15. Aries
Aries
I wait as long as I can after Paige leaves for work before making my own exit. She’ll kill me if she finds out I’ve left, but my dragon is in no state to remain trapped inside this tiny living space any longer.
Not after last night.
It takes everything in me to keep from going with her to work—if only to reassure my beast that she’s safe in that library without me. And since I know that won’t go over nearly as well as my cataloging of her household items did, the only other option is to get some air.
I force myself to spend an hour cleaning up my mess from yesterday before giving in to my dragon’s needs. When things are put right again, I shed my pants and prepare to slip away.
Pushing open the window beside the couch takes no effort at all. Fitting my large body through it, however, proves slightly more difficult. After some contorting, I manage to shove my body through.
Perched on the ledge, my scales already beginning to appear along my skin, I gaze at the world below me.
Large, four-wheeled machines snake past on the blackened earth. Glowing red lights wink from the backs of each one, and every so often, a loud foghorn sounds from several in a row.
“Traffic,” Paige called it.
My dragon shudders at being stuck in such a tiny box. Worse than this apartment.
On either side of the traffic, humans make their way on foot. Even from way up here, I can see the pinched expressions they wear as they rush this way and that.
No one even looks up to notice a naked half-male, half-dragon clinging to the windowsill. Clearly, dragons aren’t known in this world. Hopefully, I can keep it that way.
Satisfied it’s safe, I crouch low and then shove off with legs that transform even as they propel me upward. My wings spring from my shoulders, extending and spreading until I catch the downdraft and use it to send me flying into the skies.
The wind is delicious against my scales.
My own weightlessness and sense of freedom up here in the wide open is heightened after days of confinement. Finally. My dragon can breathe up here.
And yet, with every mile I soar farther from Paige, the ache in my chest grows more painful.
I force myself to keep going, knowing the flight will do me good in the end. Besides, it’s not like I can force my way into her workspace and have my way with her...
Though, the mental images of doing just that nearly send me into a head-on collision with a flock of geese.
Their cries alert me, and at the last second, I swerve wildly to avoid hitting the group, each one spread out from the other so that they form a “V” formation.
Speaking of V...
Knowing Paige’s body has never belonged to anyone but me is something I can’t forget. That she gave herself to me first—my dragon is way too fucking satisfied with himself over that one.
No matter how hard I try to distract myself, Paige consumes my thoughts.
Her beauty, her responsiveness, her passion—everything about her is pure pleasure.
I’ve wanted her since the moment I laid eyes on her that first night.
And while my interest in her is not ideal for the situation, it’s nothing compared to the recognition my dragon felt for her last night.
Despite the impossibility of it, my dragon is certain.
Paige Murphy is my true mate.
Not any of the women my mother has paraded before me. And not the maidens my brother has suggested I “sample” just to be sure.
It's Paige.
The absurdity of being yanked out of my own world and into this one only to find the woman I’ve searched my realms to find is almost humorous. Almost.
If I weren’t faced with only two futures to choose from, neither of which offers a happy one.
My dragon balks at the thought.
To appease it, I swoop low, angling so that my wing trails over the surface of a pristine lake below. I’ve flown far from the city with only mountains and grassy valleys between them as far as my eye can see.
It’s beautiful. But the ache in my chest is unbearable now, so I turn back again, climbing higher until the clouds swallow me up. If this is what it’s like to be mere miles from my mate, stepping through a portal to another land without her beside me isn’t even an option to consider.
I have to find another way.
* * *
Paige arrives home looking more tired than usual. I hand her the wine I’ve already poured in anticipation of her arrival, and the smile she flashes me stirs my cock instantly. Fuck, this is not the time.
“You clearly know the way to my heart,” she declares, sipping generously before making her way to the couch.
If only I did.
Instead of answering, I lower myself into the chair beside her and wait, trying to come up with the right words to test my plan.
Paige sips her drink, oblivious to my struggle. “Oh, hey, you cleaned up,” she remarks, glancing around the room. “Thank you.”
I grunt an acknowledgment of her words, distracted. Finally, she notices my silence and peers at me over the rim of her glass.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, worry pinching her features as she glances toward the closet. “Did you find another stalker tunnel?” She leans forward, suddenly stricken. “Did that shadow asshole return?”
“No,” I assure her, “Nothing like that.
“Then what is it?”
“My dragon has been tense,” I admit.
“Shit, Aries, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you being cooped up in here.
” Her compassion transforms into hesitation.
“I guess we should try to do some sleuthing tonight. See if we can find the spell that will open that portal for you. Though, I did spend two days scouring the alchemy section and found nothing. But hey, we can try the reference section next.”
“Yes,” I say, ignoring the tightness in my chest and putting aside my own agenda. “We probably should.”
She downs her wine and stands.
“Should we wait for the others to go home?” I ask.
“Mag and Blossom already have. The gnomes are on duty tonight,” she explains, walking to the kitchen and returning a moment later with a bag of something called Sour Patch. She holds it up and adds, “This will distract them so we can get into the reference section unseen.”
I can’t help my skepticism, but Paige seems certain of her prediction, so I follow her out and down the stairs. When we arrive on the first floor, I slip in front of her, stopping her from exiting the stairwell.
“What is it?” she asks, startled.
“I want to make sure it’s clear.” My dragon needs it, actually, but I don’t tell her that. Nor do I tell her we’re past the point of non-violence when it comes to protecting her. My dragon will kill anything that moves against his mate, no question.
Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but if it does, I’ll take the consequences willingly if it means keeping her safe.
She sighs but steps back, letting me ease the door open just far enough to sniff the air inside the library. I recognize the others: Blossom, Hoc, and a scent I’ve come to know as the other keeper Paige has told me about, Mag.
I also recognize the little men and their domesticated rodent from the other night. Their scents are strong as if they’ve come through here recently. Listening intently, I try to pick up their location among the quiet shelves.
Instead, what I find is another presence.
Too large to be a gnome or a rodent. And somehow, threatening.
When I sense movement, I react instantly. Yanking the door closed, I lift Paige off her feet and carry her to the back of the stairs, pressing her into the small alcove where we hid once before.
She tries to protest, but I press my hand to her mouth, silencing her with a look.
She stares up at me with rounded eyes. I hold her gaze, all my senses trained toward the library. Something pauses on the other side of the door.
In the silence, the handle clicks as it moves.
The door creaks open, and the familiar evil scent slams into me.
The stranger from Paige’s bathroom.
A figure moves into the open doorway. No, not a figure, I realize as I watch it enter the stairwell. A shadow.
Paige goes still. Fear rolls off her now.
My scales rush to the surface of my skin. My dragon wants blood, though I’m not sure there’s any to spill from a phantom creature like this one.
And I can’t risk Paige until I know for sure how to kill the threat.
Hating my options, I press Paige against the wall, covering her with my body, and wait.
Slowly, the shadow drifts through the doorway and up the stairs. The door clicks quietly shut behind it. I breathe silently, using its scent to track its progress. Up and up it goes.
Straight to the second floor. The door opens there too, and I listen as the shadow passes into the hall, letting the door click shut again in its wake.
Finally, we’re alone again.
Not that having the damned thing upstairs is any better.
Paige reaches up and pulls my hand from her mouth, her hand trembling. “It’s going to my apartment,” she whispers.
“It is,” I agree grimly, my muscles straining with the need to go after it.
I step away before I’ve realized it, and Paige tightens her grip on my hand, pulling me back. “Don’t leave me,” she says.
I grimace. If she’d asked me not to hurt it, I would have refused. But asking me to protect her, to make her feel safe? I can’t refuse that.
My shoulders sag as I realize I’ve been defeated. “Where else can we go?” I ask her.
She bites her lip, drawing my attention to her perfect mouth. “There’s a basement,” she says at last. “Warded against any creatures other than those sworn to the Athenaeum.” At my expression, she adds, “I can get you in.”
“Paige, wait,” I say when she starts to move.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I just... would you come with me to Astronia?” The words are rushed and clumsy. I grimace, kicking myself for the awkward delivery. I haven’t felt this uncertain around a woman in, well, ever.
“Come with you?” she repeats, uncertainty reflected in her depthless eyes. “Why?”
“To see my world for yourself,” I say lamely.
“You enjoyed the description so much, and I know you’d love it even more if you saw it for yourself.
This time of year, the trees are beginning to bud and bloom.
The rivers are fast and flowing. And the forest animals are just beginning to emerge with their young.
We could hike, or I could fly you to the perfect viewpoint to take it all in. ”
“It sounds perfect,” she says, and my heart lifts with hope. “But also kind of impossible.” Just as fast, hope crumbles.
“Impossible?” I repeat, disappointment igniting my temper. “Even with everything in this damned library trying to kill you?”
“Not everything,” she argues.
“Right. Just a shadow creature stalking you in the shower. And unknown monsters constantly attempting to escape the confines of their literary cell. Not to mention whatever’s climbing through that hidden passageway.”
“Hey, you were an unknown monster until very recently,” she points out.
I scowl. “And the rest?”
“None of it happened until you came along,” she says, and I blink, taken aback. “Sorry,” she says. “That’s not what I meant.”
I don’t answer.
“Look, maybe I could swing a vacation once my internship ends,” she says, “but after that... I’ve sworn an oath to this place.”
Her words only serve to pain me even more. “What kind of oath?”
“The kind that binds me to the Athenaeum for life,” she says softly. “A promise to protect it for as long as I shall live.”
Her expression is soft as she says the words, and I wonder if she’s figured out my true motive for asking. But her oath is the same one I’ve sworn to my own kingdom. A promise to protect it, to rule as king, for as long as I live.
And so, I keep my secret. Because the only thing that comes close to the pain of losing Paige is hurting her. I won’t do either if I can help it.
I, however, am not so lucky as to be spared suffering. The future I want with Paige is more than impossible; it’s futile. And the pain of knowing it is worse than any death or confinement, in this world or the next.