“Manx?”
Manx spins around, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. “Oh! Caspian! What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing? What the hell are you doing in here? You almost got yourself stabbed!”
“You were going to stab me?” He presses a hand to his chest.
“If I had to. You could’ve been a Rippie.”
“Hmm. Glad I’m not one then.” He shrugs, peering around.
I stand taller. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Why am I here? Right. I presented a study to a group of teenage boys in this section earlier and I left my notes.” He wanders around the desks until he’s in front of a wide table, then picks up a thick notebook chockfull of papers. “Ah. Here we are. Essays. I have to grade them tonight.”
“Right.” My eyes slide to the book on the table, and Manx looks with me.
“Still up to your old habits?” he asks, smiling.
“Something like that.”
“What are you studying this time?”
“Vakeeli History,” I tell him, purposely keeping it vague. The last thing I want is to get into a conversation about the Tether with Manx.
“Interesting. Well, don’t let me keep you.” He walks past me, raising the notebook in the air. “I just came for this. But do let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
He pauses. “How’s Willow’s leg?”
“Not sure. Didn’t ask.”
“Of course you didn’t,” he chuckles. “You should be nice to her. Can you imagine how she feels, stuck in a world she knows nothing about? I’m sure all she wants is to get back home, where she feels safe.”
“Yeah, well, I’m working on that.”
Manx tilts his head, looking me over briefly, before waving a finger in the air. “One day you’ll learn to soften up, Caz. One of these days, you’ll just have to.”
With that, he ambles through the library and is gone. A door creaks on the hinges and slams closed, and when it does, I swipe up the book and take it with me, leaving the library too.
