9. Aries
Aries
W ith a waning sense of hope and severe lack of sleep, I step through the day’s portal with Mag. It closes behind us, and I take a moment to survey our surroundings. Lush green grass expands as far as the eye can see while huge trees jut up around us on all sides.
The air here is crisp, the sun bright. The thick trees and fresh air almost remind me of my homeland of Astronia.
“Let’s get this over with,” Mag grumbles, and we begin walking. Aside from birds chirping as they fly by, I see no signs of life. No people, no houses, just endless nature. My dragon shifts beneath my skin, desperate for the freedom of stretching his wings.
Soon, I think to him, hoping that it will ease some of his anxiety. Before the library, I’d never gone more than twelve hours without shifting. Now, it’s days between each shift. I’m not sure how much longer my dragon can do this.
“We don’t normally get guests this time of year.”
Mag and I whirl, both of us prepping for a fight. The woman standing just behind us is slender and dressed in leather pants and a black tank top, her dark hair braided down her side. A blade is sheathed at her side, but she does not reach for it.
And it’s no wonder why.
Power pours from her, radiating and filling the very air around her.
“We don’t mean to bring you any trouble,” Mag says warily.
She cocks her head to the side. “No, I don’t think you do.” She turns to me. “But that still leaves me wondering who you are and why you’re here.”
“Why couldn’t we sense you before?” I ask. “There is nowhere for you to hide.”
The woman grins and waves her hand. A swirling blue portal appears behind her in a flash of light. We both stare at it, shocked and confused at another creature who can conjure a portal. “It’s a skill set of mine.”
“You’re not a keeper.”
Her brow furrows. “A what?”
“The Athenaeum. Do you know of it?” I ask, stepping forward. Is it possible she’s working with Constantine? That she is who helped him steal the Vetus collection?
“No. Should I?”
“Portal magic is not strictly a keeper power,” Mag tells me. “This is the world of Luxe,” he says. “It’s ruled by a man who grew up in the human world, and his wife, who was born in another. You must be Anastasia.”
“I am,” she replies.
“How do you know this?” I ask.
He arches a brow. “After the sirens, I made it my mission to know at least something about where we’re going.”
“Sirens?” Anastasia questions.
“Likely not the same ones you’re used to,” Mag replies. “We’re looking for someone. A man who was taken from us by another.”
“We haven’t had any visitors before you,” she replies. “I would have known.”
“He’s in great danger, and the one who took him is far deadlier than you could imagine.”
She smirks. “I’ve dealt with my fair share of dangerous men. And I assure you, if he shows up, he will be dealt with. Do you have a photograph of the man who is missing?”
I shake my head. “He’s large—a troll—and has a tattoo like this one on his arm.” I point to Mag, who holds out his arm.
She studies it. “If I find him, I’ll be sure to return him.”
“How will you know how to find us?” Mag questions.
Anastasia smiles again. “I have my ways. Good luck on your mission. If you feel the need to look around, I will allow it, but only if I can accompany you. The people of this world suffered greatly under its last leader, and I will not subject them to any potential threats.”
“We understand,” I tell her. The woman is willing to risk her own life to protect her people. It is something I can appreciate and relate to.
“If you don’t mind, we would like to check things out. Are there any areas that are populated with people? Villages they could be hiding in?”
She waves her arm and opens a blue portal, then gestures toward it. “I’ll take you to our capital.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Mag asks.
“I suppose you don’t. But if you continue wandering around here, you’ll find nothing but meadow. And perhaps a few stray creatures who are looking for a quick meal.”
“We can take care of ourselves.”
“I’ve no doubt about that, fighter,” she replies.
The way she adds the word makes me feel as though she’s bestowing a form of respect on me.
“I am not trying to make any trouble. A fight is the last thing I am interested in. Follow if you wish.” She grins and turns to step through the portal, vanishing from sight.
Mag and I stand and stare at each other for a moment, each of us clearly trying to determine the threat level.
“I can get us out of any trouble we get in,” he reminds me. “As long as we don’t kill anything.”
“Then you’d better stay prepared,” I tell him. “Because if it’s our lives or another, I’ll choose ours.”
“Appreciate that.” Mag chuckles then steps into the swirling blue light.
I stare at it for just a moment before stepping into the vortex right after him.
* * *
Exhausted and empty-handed, I step through the portal into the library’s basement with Mag close behind me. Anastasia had been helpful, but just as she’d said, we found nothing. No signs of anyone aside from us visiting the world of Luxe anytime in the last few years.
Square one. Again.
At the sight of us, Bingo lifts his head from where it rests on his paws then immediately lowers it again. He huffs out a sigh through large, canine nostrils. It sends the same message as Mag’s deeply etched scowl: we’re all sick of searching these books without a single clue to show for it.
“I’m starved. You want to get something to eat?” Mag asks. “I can have the gnomes pick up a pizza or something before we head back into another book.”
“No, I’m going to find Paige,” I tell him.
He grunts then pauses, turning to Bingo. “You want a slice?”
Bingo barks.
Mag nods. “I’ll bring you two.”
He follows me out the door and up the stairs that lead to the library’s main floor.
The council members have made it nearly impossible to slip in and out of this area unnoticed, though so far, we’ve managed to keep the basement off their radar.
If they’re wondering where we’re going when we search for Hoc or where we’re keeping the books that make up our list of suspected locations, I don’t intend to be the one to provide them that answer.
None of what happens here is any of their damn business as far as I’m concerned.
“Any day now,” Mag grunts, and I realize I’ve been blocking the exit longer than necessary, distracted again by the thoughts of Paige’s secrets being discovered by the people who have the power to take her home away.
Shaking off my dark thoughts, I shove through the door, and Mag and I go our separate ways.
He takes a left, probably looking for the gnomes where they like to hide in the alchemy section’s elevator and eat candy.
I take a right and loop around the outer edge of the stacks toward Paige’s office.
With any luck, the council members have left her alone for the day and I can steal her upstairs for some time alone before Mag and I try one more book.
The thought of it has me quickening my pace in anticipation, but just before I can round the corner to her door, a figure steps out from the nearest aisle, blocking my path.
I stop, glowering at the male councilmember whose head I still want to rip off even if it makes me jealous and petty.
“Aries, there you are,” Oliver says with a smile.
“What can I do for you?”
“I was actually just hoping to offer my help to you,” he says, and something about his overly friendly tone makes me distrust him further. No one is this nice, especially when Tawny, his counterpart whose views he’s supposed to share, is so damn uptight about the rules of this place.
“I don’t need your help,” I say, attempting to step around him.
“Are you sure? You haven’t even heard my offer.”
“Whatever it is—”
“I assume, as a dragon, you get a little claustrophobic working in an enclosed environment like this one. If you’d like a day off to stretch your wings, I’m happy to help arrange it.”
“I don’t need a day off.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. It’s no trouble. By the way, what world did you say you’re from again?”
“I didn’t.”
He laughs. “Man of mystery, I respect that. I only ask because you remind me of this book character I read about ages ago. A dragon prince, as fate would have it, with an entire kingdom to rule—except that kingdom was poised to fall to an army of evil orcs set on world destruction. Can’t remember how it ends. ”
My hands fist at my sides, and I use every ounce of self-control I possess to keep from charring his flesh to ash right where he stands.
I have no idea how this asshole has figured it out, but he clearly knows my secret.
A secret that puts us all at risk, but most of all, Paige—a woman I'd kill to protect.
Except that, right now, her future hinges on me not killing.
And not allowing him to see me sweat.
“Sounds like quite a tale,” I say. “But the only kingdom I’m interested in protecting is this one. If you’ll excuse me.”
I shove past him before he can fire off another arrow, knowing full well I won’t withstand another attack.
Not without giving in to the temptation to rip his head off and let Bingo play fetch with it.
Keeping my shoulders square, I stride into Paige’s office and shut the door behind me with a sharp click.
Paige looks up from the text spread out over her desk, her eyes wide.
“You startled me,” she says, exhaling as she relaxes again.
“We need to talk.”