Someone stood in front of me, feet wide apart and ready for action, whatever was in their hands blinding me as it reflected in the firelight. I swiped my wrist across my eyes to clear my vision, my heart suddenly racing faster.

Magnus stood in front of me, a metal serving tray in both hands. My heart swooped in excitement as I watched him use it to swat an incoming book out of the way.

“You made her angry, Andromeda,” he said. “I think she likes you even less than me.”

I chuckled, despite the life-threatening situation.

I tried twice to get up, the third time mastering it just in time to lift my hand in defense against a book. Magnus smacked it out of the way for me, but I was too disoriented to protest as he herded me into the little corner nook between the edge of the mantel and the wall, his body blocking me in, the tray held over our heads. It blocked out most of the light, and I had to blink to adjust.

“Get ready to run,” he said. “I’ll cover you.”

I wiped the remainder of the blinding tears from my eyes with the back of my hand, so I could really look at him. He looked tired, his eyes dark, his brows grave and creased with annoyance. I wondered if he had gotten any more sleep than I had.

I flinted my pen. “Do you mind standing there while I work?”

“Standing here?”

I heard the tinny clang of a book hitting the tray, but it didn’t stop me from carving a few strokes into the silver. This arrangement was working perfectly. “And blocking the books while I work. I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Are you out of your mind? We have to get you out.”

A book hit the wall beside us, and my breath caught as Magnus leaned closer. I couldn’t press my back any closer to the wall, as if that was any logical way to escape what I was feeling, anyway. His body did more than warm me, now. Everything in me wanted to continue what we’d started the other night.

But I had work to do. And he was infuriating.

“Magnus,” I said firmly.

“Andromeda?” he asked, almost too lightly, with a hint of teasing that drove my nerves up the wall—and, my God, was that a good or bad thing?

“I know you’re fond of this Manifestation, but they all have to go at some point.”

“Not at the cost of your safety.” He wrapped an arm around my waist, and for a moment I thought my knees would collapse beneath me. “Consider it a settling of my debt. A life for a life.”