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comforting stacks of dusty volumes. But Katherine wasn't one of them. Equations and historical dates held no allure for her; her heart yearned for fantastical realms of romance and adventure, the kind woven into the pages of

r usual bedtime to the early hours of the morning, turning pages long after the moon had risen, each chapter leaving her craving more. Desperately, she want

space. Mrs Reed, a kindly woman whose wrinkles seemed etched with stories of their own, was a beacon of k

"I'm afraid there's nothing of the sort as of now, but we're expecting a new shi

he edge of her seat, desperately needing to know what lay beyond. A week? It felt like an eternity. "O

it." Mrs. Reed pointed to a section of the library Katherine had never explored bef

a swirling nebula, a celestial scene that mirrored the fantastical landscapes of the "Tides of the Myrtle." The book was a thick tome, with a worn leather cov

t like a giant's. Her gaze flew upwards, meeting a pair of the most captivating silvery grey eyes she had eve

at lit up his entire face. His features were sculpted with a classical beauty, his cheekbo

a smooth baritone that sen

words struggling to escape the knot of nerve

, right?" He asked, his eyes crinkling at t

onfirmed, her voice b

d, his voice a velvety melody that seemed to soothe the chaos in h

raised her voice. She quickly lowered her tone, her cheeks flushing

speak normally? She chastised herself, her heart

that made her stomach flip. He seemed to know the effect he had o

g his hand, a hand that was as warm and st

a moment of pure, unadulterated magic. His hand enveloped hers com

y a murmur. "I'm not exactly a genius, but I

e feeling strained and unnatural. "Well,

ed, his gaze turning to the book in her hand,

." She trailed off, unable to articulate the

g around at home," Castiel stat

within her. "You do? Can you lend them to me?"

curving into a smile that sent butterf

enuine smile, her heart doing a

s thinking we could... maybe eat lunch together?" Castiel su

a magnet for gossip and intrigue. She, the girl who struggled to blend into the background, the girl who was over

s, of learning the fate of the banished Prince of Avalon, wa

through the library window. His eyes were still fixed on her, holding a glimmer of something she couldn't quite decipher. And for the first time, Katherine felt a

obviously woul