Again, the wheels screeched to a stop. Owl stared ahead, eyes darkening.
Leon. He was standing here dreaming about Leon, after he’d just been toyed with.
Even that’s too risky, his thoughts whispered. You’ve been burned once already. Close him out. Return to how things should be - just you and Alexandria.
His throat tightened, closing up. He should. He knew he should. But...it was Leon. He’d been visiting the Library for months, at this stage. Months that had passed without incident.
Alexandria had sent him. She’d all but forced Leon on him. Would she have done that if he was dangerous? She seemed reckless, yes, and completely unbending when it came to getting her way, but he couldn’t believe she’d set him up to fail like that. Nodding to himself, he pushed the cart back into motion, edging it toward the next doorway.
Besides. Owl’s cheeks warmed gently. A tiny smile curled at the corners of his lips.
He liked Leon. Enough to risk it.
Just this once.
The doors opened when he pushed the cart into them. Owl stepped into the study beyond - and froze.
Shelves. They stretched from floor to ceiling, rising high to a broad-timbered roof tall enough to be dizzying. Catwalks lined the front of each rack, dotted with ladders to lead between them. Lanterns hung from each corner, filling the air with a warm, cozy light.
Owl stared, dumbfounded - and then, safe behind his mask, he started to grin. She was trying. It was far from perfect, still. Things were still too blurry, as though they were only half-formed. His eyes kept sliding off what books lined the shelves, and beautiful as it was, he knew the dim lighting was as much to hide the imperfections as to please him. Things hadn’t been fixed so easily.
But Alexandria was trying. For him. And there, grinning foolishly up at the endless rows of books, he couldn’t help but think it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
Whatever the future brought, there’d be an answer somewhere within her winding halls. He’d find the way forward, away from the Booklenders and their machinations. He had Alexandria, and she had him.
Together, nothing would stop them.
Owl stood a moment longer, smiling into the beauty his Library had made for him.
And then he got to work.
Acknowledgments
Holy crap, we finally made it.
This has been a ride and a half! I’ll admit, part of me gave up on ever seeing this project through. For those who might not be aware, The Library was my very first serious attempt at a novel, back when I started writing. That initial version had a lot of problems and flaws that eventually made me give up on it entirely, but here two years later, I’m so happy that the second version has come out smoothly so far.
My first thanks for this have to go to Connor Gray and Jessica Hicks, who have been my beta readers and helped me work through this. They’ve also been my friends, of course, but that’s just a minor detail, right? To the both of you - thank you for the constant emotional support and advice on this project. Your advice and opinions continue to be invaluable.
To Alex Raizman and Potato, along with the rest of the community on /r/RedditSerials, your company is a constant source of humor and joy to me. Thanks for being there to make the road just a little more easily traveled. It’s been a wonderful journey over the last few years.
My final and biggest thanks has to be to my community, both on /r/Inorai and those who go the extra mile and support me on Patreon. Without the constant support (and occasional needling) of everyone, it’s likely that this project would have never risen from the ashes. You being here gives me the power both emotionally and financially to do things that I never could by myself. You keep me going, and I cannot express often enough how much I appreciate that.
Unfortunately, this book has my usual scope creep syndrome - so we’re not through yet! I’ll see all of you soon enough with part two!
If you have a spare moment, please consider leaving an honest review for this book!
Customer reviews are the bread and butter of an independent author, and it makes far more of a difference to this book’s success than I can express. It’s more helpful than sales, even! If you do choose to help out the book and I, then thank you so much.
- - - - -
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Keep reading for a preview of The Librarian, book two of The Library!
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The Librarian
- Chapter One -
Owl hugged a book to his chest, lifting his chin. The walls rose high around him, as well-stocked with tomes as the day he’d first arrived. A smile curled at his lips beneath the mask he wore. He’d done it - if not entirely, then he was close. Life was back to normal.
Almost. But even if it wasn’t completely there, he had enough time.
Which meant that it was back to work for him.
His mind spun with the plans he’d slaved over for so many years. What should he do? He could continue working on the AI bridge. Translating Alexandria into the real world would be...challenging. Moreso now that he knew intimately how magical she was. How was he supposed to begin doing something like that? How would that function?
If technology can’t do it, maybe magic can.
He stumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet. The thought had slipped into his mind so smoothly, so easily. It was wrong. Idiotic.
