what ones were real. What if they were all real? Why did they hide?

I thought of what the loyalists said over and over. I needed to find out the place of nothing. Carlo was quiet again. I wanted to talk to him, but I needed to continuously remind myself why I needed to keep my guard up. I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to get hurt again.

The sun set.

"Can I bother you for a minute?" Carlo interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Come with me." He pulled me out of my chair and pulled the hood up on my cloak for me.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"Nowhere far. Come on." He reached for my hand.

We went outside and immediately went next door. It was his home. It was small, but quaint. It smelled like fresh cooked food. There still managed to be piles of books scattered around his home, despite living next to the largest library in the world.

"It smells amazing." I said.

"I thought I'd bring you to the food instead of always bringing the food to you. The library is stuffy. And dusty."