The library had never felt so quiet.
Seraphina stood frozen beside the ancient tome, heat still rushing to her cheeks as she watched River read what she did minutes before he appeared.
She pressed her palms flat against the table, willing her heartbeat to slow. Of all the possibilities she had imagined, this had not been one of them.
River's expression was focused, serious, as his eyes traced the same lines she had just finished. The candlelight caught in his long, blonde hair, casting soft shadows across his jaw.
She quickly looked away again.
Moments passed.
Then River closed the book.
Gently.
The sound of the cover meeting parchment was soft, deliberate. He rested his palm on it for a second before sliding it aside on the table.
She refused to look at him.
She studied a random shelf instead, pretending intense interest in a collection of scrolls bound in silver thread.
She heard him rise.
Felt him move.
Then he was behind her.
Close.
Too close.
