The Wren in the Holly Library

“To the girls who fell for the library before the beast.”

“I'm not a delicate flower that you should fear crushing in your palm.""No, you're delicate like a bomb.”

“All she wanted to do was pull them off the shelves just to smell them. Crack open those perfect spines and devour the contents. She wanted to live and breathe a different world. Something, anything, other than her own horrid reality. It would be easy to spend a lifetime in this room and never read every volume.”

“The kiss was an awakening. Like every kiss before ceased to exist. There was no moment before or after this. Here was eternity.”

“She was no longer a sapling constantly moved by the next heavy breeze. She was a mountain, immovable.”

“His hand brushed a lock of her hair out of her face. “Little wren, I am a monster. A monster in a suit, but one with claws nonetheless.” “I don’t care,” she told him. “That’s what I want.” “You don’t want…” “Don’t tell me what I want. I’ll tell you what I want. I want you.” Her hand came to the tie on his suit, dragging him in closer to her. Their mouths were a hairsbreadth apart as she commanded, “Let the monster off its leash.”

“Lorcan grinned and nodded. “Until next time, a chuisle mo chroí.”

“But Colette just lifted her chin. “Be safe, girl,” she said low and solemn. “There is darkness in your future.”

“I’m not a delicate flower that you should fear crushing in your palm.” “No, you’re delicate like a bomb.”

“Kierse should have been there that day. But they’d had a huge fight the night before. She’d said some horrible things. Torra had told her to leave, and she’d left. Then she never saw her again.”

“The name was an homage to the famous Five Points neighborhood in lower Manhattan where the Five Points Gang dominated in the nineteenth century. It coincided rather well with the consolidation of the five wolf packs during the Monster War under notorious werewolf alpha Nate O’Connor.”

“They keep out intruders and alert me to any interference.” He slid his hands into his pockets. “You shouldn’t have been able to get within five feet of my home without me knowing. Not without help or wardbreakers or some serious powers yourself.”

“Have you heard of Third Floor?” Her blood turned to ice. “I’ve heard of it,” she said. Torra had disappeared down there and never resurfaced. It was basically a black hole. A place where people like Torra went to die.”

“Oh, I see how it is. Only want me when I don’t want you,” she said with a smile. “Story of my life.”

“Lord help the man or monster who goes up against Kierse McKenna.” “Thanks,” Kierse told her sincerely.”

“You should get some more sleep,” Graves said. He stroked her hair gently out of her face. Her eyes fluttered closed at his suggestion, her body responding to his soothing touch. “We’ll be back in the city soon. You can recover at home.” “That’s not my home,” she murmured as she slipped toward oblivion. His next words were faint, so she wasn’t even sure she heard him say, “It could be.”

“I knew I could die when I walked into your house,” she said. “I would do anything for my family. Anything to keep them safe.”

“The spear is locked away in the heart of Third Floor, in the residence of the leader of the Men of Valor.” Kierse’s smile tipped up. Finally, a chance for some revenge. “You’ve heard of them as well, I presume?” “A group of all different kinds of monsters working together against the Treaty? Yeah. That’s something I think most people have heard of.”

“To get you in and out with the spear, we’ll only have one opportunity. On the winter solstice, the Men of Valor are throwing a party inside the leader’s residence. The doors will open, and hundreds will flock inside. That’s when we strike.”

“First, to test if you have limits to your powers. Second, to see how you react to a large amount of magic. And third, to see how you work under pressure at another monster’s house before I send you into Third Floor alone.”

“She shook off the disappointment. She could only rely on herself after all.”

“You don’t think you’ll come back.”

“He shook his head once. Something like surprise hit his features. “What are you?” he whispered.”

“He was silent another moment before changing the subject. “We’re going to a hospital.” “I’m not sick.” “While everything I’ve told you has been rather…mythical thus far, there is a science to it. Warlocks over the years have tried to map what makes us unique. Covertly, of course. We still don’t know exactly why we can do the things that we can. But we do know that there is a gene for it.” “A warlock gene?” she asked.”

“Oh, I’ll fucking do it,” she said simply. “There’s too much riding on it to not do it, but I sure hope that your training is good enough to get me out of this alive.”

“She swallowed back her own confusion and desire and fits of anger. As if he could touch her like this. As if he had her permission. How dare he! Yet, she didn’t move away. Her body thrummed in response. Like met like. Power met power.”

“He grinned then. “I have no intention of alerting the authorities. My methods are much more…effective.”

“That’s where my favorite part comes in: reconnaissance.” “Indeed,” he said thoughtfully.”

“Kierse took Colette’s warning for what it was—truth. She could hardly deny that it felt real. And it was a darkness she was walking swiftly into. At least her eyes were open.”

“This man—this monster—was used to incalculable respect. She could see it all over him. Power was the only way to test a person’s character. She found him wanting.”