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“I wanted something to read.” I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his eyes. The bond thrummed between us, the bargain a gentle caress on the back of my neck. Lachlan stalked closer, stepping between me and his brother. He slid the book I’d been holding free of the shelf and held it out to me.
“Don’t write in my books.”
I frowned. “Your books?”
“This is my room.” He dropped into a velvet chair, sweeping a hand toward the other half of the room. My stomach plummeted as I looked around. I’d been distracted by my conversation with Shaw, only half paying attention to the room in the dark. Now I saw what I’d missed: a bed nestled in an alcove. There were two more shelves extending to the arched ceiling on either side of it and an arched window lined with heavy, black drapes at its head. The sheets and pillows were strewn across in haphazard fashion, as if sleeping was the last thing that Lachlan Gage ever did in that bed.
My blood heated as I stared at it. “I thought you lived in the Avalon.”
“I stay at the Avalon, but this is my home.” He shot a sharp look at his brother. “Do you ever do as you’re told?”
Shaw took a nervous step forward. “I didn’t think you would mind.”
“I asked,” I interjected. “If you want to be angry, be angry with me. I asked for a book. Shaw was being nice. It never occurred to me that they were yours.”
Lachlan paused. “You seem surprised.”
“I am,” I said coolly. “Who knew you could read?”
His eyes sparked with amusement. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” He draped an arm over the back of the low-slung chair. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.” He paused and raked a feral gaze over my body. “Unless you want to join me.”
I clamped my thighs together to smother the ember his words had stoked. That was his second invitation tonight. He was giving my body mixed signals with that sexy magic—and apparently he wasn’t even wielding it consciously. My brain was getting the message to stay away, but how long before the rest of me overruled it?
“I think I’ll pass.” I willed my voice to remain steady as I backed closer to Shaw.
“Sorry we bothered you,” Shaw said tightly. He placed a hand on my back, guiding me toward the door.
Lachlan’s attention narrowed on his brother’s touch, and his face darkened. “Shaw, in the future, ask permission before you touch my things.”
My fingers tightened on the book, preparing to launch it at his cocky face, but Shaw hustled me out of the room with a curt apology. He cursed as soon as we were outside. I added a few expletives of my own.
“Does he always treat you like that?” I asked him. Lachlan had been dismissive of him that first night, but now I saw that the rift between them ran deeper.
He took a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure Lach would prefer to be an only child.” He shook his head. “I’ve never been able to figure him out.”
That made two of us. I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry if I got you in trouble.”
“He’s my older brother. I’m always in trouble with him.” He forced a grin that didn’t quite reach his amber eyes. He was quiet for a second. “Did you really make the bargain with him to save your brother?”
My throat tightened, but I managed a small nod. “I did.”
Shaw’s face fell as he studied the ground. “You must really love him. No one would do that for me.”
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to tell him he was wrong, but I wasn’t sure that was the truth. “Thank you for risking your brother’s wrath to get me a book.”
Maybe Ciara wasn’t the only one who needed a friend. Though what they really needed was someone to call their brother on his shit.
“Want me to show you back to your room?” he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
I shivered at the thought of getting lost at the court, of those disembodied wails that haunted the halls. “Yes. I don’t want to run into the ghosts.”
“Ghosts?” he repeated with a surprised laugh.
“This place is definitely haunted.” I explained the sounds I’d heard every night since I made the bargain with Lachlan, but as I spoke, Shaw’s grin widened. “You think I’m imagining it, don’t you?”
“No. I think you’re hearing the wraiths. They guard the court.”
“Wraiths?”