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.

"Lis?" Meron whispered behind her, but she was already laughing and running away from him.

Maybe she wasn't sobering up like she thought she was. She was riding on a giddy high, a rush of adrenaline she didn't want to come down from anytime soon.

And maybe sneaking up behind him and scaring him wasn't the best idea either.

Meron jumped as soon as she leaned up behind him and blew in his ear. "What the hell? Don't do that!" he cried out, reaching out to grab her up around her waist.

They obviously didn't care about how loud they were being, not when he practically shouted and Corliss let out a peal of laughter as he tickled her.

"You're just too easy to sneak up on, Commander," she grinned, shoving him away. "Now, follow me."

This time, Meron kept close to her as they weaved in and out of the stacks toward Madame Dewridge's locked office doors. Her head was spinning and heart was racing, but Corliss still managed to unlock it with just a flicker of magic. She was surprised, wondering why Dewridge had little to no security for her office. She probably thought no one in their right mind would do what Corliss and Meron were then.

She had been in the office a countless amount of times. The large oak desk dominated the room with a leather wing-backed chair behind it and every wall was lined with bookshelves and hundreds of books Dewridge kept in a private collection. One shelf behind her desk was one that hadn't been touched in what seemed like years. Just like Fin had said, the texts that lined it were so old, their leather was worn and dust-covered. There were four different shelves, one lined with books made from black leather with gold and silver embossed on the spines, while other colors like red and blue and purple were on others. Most of them looked only few centuries old, and focused on dark, dark subjects, everything from poisons and potions to bringing harm to another or on a mass scale, all the way to a text regarding all of the dark creatures.

Corliss's mind went blank as soon as she was close enough. Something was pulling her forward, even as Meron was whispering behind her to be careful. It wasn't hard to find the leather-bound text Fin had mentioned, not when it seemed to be glowing in the faint lighting of the office. She found herself reaching forward, fingers dragging through the thick layer of dust that covered it and pulled it off the shelf.

When she turned to place it on the desk, it landed with a thud before she looked up at Meron.

"Now I really don't like this idea," he murmured, staring down at the worn leather, one strange marking embossed on the outside cover with no visible title.

"Oh, hush," she said, waving him off. "How can a book be harmful?"

"It's not the book itself, Lis, but the words written within it," he told her as she flipped open the cover carefully. "And when it's in a language we don't know..."

She wasn't listening, though, not when her gaze was locked on the first page with written text. As she dragged a finger along the faded ink, a sharp pain raced through the side of her head as the darkness around them seemed to grow darker. Corliss winced, which Meron noticed, but continued to thumb through the pages. Every bit of it was written in the strange, ancient Fae language they'd only seen in the other book, but it was the diagrams and maps she could understand. Something about what looked like obsidian stones. Another page with maps of other worlds. And one with a map of their world...along with markings in the far east of Ethran and in the mountains of Escarral. Swirls that indicated something was there. Portals? Quite possibly.

A loose piece of parchment fluttered out from between the pages, landing on the ground between their boots. Meron was the one to reach down to grab it, hand shaking as they leaned in to look at it. It was a key, one that matched up their own alphabet to the one of the language both this text and the one Fin left behind.

"Oh, wow," Corliss breathed, putting it up against the pages and seeing the symbols matching up.

Meron was paying no mind to her awe. "Lis, we need to..."

"You know what this means? I can translate both books!"

"We need to go," he hissed at her.

And then she heard it. The almost silent footsteps walking through the library, closer and closer to where they were.

"Shit," she whispered, shoving the text into her satchel. "I'm not leaving this behind. I can't."

"Then do something...and quick."

Mind racing, she did the only thing she could do – create a replica, one that would probably disintegrate at the first touch of a finger to the pages should it be taken down. She had a feeling that wouldn't be for a while, though, and she'd get the real one back on the shelf before it did.

The locked door of Dewridge's office jiggled as someone fit a key in the lock.

Meron dropped to the floor behind the desk, shifting the chair out of the way to crawl underneath it. Corliss, on the other hand, was frozen on the spot before he tugged her down with him, fitting her against his side as they both hid.

The door finally opened when the desk chair was put back in place, adding another laying of protection.

Corliss covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sounds of her labored breathing, though her heart was racing in her ears. She looked over at Meron with wide eyes, but all he did was place a finger to his lips.

Bootsteps had them both holding their breath as they spotted who had come into the office. It obviously wasn't Madame Dewridge, but rather a male. Was it one of the library staff? A student that worked there for the semester? In all honesty, Corliss didn't care. The only thing she cared about was not getting caught.

Slowly, those bootsteps rounded the outer edges of the office before appearing right next to them. The male was turned away, but Corliss could still make out the scuffs along the leather boots, the slightly dirtied beige pants tucked into them. She knew if she got a full view of him, she'd see the black tunic embroidered with the university crest on the breast pocket. It was the typical attire of the library staff.

"Now, where is that damn text Dewridge wanted. Ah-ha!" the male whispered to himself.

The sound of a text being taken off the shelf, the riffling of pages...and then his hurried bootsteps back out into the main library.

Neither Corliss nor Meron made a move for a solid minute until they knew they were in the clear.

Then both burst out laughing as they pushed the chair back and tumbled out from beneath the desk.

"Well, that was unnecessarily close," Meron chuckled, sprawled out on the wooden floor as Corliss pushed herself up on her knees.

"And hopefully he's gone," she grinned, poking his side as she stood. "Come on. Let's go home. I think the both of us are still a little drunk and all I want right now is bed."

Meron turned his head to look up at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Wanna race?"

"What are you, five?"

"Nope. Much older than that, I'm afraid."

She paused, glanced up to the locked office door, tightened her hold on her satchel. "You're on."

And bolted for the door.

Meron was cursing up a storm behind her as she flung it open, making sure it locked behind her before he could even reach it. With one quick sweep of the library, they were once again by themselves.

Corliss laughed to herself as she ran through the rows and rows of shelves, hearing Meron's curses echoing behind her. One wave of her hand and she had the lanterns go out, casting the entire library into darkness. She had her ways around this, though, holding up her hand palm skyward as a glowing orb of blueish light began to glow.

"Seriously, Lis?" Meron whisper-yelled from behind her.

"Can't do that trick, Commander?" she crooned at him, stepping into the space between two shelves and stifling the light once more.

She could hear Meron stumbling behind her, trying and failing to make his own light as he rushed past her hiding spot. She'd purposely guided him in the opposite direction of the door they entered and fully intended on winning this bet.

Until she heard his curse, the sound of his feet tangling in his cloak...and then the sickening sound of his head smacking against the sturdy wooden shelf as he fell.

Another flicker of magic and the lamps were back on as she rushed from her spot, looking to see where he was, only to spot his crumpled form sprawled out a dozen feet to her right.

Corliss tried to scream his name, but it only came out as a whisper. "Meron!"

He didn't answer, didn't even move as she ran over and dropped to her knees beside him.

"Meron, can you hear me?" she asked him, leaning her face over his, putting her hands against his cheeks. "Meron?"

Even in what little light that surrounded them, she could still see the blood on her fingers from the gash along his temple that disappeared into his hairline.

"Meron, please," she choked out. "Oh, gods, I..."

Corliss would have screamed if the air wouldn't have rushed from her lungs at Meron suddenly jerked upward, locked his arms around her, and spun so fast that she was the one on the ground with him over her, grinning like a fiend.

"Boo," he had the nerve to whisper as the gash on his temple finally closed with his healing magic.

That didn't stop her from slapping him across the face. "How could you do that?" she screeched at him, not caring if they were caught in that moment or not. "Gods, I thought you..."

Meron winced as he rubbed his face. "Damn, Lady Lis, you've got quite a hand on you, huh? You think that was a good idea when I just smacked my head on a shelf and I'm pretty sure I have a slight concussion that my healing magic's only just now getting to it..."

"I hate you, you stupid idiot," she snarled back. "Why? Why did you have to scare me like that?"

He leaned down toward her, his face just inches above hers. "I'm fine, Lis."

"I don't care if you're fine," she told him, digging her nails into his chest to make a point. "You're not going to be fine if you think of doing something like that again. Is your magic healing you? Do you need my help?"

"Oh, now you're concerned? After you slap the shit out of me? How nice..."

"Gods, you're annoying."

"Yeah? Well, so are..."

Corliss didn't know what came over her then. Maybe it was still the fear that raced through her at the sight of him lying there, or the adrenaline of slapping him, or even just fighting back and forth like they always seemed to be doing. Maybe it was the relief that washed over her when she knew he was all right...but her hands immediately went from his chest to his face. Meron – the ass – was bracing for another slap when she did.

She probably should have with what she did next, which was to close those few inches between them to kiss him roughly. It was just her lips pressed firmly against his, but she was gripping him with such ferocity that Meron froze, both of their eyes wide.

Corliss pulled back with a gasp. "Don't ever do that to me again, you hear me, Commander?" she choked out, her voice hoarse with emotion.

Meron was dazed not from the fall but from her kiss as he reached up and traced her mouth with his fingertips. "Scare you...or kiss you? Because one of those I plan on doing very, very soon and as often as you'll let me."

"I'll let you be the judge of that..."

Meron didn't let her finish as he leaned down to kiss her again, even more fiercely than she had. Because this time, he was the one in control, one hand braced on the floor above her head while the other glided along her face, tilting her chin up so he could kiss her even deeper. Usually, in these kinds of situations, Corliss liked to be the one in control, but she wanted to give Meron absolutely everything of hers. And by the way he moaned deep in the back of his throat as she drew her knees alongside his hips to pull him closer, he wanted to give all of himself to her, too.

Corliss's arms wrapped around his shoulders as her fingers threaded into his hair, moaning out his name as his hips shifted against hers. He was going to take that moment to draw his tongue along her bottom lip before taking it in between his teeth, then kissing her fully once more. This one was hot and heavy, tongues tangling in between their panting, mangled breathing.

She wanted him, all of him, and as soon as she possibly could.

Somehow, Corliss managed to pull her mouth from his, but that didn't mean he was going to stop kissing her. Even as she was trying to think, Meron's mouth was on her cheek, her jaw, and down her neck to where her pulse jaggedly beat.

"Home," she managed to choke out. "Let's go home."

Meron drove his hips into hers, making her gasp at the feel of his arousal. "Don't want to continue this here?"

Corliss gave him a sultry smile when he pulled back to look at her. "Though the thought of being caught is kind of thrilling, I want to take you and have you moaning my name on my bed rather than on the floor of the library."

"Fucking hell, Lady Lis," Meron groaned out, dropping his mouth to her collarbone.

"Exactly, Commander. Just...like...that."

***

It took them longer than either of them would have liked to get back to their apartment, but they couldn't get more than a few blocks without having to kiss again, bodies pressed together, fingers threaded into hair, laughter and excitement bubbling out of both of them. The anticipation was what was going to kill Corliss if Meron didn't get her home. Hell, maybe she should try out her portal magic, even though it had been forever since she managed one.

Finally, when they reached the apartment building and somehow managed to climb the stairs, Corliss turned her back to him, fumbling to get her keys from her satchel. Meron's hands wound around her waist, his lips on the side of her neck. She would have dropped them had he not helped her with the lock since she was shaking so bad. Her excitement and need and anticipation ere growing so much it was becoming hard to concentrate on anything other than Meron and his lips and his hands.

As soon as they were through the door, both Corliss and Meron threw out bursts of magic to not only lock it but to put up wards so no one could come in uninvited and no sounds of what they planned on doing would escape. Corliss immediately dropped her satchel by the door, the texts inside completely forgotten as she fumbled for the fastening of her cloak and then her boots. Meron was doing the same, his eyes never leaving hers as he managed.

Once barefoot, Meron grabbed Corliss up again, kissing her deeply as he slowly began walking backward toward her open bedroom door. She was yanking his shirt from where it was tucked into his pants, breaking away from his mouth so she could pull it over his head and drop it to the floor. Hers was next, though Meron growled out his disappointment at the corset she'd worn underneath.

Corliss just laughed as she pulled him closer by his beltloops, then played with the laces as she started to slowly undo them. "Gotta make you work for it, don't I?" she teased as the first one was free of the loops at the top.

Meron immediately stopped her, jaw clenched as he stared at the full curves of the tops of her breasts. "Let me."

While their way back home had been hot and heavy, now that they were there and on the verge of something that would change their relationship in such a cataclysmic way, Corliss's nerves wound up inside her. As Meron slowly began to work on the laces of her corset, she stood there and watched him, unable to take her eyes from his face even if he couldn't meet her gaze.