Steel Princess (Royal Elite 2)

I just hope I don’t end up regretting it.

“Can I see the library?” I wrap my fingers around the hot chocolate. “I have some homework.”

“It’s down the hall to the left.” She motions at the potatoes. “Sorry I can’t show you.”

“It’s okay.” I gather my backpack and take the drink. “Thanks for this.”

“Let me know if you need anything to eat.”

“Will do.”

At first, I attempt going to the upper floor where I think Jonathan’s office is, but then as I walk down the hall, I notice the small blinking cameras.

Shit.

How come I never noticed them before? And who the hell keeps cameras inside his house?

Defeated, I head to the library. The space is so vast, it nearly swallows the entire ground floor. It’s even bigger than the theatre room — and that says something.

Rows and rows of books extend as far as the vision can go.

Old books. Big books. Hardcovers. Paperbacks.

Hell, there are even a few first editions here.

I wonder if they have some Sun Tzu in this place.

Three dark wooden tables with cushioned seats are arranged neatly in the middle of the room. It smells of old paper, and I can’t help but inhale the scent.

I place my backpack and drink on a table and walk to the wooden rows. run my fingers along some books written in Russian and in French.

Someone is a polyglot.

Keeping my head down, I check the corner in case there are cameras lurking in here.

I don’t notice any blinking, but that doesn’t put me at ease.

The King’s mansion has this eerie quality to it. I’m on high alert the entire time.

I only let go when Aiden is around, but maybe that’s a mistake, too.

A few psychology books grab my attention. Margo mentioned that Alicia read those to Aiden.

The other day, Cole also mentioned that Nausea, a philosophy book, belongs to Aiden.

I pull a paperback about the light in the mind or something. It’s the first time I hear about it. It’s written by J.E. Hampton. Never heard of him — or her.

There’s dust on the book, so it hasn’t been touched in years.

I open the book.

The dedication says,

To unknown. You should’ve killed me.

The ‘You should’ve killed me’ part is underlined with a red pencil.

I open the first pages and read. It talks about someone who’s trying to find his way after chronic depression. I read a few pages and I notice some words underlined in red like in the dedication page.