I felt their painted gazes on me as I walked.

We reached a set of double doors at the end of the hall.

The man opened them and stepped aside.

The library was large, filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and heavy leather furniture.

A fire crackled in the stone fireplace, throwing orange light across the room.

But it wasn’t the books or the fire that caught my attention.

It was the faint sound of coughing coming from behind a set of folding screens in the corner.

It was a dry, weak sound.

I knew that cough.

I had heard it in the hospital rooms when I was still a student.

It was the sound of failing lungs.

I took a step toward the screen, but the guard immediately stepped in front of me.

“Sit,” he said, pointing to a leather sofa near the hearth.

I sat down slowly, keeping my eyes on the wooden screen.

The cough came again, followed by a low, raspy groan.

“Dominic?” I whispered.

The guard did not move, but his eyes flickered toward the screen.

Leo entered the library a moment later.