He backpedaled, clutching the edge of the door like a shield. “I...uh. I didn’t- I’ll just-”
“So it is true,” the man said, his voice low. “Well?”
Jean’s hands balled up at her sides. “Come in, then,” she said, lifting her face toward Owl. “We were just talking. Ah...this is Adrian, and his assistant Indira. Friends, this is my apprentice. Owl.”
When she held her hand out to the side, gesturing, he shuffled into the room. He couldn’t leave. Not after that - not when they were all watching him. He felt their eyes hovering on his mask as he hurried to Crow’s side.
Her hand settled onto his shoulder, as confident and reassuring as ever, and a bit of the worry left him.
“As I’ve told you already,” Crow said, turning back to the others. “It wasn’t my intention to jeopardize the agreement between us. I apologize most sincerely that I had to delay your members’ visits.”
Indira smiled tentatively, her brown eyes glittering with relief, but Adrian’s scowl only deepened. “”You say that now,” he said. “But that’s an apology after the fact. It’s not good enough, Librarian.”
Crow tilted her head to one side. “It will have to be. Your guests are now all present and working on their projects. Everything is going smoothly. I fail to see how-”
“Projects were delayed because of you,” Adrian said. A muscle pulsed in his jaw, quick and tight. “They lost face. Opportunities were ruined. All because you decided you needed to close the doors and hide yourself away from the world. I know things seem different in your ivory tower, but out in the real world-”
“Adrian!” Indira hissed, grabbing for his elbow. Her face had gone pale somewhere in the midst of the man’s sentence.
Owl made a noise, small and confused. It was too much to follow, too much for him to keep up with. Just as quickly, he bit the sound off.
The conversation stopped. Again, all heads swiveled to face him. He shrank back, his training shrieking to stand tall as a Librarian while the rest of him wanted to run and hide among the books.
“Speak up, then,” Crow said, more gently. “Ask, Owl.”
He shook his head furiously. “I-I don’t...it’s nothing.” She didn’t move, didn’t twitch. He made a face, ducking his chin low. “I’m just...I don’t quite-”
“I’ll explain, kid,” Adrian said, taking a step closer. He had an accent, a heaviness to his words Owl had never heard before. Even Indira’s single spoken word had had an odd intonation that entranced him.
Adrian advanced another pace, though, leaving Owl no time to dwell on their peculiarities. “I’m the guildmaster, see,” he said, rapping his knuckles over his chest. “Of the Booklender’s Guild. This place of yours?”
A grin spread across his face. Owl fought the urge to run. It was a grin, but...it wasn’t friendly at all. It seemed more like Adrian was a wolf, ready to lunge at the slightest opportunity. “It’s something real special,” Adrian continued. “And there are a ton of our people waiting for a chance to come inside and learn.” His eyes flashed to Crow, darkening. “A chance your mistress promised - and then stole right out from under them.”
“I told you,” Crow said, unflinching. “I had things to attend to. It’s allowed for.”
“With warning.”
“I apologize for the inconvenience,” she said, inclining her torso forward in what could almost be called a bow. “I acted out of necessity, nothing more and nothing less.”
“Necessity?” Adrian scoffed. Behind him, still clinging to his elbow, Indira flinched.
But Crow only nodded once. “Yes. As I’ve said.”
“You had ‘things to attend to’,” Adrian said, drawing himself up straighter. “Like him?”
The three of them looked to Owl. He froze, unable to move under the weight of the frustration and fury in Adrian’s eyes.
Again, Crow nodded. “Yes.”
“And you didn’t think about consulting with us?” Adrian spat between his clenched teeth.
Jean’s hands came together in front of her, clasping around each other. “I am the Librarian,” she said. “I choose my own successor, Adrian.”
“But a child?” he burst out, taking another step forward. Owl bit his lip, his eyes darting between him and Crow. In another few moments, Adrian would be close enough to reach out and touch - and Owl wanted no part of being that close to the man.
Crow held her ground, unmoving. “I did what I felt was warranted.”
“Warr-” Adrian began, biting off the word before he could finish it. “Crow, let me repeat. This is a child. You expect me to believe any part of this is warranted? Christ.” The man’s eyes darted back to Owl, ice-blue and furious. “What the fuck have you done? Where’d you even find him? A kid like this has no place here and you know it. If you needed candidates, the guild could have-”
“The guild does not choose the Librarian, Guildmaster.” Crow’s voice turned icy, her demeanor twisting infinitesimally to something more formal. “I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, Owl will be more than capable of filling the position.”
“But he’s-”
“Thank you for your input.” Her final words lashed out like a whip.
Adrian stopped, tight-lipped and red-faced. The muscle in his jaw still twitched, tensing and releasing. “So that’s it,” he said. “That’s the best you’re going to offer. A token apology.”
“I don’t know what else you’re expecting from me.” For the first time, Owl could hear the weariness in Crow’s voice, underlying each word.
“Some acknowledgment would be a good fucking start,” Adrian shot back. He stepped forward again, leaving Indira to fret where she stood. “You sit here in the Library like a damn empress, lording your power over the rest of us. Deigning to allow us in.”
“This place has always belonged to the Librarian,” Crow said quietly. “Both to share and to protect. The arrangement between Alexandria and the guild is one we value. But-”
“But you still hold all the power, is that it? You can just tell us
