Elianna had always loved the smell of the library at home, which is probably why she enjoyed being in the bookstore so much. She also thoroughly enjoyed reading in her free time, which is why the bookstore is one of her new favorite places. Sure, the library at home was full of different types of books, ranging from educational to entertainment, but that didn't mean their home library had everything.

  Walking down the aisles between the shelves, Elianna's eyes scanned up and down, and side to side, seeing the different titled books in the fantasy section. Out of all the genres she had read, she had found that she liked fantasy romance the most. She stopped at one book that caught her eye. It had silver writing on the spine that spelled out its title, 'Of Thorns and Blades.'

  Elianna picked up the black book and looked at the cover, seeing it pictured two crossed silver short swords with thorny vines wrapping around them. She rubbed her hand over the cover and curiously flipped it over to read its summary on the back. She read how it was about a human man who was considered a hero among his people. During the war between the humans and the fairies, he found himself deep in their forest territory, where he ended up being captured. He found himself before the fairy queen as a captive, who was supposedly a gorgeous red-haired goddess in his eyes. The queen vowed to keep him prisoner, and the reader would need to find out what becomes of the hero.

  Elianna raised a brow, thinking that the story didn't sound like a fluffy romance, which she had been used to reading. Inquisitively, she opened the book and flipped to a random page. Reading its contents, her eyes widened and cheeks heated instantly, reading about the human man and the queen locked in a deep and heavy sensual embrace.

  "Careful with that one."

  Elianna squealed and slammed the book shut. She spun around toward the voice, seeing Celine standing closely behind her with a knowing grin on her face. "C-Celine," Elianna sputtered out, embarrassed by what she was just reading. "How long have you been there?"

  Celine simply shrugged before she stepped back and leaned against the bookshelf to her left, "Long enough to read over your shoulder." Her grin grew, "I didn't know you read those kinds of stories."

  Elianna's cheeks reddened, "I-I usually don't." She saw no point in hiding the book since Celine already read it and took it out from behind her, holding it in front of her. "It looked interesting, so I decided to open it."

  Celine chuckled a little, "It's interesting indeed. I thought it was an excellent read."

  Elianna's gaze darted to Celine with surprise, "You've read this?"

  Celine nodded, her eyes falling on the book, "Oh yes." She smirked, "Every girl needs a little spice in their life. Even if it comes from a book."

  Elianna looked at Celine curiously, "Spice?"

  Celine chuckled and shrugged, "You know, saucy." She gestured to the book in Elianna's hands, "Like the chapter you were just reading."

  Elianna looked at the book, "I-I didn't know this spice was such a thing. I mean, my mom told me about relationships and-" her cheeks heated again, "-other things."

  Celine smiled humorously, "Other things, huh?"

  Elianna looked to the side embarrassingly, blushing hard, "Y-you know."

  Celine chuckled and nodded, "Yes, I know." Celine looked at the book again and jerked her chin toward it, "You should get it."

  Elianna looked at Celine, a little surprised, "Would that be okay? Don't you think I'm too young?"

  Celine smiled and shook her head, "No. You're not too young to read about," she grinned, "other things. Besides, I was about your age when I started to read these types of books, too. Plus, this book is pretty mild compared to others."

  Elianna nodded, and her eyes fell on the book once again. She had to admit she found the book interesting, and reading that little snippet made her body feel weird. She couldn't explain it, but she liked it. "I think I will get it."

  "Sounds good," Celine said and pushed herself off the bookshelf. "Now, let's go see where my cousin went."

  Elianna held the book closely against her, not wanting people to see the title and knowing what she would be reading. As Elianna followed Celine out of the aisle, Celine looked over her shoulder and smiled a little humorously at Elianna, seeing how she was pressing the book against her.

  Assuming Elianna felt a little embarrassed about the book and didn't want others to see the title, Celine reached out to Elianna, "Here, give it to me."

  Elianna looked surprised, "You sure?"

  Celine smiled and nodded, "I'm sure, don't worry."

  Elianna smiled gratefully at Celine and handed her the book, "Thank you."

  Celine nodded and held the book casually, "Don't mention it." Celine looked back forward and looked around as they entered the main area, "Now, where did he go?"

  Elianna and Celine stood in the main area of the second story. In the middle of the floor was an opening in the shape of a square so that you could look down at the first floor. The second floor wrapped around this opening and was filled with shelves of the different books.

  "Hmmm," Celine hummed and approached the railing of the opening. She looked down at the first floor and smiled, "There he is."

  Elianna approached the railing, standing beside Celine, and followed her gaze. The first floor was similar to the second floor, with book-filled bookshelves scattered around the floor. In the center of the first floor, right beneath the opening of the second floor, were a series of tables and chairs that people could sit at and read.

  Elianna's lips curved, seeing Nicholas sitting at one of the tables, fully immersed in a book he was reading. However, Elianna's smile immediately faded when she saw two human girls about his age, one with brown hair and one blonde, approach his table. Nicholas looked up as they said something to him, and he responded.

  "Looks like he made new friends," Celine chuckled.

  "I can see that."

  Celine's head snapped to Elianna, hearing Elianna's tense tone. Her brows raised, and she bit her lips between her teeth, trying not to smile humorously, seeing Elianna glaring at the girls with a narrowed gaze.

  "You okay?" Celine asked.

  "I'm fine," Elianna said, her expression blank and her eyes intense. "We should head down there."

  Celine, trying hard not to chuckle, nodded, "Sure. Come on."

  Elianna began moving before Celine, which made Celine mentally laugh. Celine followed Elianna through the second floor to the stairs, where they descended to the first floor. Once they were on the first floor, Elianna didn't hesitate to make a beeline toward where Nicholas was sitting.

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  As they neared the table, Celine noticed the girls were still standing close to Nicholas. She noticed how the blonde-haired girl was standing behind the brunette, and the brunette was the one mainly speaking to Nicholas. She watched as the brunette laughed a little and twined her hair around her finger, tilting her head to the side as she spoke with Nicholas.

  Celine raised a brow, seeing the brunette was obviously flirting with Nicholas. When Celine looked at her cousin, she smiled comically, seeing Nicholas sitting there causally. Celine loved her cousin like he was her own little brother, but she knew he was incredibly dense. She knew he probably had no idea the girl was flirting with him.

  When Celine looked at Elianna, both her brows raised, seeing the irritated expression on her face. She could see Elianna's fierce-looking eyes locked on the girls, and she undoubtedly knew that Elianna was aware that the brunette was flirting with Nicholas.

  As Elianna and Celine neared the table, they could hear what Nicholas and the girls were discussing.

  "That sounds super cool," The brunette giggled, giving Nicholas the sparkly eyes. "I'm really into that as well."

  "Really?" Nicholas asked, sounding excited. "Which one is your favorite?"

  The brunette stopped twirling her hair, and her brows raised, looking perplexed at the question, "I-I'm sorry?"

  Nicholas frowned, and he looked at her confused, "You said you're really into it. Do you not have a favorite?"

  The girl looked stunned at the question, with her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. Celine rolled her eyes, seeing the girl was just talking herself up.

  The girl stood there, trying to find an answer, when she looked up, seeing two figures approaching.

  "Hey, Nick!" Elianna chirped as she approached him from behind. She walked up behind him and wrapped her around him, giving him a backward hug while pressing her cheek closely against his. She hugged Nicholas tightly as he was sitting in the chair. "We were looking for you!"

  The brunette's and the blonde girls' brows furrowed, seeing Elianna hug Nicholas.

  Nicholas smiled and laughed a little jovially, feeling Elianna's hug. He gently grabbed Elianna's arm with his left hand and lightly rubbed her skin with his thumb, "Hey, Lia. Are you done browsing?"

  Elianna nodded, her cheek rubbing against Nicholas', as she responded in a jolly tone, "Yep! What about you?"

  "Yeah," Nicholas said casually and looked at the book on the table. "I found a book about constellations." His eyes flicked to the girls, "I was just talking about constellations with these two when you walked up."

  Elianna looked up, her eyes falling on the girls, and she feigned surprise, "Oh, hello. I must've not seen you two."

  Celine's lips curved down, and she cupped her mouth with her right hand, trying to hide her humourous grin. She could tell Elianna was jealous the instant the two girls had walked up to Nicholas, and she was interested to see how she would react. And so far, Celine has not been disappointed.

  Both of the girl's brows furrowed before the brown-haired girl's expression relaxed, and she smiled fakely at Elianna, "No worries. Lia, is it?"

  "Elianna, actually," Elianna corrected and stood up, resting her hands on Nicholas' shoulders and standing closely behind him. "Only Nicholas is allowed to call me Lia." The two girls looked confused and shared a glance. "So," Elianna began, her eyes looking the girls up and down, assessing them, "what are your names?"

  The girls looked back at Elianna, and the brunette answered, "I'm Amber." She gestured to her friend, "And this is Eva." Amber's eyes darted between Elianna and Celine, "I take it you're Nicholas' friends?"

  "She is," Celine cut in, gesturing to Elianna, and Amber and Eva looked at her. Celine smiled and approached the table, standing opposite the girls. "I'm his cousin."

  Elianna watched the two girls nod and almost seemed to relax as if they didn't view Celine as a threat. However, when they looked back at Elianna, they looked irritated.

  "Amber and Eva here asked me what I was reading," Nicholas said, gesturing to them. "That's how we got to talking about constellations. Amber even said she is really into them. Right?"

  Amber smiled at Nicholas and nodded, "Yep, I so am."

  Elianna felt irritated seeing Amber smiling at Nicholas, and she gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Oh, really?"

  Elianna began to walk around Nicholas, her fingers tracing his shoulders, then down his arm. She moved between Nicholas and the girls and sat on the table, separating them. The girl's brows furrowed with annoyance, seeing Elianna was literally getting between them and Nicholas.

  "Then, do you have an answer to Nicholas' question?" Elianna asked, staring Amber directly in the eyes while giving a face smile.

  Amber looked confused, "What question?"

  "When he asked you what your favorite was," Elianna said, and she looked at Nicholas and genuinely smiled. "I assume you were asking her for her favorite constellation, right, Nick?"

  Nicholas smiled and nodded, "Yeah." He looked around Elianna since she was partially blocking his view of Amber, "So, do you have one?"

  Amber flinched, and she shared a quick glance with Eva before looking back at Nicholas. She giggled and shook her head, "N-No. There are just so many that I love them all."

  Celine scoffed at the stupidity of Amber's answer, and Amber shot her a glare.

  Elianna gave Amber a fake smile and nodded. "I see," She stated in an incredulous tone.

  Amber's eyes darted to Elianna, thick with irritation, "Oh? Then what's your favorite?"

  Elianna's eyes fell, and a warm smile graced her lips. She remembered her and Nicholas lying by her family pool one night, staring at the stars as their parents were inside their residence talking. They were staring at the clear night sky, admiring the blanket of stars, when Nicholas began to tell her about the constellations.

  "The Monarch," Elianna said, her voice full of warmth. She looked at Amber, "Mine is The Monarch. It's shaped like a butterfly."

  Amber nodded blankly, not caring, before she looked at Nicholas and smiled, "What about you? What is your favorite."

  Nicholas didn't have to think and casually began, "The Dr-"

  "The Drake," Elianna finished for him. Elianna looked at Nicholas, and she smiled at him when their eyes locked, "His favorite is The Drake. It's the shape of a dragon."

  Nicholas smiled warmly and blushed slightly as he looked into her eyes, "That's right."

  Elianna looked back at Amber, seeing her eyes darting between her and Nicholas. "Well," Elianna said, giving Amber a not-so-friendly smile, "Is there anything else about Nick you wanted to know? I know just about everything about him."

  Nicholas' smile faded, and his eyes dropped to the ground. His brows furrowed, and a guilty expression washed over his face. Celine's eyes flicked to Nicholas, and she looked at him worriedly, seeing his appearance.

  Amber's jaw clenched, seeing she had no chance of flirting with Nicholas as long as Elianna was around. "No, that's fine," Amber snapped and looked at her friend. "Let's go."

  Elianna grinned with accomplishment as she watched the girls walk away. When she looked at Nicholas, her grin faded, and she looked at him concerned, seeing his dejected expression, "Nick?" Nicholas' eyes shot up, looking a little startled as he was deep in thought. "You okay?"

  Nicholas gave Elianna a reassuring smile, "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked to the side, and his brows raised in surprise, "Where did Amber and Eva go?"

  Elianna eyed him for a moment, as she could tell something had been bothering him. However, seeing he didn't want to discuss it, she smiled and shrugged, "They left."

  Nicholas nodded and looked at Elianna curiously, "So, The Monarch, huh? Why that one?"

  Elianna looked to the side as a warm smile graced her lips, and she blushed slightly, "Because. It's the first constellation you ever told me about."

  Nicholas' brows raised in surprise, and his cheeks reddened heavily.

  Clearing her throat and composing herself, Elianna stood from the table and turned to face Nicholas, gesturing to the book, "Speaking of constellations, are you going to get that?"

  Nicholas looked at the book, smiled, and nodded, "Yeah. I find it very interesting." He looked at Elianna curiously, "What about you? Are you going to get a book?"

  Elianna blushed slightly before she nodded, "Y-Yeah."

  "What kind?" Nicholas asked.

  "Oh, uh," Elianna began, and her blush depended. "A fantasy." She looked at Celine, wanting to change the subject, "How long until the illusionaire?"

  Celine curiously pulled out and looked at her pocket watch, "We still have some time." She stored her watch in her spatial ring and looked at Elianna and Nicholas. "So, we can purchase these books and go to at least one more store before we head to the theater."

  Elianna nodded, "Sounds good." She walked around Nicholas and approached Celine, subtly taking the book from her and pressing it against her so others didn't see the title. "Thank you for carrying it," Elianna whispered.

  Celine grinned, "No problem. I can purchase it for you if you want."

  Elianna shook her head, "No, I got it." She looked at Nicholas and jerked her chin toward the checkout counter, "Come on."

  Nicholas smiled and nodded at Elianna as she turned and began to walk off. Nicholas stood from the table and closed the book on constellations, feeling a set of eyes on him.

  "What?" Nicholas asked flatly and looked to the side. His eyes fell on Celine, who was eyeing him a little worriedly.

  "I saw your expression earlier," Celine said. Her gaze flicked to Elianna, "When Elianna said she knew just about everything about you." Nicholas' eyes fell. "Why don't you tell her?"

  Nicholas tensed and shook his head, "No."

  Celine sighed, "Nick. If you're afraid she will treat you differently, she wo-"

  "I said no," Nicholas quietly snapped, shooting Celine a glare.

  Celine flinched, as Nicholas never spoke to her like that. However, she knew why he did and eyed him sympathetically. She nodded, not wanting to push the issue, "Okay." She gestured for him to follow her, "Come on, let's get going."

  Nicholas nodded, picked up the book, and followed his cousin to the checkout counter.