“Quite the pessimist, aren’t we?”

I smiled and led him inside, though I could not help feeling slightly nervous at the idea of showing him the library full of spell books. I knew Adrian was not opposed to magic, but that was before Ana and I had made a plan to contain the crimson mist.

“You are anxious,” he said as we returned through the once-mirrored hall.

“Are you reading my mind?” I asked.

“Should I?” he asked.

“I don’t like this room,” I said, which was true, though it was not currently the source of my unease. Adrian said nothing, only held my hand tighter.

He did not question me when I led him to the former sanctuary, when I reached for a torch on the wall, or as I climbed onto the altar and squeezed into the narrow passage where the door to the library was hidden.

I did not prepare him as I led him into the darkness. I felt dizzy as we made our way down the floating stairs.

Adrian placed a hand on my shoulder, another on my waist.

“Wait just a moment,” he said, his breath tickling my ear, and then he chuckled. “Breathe, Sparrow.”

I exhaled slowly and deliberately, and when I took another breath, I inhaled Adrian’s scent. He remained close, his presence a tangible thing that made me feel safe as we continued down the stairs to the small library.

I faced him but found his expression placid, not at all the surprise I’d imagined.

“I wondered when you would find this place,” he said.

I blinked, shocked. “You knew this existed?”

He smiled faintly. “I did.”

“Why did you not tell me?” I seethed.

“Because you were not ready,” he said.

“Is that for you to decide?”

“When did you ever tell me you were interested in magic?” he countered. “I have only heard about how you do not have any and your fear that I will not love you without it.”

I glared.

“Does this mean you have warmed to the idea of learning magic?”

“We do not have a choice,” I said, still frustrated. “Can you battle magic?”

“You know the answer,” he said, unamused. “How did you find it?”

“Ana brought me here,” I said. He did not seem surprised by that either. “Were you aware that she has been practicing magic?”

“I wasn’t…unaware,” he said. “But I never told her I knew.”

“What else do you know that I should also know?”

He raised a brow. “I could say the same for you. Did you not find all this out and keep it secret?”

“I am telling you now,” I said. “As I always intended.”

“I could say the same.”

We stared at one another in tense silence.

“You never told Ana you knew of this place either?”

“No,” he said. “But she is watchful.”

I thought it odd that he did not say curious instead.