A corner of Harpoc’s mouth turns up. “Did you want me to?”
A slow smile mounts my face. “Thank you.”
He bobs his head, his expression unreadable.
My heart slows as the magnitude of what happened sets in. None of the bullies who’ve tried to intimidate me growing up looked feral, like Irik.
I’ve never felt comfortable around Irik but never thought him capable of hurting me. I’d no idea he’s the jealous type. And jealous in a brutal kind of way; I’d thought Harpoc’s wild, and he is, but his is a mysterious kind of untamed. Irik is a whole different species, he’s savage.
“He… he nearly…” The bulk of my jacket feels almost like a blanket as I hug myself.
My whole life I’ve had no one to watch my back. I’ve been alone, and I’ve learned how to look out for myself, but this time I’m in way over my head.
What if Harpoc hadn’t intervened? My limbs start to shake and tears well up.
I swipe at the rogue traitors and realize Harpoc’s still watching me. His metallic eyes, so like the ones that have comforted me for years, radiate concern.
My lips quiver.
Breathe, Pell. Get it together. Unlike usual, my inner voice is gentle, seemingly understanding.
Problem is, I can’t get “things” together despite taking several slow breaths. I’ve been shaken at my core.
Harpoc takes one step and draws me into his firm and steady arms. And that’s all it takes to release a floodgate of tears.
“You saved me,” I blubber over and over, hugging him tight, an anchor in stormy seas.
He doesn’t tell me to shhh or still, he just holds me as all the terror I’ve felt gushes out.
At length, I push back and wipe my wet face on my sleeve. I haven’t cried in years, and now I’ve shed tears twice in two days. What is it about Harpoc? He must think me a wuss.
Don’t go soft, Pell. You don’t even know him.
That thought brings me up short.
Harpoc drops his arms, and I scrunch my face, realizing I’ve made a wet mess of the fine gray leather vest, inside his duster.
“I’m so sorry.” Before rationale thought can catch me, I go to work.
I raise my arm and press it against his very hard and very sexy chest, then draw it down. Only as my dirty sleeve reaches the bottom button does horror catch up with me.
Pell, you’re making it worse!
My face burns as I spot a trail of smudged limestone dust from my jacket, down his front.
His eyes sparkle as he looks down, then grabs my hand, trapping it against his stomach in his firm grip. “Don’t worry, I have plenty more.”
Plenty more? Why does that not surprise me? But he says it as if it’s an unreflected statement of fact, meant to ally my fears, not to brag.
Being of modest means, I’m not up on the latest fashion trends but even I know Harpoc’s wardrobe reeks of wealth. The leather of his duster still looks amazing even after the beating he’s given it dealing with the sphinx. His finely tailored, leather vest is soft against my cheek. His boots, despite looking well worn, bear no visible scratches.
He lets go of my hand and looks away as if just now realizing he’s dropped a tasty morsel about himself in my path and I’m still chewing on it.
“So… ” he says, glancing at Irik’s lumpy, unmoving form, then running a hand through his onyx locks as he steps away. “… you translated two more scrolls.”
My brain silently adds, “… despite knowing the consequences.”
I sigh as he ambles toward the two scrolls that still lay propped open by their corners, several feet away. “I did, and I’m sorry.”
“Why?” He turns his head and his metallic eyes pierce me as he rests his elbows on his thighs, squatting before them.
I shift, then explain everything that’s happened this morning.
He rises part way through my telling and stands like a statue keeping his expression neutral.
What must he think of me? I fiddle with my fingers.
“It’s no excuse, I know,” I say, finally finishing.
“I’m sorry about your dig master.” Notes of sadness fill his tone. “I know you think highly of him.”
I take a slow breath. “Thank you.” Then glancing through the dim, across the shelves brimming with scrolls, I add, “We may have a bigger problem. I think Irik took several of them. See how there’s no dust on the tops of a few? He denies it, of course.”
Harpoc meets my gaze. “I’m to blame for those.”
“What? How?”
“I sensed someone in the stairway listening in, and I couldn’t risk” —he waves his hands— “this happening. So I moved a few.”
“You heard Irik? Why didn’t you say something?”
“It wouldn’t have changed this outcome.”
I glance about. “Why did you take just a few?”
“Precautions.”
I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t, so I ask, “You thought he’d tear the wall down?”
“I didn’t know who it was or what they might do. When it comes to secrets, you don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“How bad could the secrets of more creatures be? Worse than a sphinx… or a harpy?” My voice rises.
“You don’t want to know.” His expression’s serious.
I open and close my mouth like a fish.
Irik’s head shifts. We don’t have much time before he wakes, and I don’t want to be around when he does. Who knows what he’ll try?
Harpoc scans the shelves. “I’ll need to move all of them now that your associates know about them. We can’t let them loose all these beings.”
“Wait, what?” I hold up
