“I don’t know. I guess it’s one of my many faults.”
He was quiet again for a few minutes before he griped, “Do you do this often, invade others’ privacy and tell them they look awful?”
I looked up from my book again and met his challenging stare. “As far as I know, this library is open to anyone, and I did apologize for disturbing you. I did not say that you looked awful, so please stop scowling at me. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were fishing for compliments.”
“I do not fish for complements.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You are an annoying little imp. It is no wonder you came here instead of being with the other children. They probably can’t abide your company.”
I stood, fed up with his churlishness and insults. “Listen here, Lestat, you are no charmer yourself.”
“Lestat?” His eyes widened and he jumped up, sputtering. “Did you just compare me to a vampire – a fictional vampire?”
I didn’t know what had made me call him that, but there was no taking it back. “You called me an annoying imp.”
“Because you are annoying.”
“You’re not too much fun to be around either.”
His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “You are an irritating person, and I am not used to people talking to me this way.” He pulled himself up to his full height, sounding every bit like a haughty lord. For all I knew he was one, but that didn’t give him the right to treat people like crap.
“If you don’t like how I talk, then don’t talk to me. You read your book, and I’ll read mine.”
“I can’t read now. You’ve ruined it for me.”
Good Lord, this guy would try a saint. “Then leave if you don’t want to read.”
He looked like he was about to stomp his foot like a little boy. “I was here first.”
I let out a heavy sigh. The man was infuriating and rude, and I really didn’t need the aggravation. “Fine. I’ll leave. Good night.”
“You showed up here and ruined my evening, and now you are leaving?” Was that disappointment in his voice? I could not understand this guy for the life of me.
“Yes.” I stopped at the door and wrinkled my nose at him. “Something in here smells really old and musty. Maybe the room just needs a good cleaning.” Turning away, I left before he could see the satisfied smile on my face.
* * *
I barely noticed my surroundings as I walked back to the main building from the menagerie. I still couldn’t believe the hellhounds were here, and I had no idea what I was going to do with them. They were huge brutes, and they growled menacingly whenever anyone but me went near their cage. I couldn’t leave them locked up in there forever, but Sahir was afraid – and probably rightfully so – that they would harm someone if they were let out. Their welfare and happiness were my responsibility now and it weighed on me. I was determined to spend as much time as it took to train them and make them safe for other people to be around.
The hellhounds were not the only things on my mind. My power was going haywire all of a sudden, and I had no idea why or what to do about it. Just this morning, I was soaking in the healing baths after training when my scalp began to tingle and static crackled in my hair. I could have sworn I saw tiny sparkles of light in the cloudy water. Fear drove me from the bath before my time was up, and I’d cast a furtive glance at Olivia who lay with her eyes closed in her own tub. But the other girl had shown no signs of noticing anything out of the ordinary. How long could I hide this before someone saw it and started asking questions I couldn’t answer?
“Sara.”
I turned to find Claire hurrying toward me. Judging by her amused expression she had called to me several times. “Hi, Claire. What’s up?”
She returned my smile. “I thought you would have forgotten my name with all the new faces around you. How are you settling in?”
“Great.”
Claire laughed at my unconvincing tone. “Give it another week or so. All orphans have an adjustment period. It took me almost a month to even speak to anyone.”
“You were an orphan?” It was hard to think of cheerful, outgoing Claire as a shy orphan. “How long have you been here?”
She put a hand to her chin. “I think it’s been eighty years. You lose track after a while. I was four when Tristan found me.”
“Lord Tristan?”
“Yes. It was during the Great Depression,” she said as we walked together. “He found me at an orphanage in Boston. I have vague memories of my mother, but I don’t remember what happened to her. The people at the orphanage told Tristan they were overflowing with abandoned children whose parents could not feed them anymore. Tristan adopted me and set up a monthly stipend to help the orphanage. I think he did that for a lot of orphanages at the time.”