"You got one wrong," Harbin says as he slams the book in front of me. "You do know that this has a consequence?"
I nod, ashamed for getting one question wrong. I could have gotten a perfect score if not for Theo who keeps on distracting me with his kisses while I browse through the geography books. Every time I ignore him, he sucks my neck until I am riddled with kiss marks.
"Focus!" Harbin groans. "We are in the bastion of education! Not some sexual dungeon where you can freely think about all the naughty things you did with my King."
I instantly redden at the thought. When Harbin raises his brows, I look away and travel my eyes around the library instead. It is a three floors circular dome-like structure, with shelves of books as far as one can see. One shelf is twice as tall as me that there are ladders to be used for those on the top shelves. It is a wonderful place. I'm sure it will be hard to play hide and seek in this place. I bet that I can even use this as my hiding place.
The door opens and Klevon comes into the room, but not only him, there are also other women behind him. They are rowdy and Klevon seems to be enjoying all the attention. He is even smiling at one woman when she pulls him in and gives him a resounding kiss on the mouth.
"Finally! The other salacious being is here!" Harbin says. "Will you let your fans go away?!"
"Ah! Harbin!" Then his eyes go to me and in a softer voice, he adds, "And the little werewolf."
Klevon approaches and I look up at him. Ugh, huge and very tall. He crosses his arms across his chest and he looks down at me. I feel overwhelmed that I step back. He smirks at my reaction and is about to step closer when Harbin walks in the middle.
"Stop scaring her, Klevon. She belongs to the King. And besides, she is also here for her punishment."
"By organizing the books? I don't think that's punishment enough for a werewolf who is used to surviving on a primitive island," he says.
"Oh! Organizing the books is not her punishment."
Klevon frowns at me, and I stop myself before I instinctively take a step back again.
"It is being in your company," Harbin reveals before retrieving his things. "Miss Aditya, I must warn you as well. You are not allowed to help Miss Kaiya."
Aditya nods and Harbin leaves. With only the three of us in the library, Aditya whispers. "Miss Kaiya, do you need my help?"
I wave my hands and say, "No. I can't let you be in trouble. Harbin is pretty serious about these things."
Aditya nods and looks at Klevon. She bows at him and whispers, "I hope you can support her with this task."
Klevon snorts and I feel awkward about the way they glare at each other. It's obvious that they don't like each other.
"I'm really fine, Aditya. No need to be so worried about me."
"Then, I will take my leave now."
When we are alone, I shift my attention to the books and the instructions on how to organize them. After understanding the system. I start work on it, but Klevon is just watching at me.
"Are you not going to help?" I ask.
"I don't understand how the books are organized."
I point him to the instructions. "It's all in there."
Klevon takes it and peruses. A scowl appears on his forehead. "How can you understand this in just one look? Are you a librarian before?"
"No."
"What do these lines mean? And before and after?"
"Aren't you an Owusu? Harbin says you have a massive collection of books."
"I'm not so fond of books, and besides we have someone who takes care of the organizing."
I roll my eyes. "At least you are willing to help." I move closer to him and point at the lines. "This is the subject, the author's last name and date of publication."
"Then?" he asks.
And in great lengths, I start to explain how to do the organization. I even gave him examples so it will be easier. Once I am done, I look up at him, instead of the instructions, he is staring at my face.
"What's wrong?" I ask. "Is it still hard to understand?"
He shifts his attention from me to the instructions, and back again. Then, he whispers, "You seem like someone I know, but I can't quite place where I have seen and met you."
Ain't that a delayed pickup line? As what Harbin warned me about? "In the hunting park, where else? Did you forget that you had fun hunting us?" I retort.
"The Owusu's are originally werewolf hunters, but we don't enjoy playing with your lives. You are being educated by Harbin, right? Hasn't he told you about that?"
"Hmmm," I mutter as I go back to organizing. However, when Klevon comes forward to stand beside me. I whirl around and ask, "What else do you need?"
"Nothing. I'm just looking at how you did it, so I can mimic."
I click my tongue, but somehow when I look at his bulky frame as he tries to carefully take care of the books, I can't help but smile.
"What now?" he asks, catching my expression.
"You don't know how to organize books, but you are handling them so gently," I comment.
Klevon shifts his attention from me and to the books, and back again. Then a smile appears on his face, it's almost boyish, it doesn't suit him.
"Owusu's are taught to take care of books at a very young age. Books are more important in that house, more than combat skills. And I guess I am brainwashed to the point where I am unconsciously taking care of them gently," he explains.
"How big is the Owusu library, anyway? Compared to this?" I can't help but ask.
Klevon looks around, and a look of pride appears on his face. "Ten times than this, or more. I didn't go to the restricted areas to know its scale."
My mouth makes a small 'o' at the illusion of a huge house of books.
He might have seen my surprise because he blurts out, "You are welcome to visit."
I frown at his invitation, and I look away. Why is he being friendly this time? "I don't think I will be able to read that much in this lifetime. I am fine with this. Heck, I can't even finish reading all of this."
"I think you can," he says. "One of the Owusu's lovers was able to read all of it. I forgot her name though. They say she's an enigma. But one thing is for certain, that she loves books, probably more than she loves her Owusu lover."
"Ha!" I snort. "Is that why you are playing with women? You are waiting for a woman who can read as much as her?"
"I am not playing with them. My lovers know that we are just in it for the pleasure."
"Until when?"
"Until I found a woman so amazing that I can't help but stay at her side and never hurt her."
Then he gazes into my eyes. He seems to want to tell me something. Is Theo right? Is he? A blush creeps into my face. I look away. What the hell?! Stop this, Kaiya! To get out of his stare, I move away, but suddenly, he holds my arm.
I stop, there is a pleading look on his face. "About what happened at the park. I am sorry."
So he knows how to apologize, huh? "Okay," I say and try to take my arm, but he didn't budge. "Can you let go of me now?"
"Someday, is there a chance that you will visit the Owusu stronghold? When I return there, you are also welcome to visit. I-"
"I don't think we are close enough for you to give out that kind of invitation," I cut him off. "Besides, don't use your womanizing skills on me. I am with the King."
He smirks and lets my arm go. He is back to the Klevon that I know. "That's right. That King will kill me if he sees me even touching you. Sorry about that, it must have been the atmosphere in this place."
I look around. He might be right. The place is quiet. The dusk light is filtering through the curtains that give the afterglow. Orange-red. It's romantic. But all I wish is it might be so nice to have Theo here with me.
So, without waiting for another word from Klevon, I take the books and walk away from him. Hoping I can get this done already so I can leave.