Page 8 of Dragon Unleashed
Her eyes glitter. “Not yet.”
I shake my head, cutting in before blood can be spilled. “Okay, before we make a mess on the newly cleaned rug, let’s just agree Blossom is not going to cover for you.”
“Someone gets me,” Blossom says. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my shift is over, and there’s a pint with my name on it waiting for me at my favorite tavern. Later.”
She strides down the dimly lit hall before tossing her wrist out casually in front of her. The symbol tattooed on her skin glows to life, and a portal appears before her. She doesn’t break stride as she marches right into the murky ether of the portal and then disappears.
Mag sighs and slowly turns away. “Great,” he mutters.
“I’ll do it,” I blurt.
He stops and turns back. “Really?” Hope blooms in his light eyes then is quickly squashed as he shakes his head, gesturing to the tattoo on his wrist. “Keeper duties have to be done by someone with the mark.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t.”
“Look, if it were up to me, sure. I promised my little brother I’d show up for his playoff game tonight.”
“You have a brother?”
“I have three.”
“Oh.”
I try not to seem surprised, but Mag never talks about himself, at least, not to me. He’s the most mysterious person I’ve ever known, and considering the creatures that make up this place, that’s saying something.
“Well, maybe you can ask one of the gnomes—offer them Sour Patch candy. That always works for me.”
“Already did. It’s Ned’s birthday, so they’re busy.”
I bite my lip, all too aware of the opportunity this presents. “Look, the truth is I need this,” I tell him. “I fucked up a few days ago, and Hoc’s up my ass about it.”
He smirks. “Is this about the troll? Because Blossom was pissed about her shoes.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. Look, Hoc said it was my last strike, or I’m done here.”
“Damn, kid. That’s harsh.”
I straighten. “If I can successfully hold down the fort on my own, Hoc will ease up, and maybe it’ll win me some brownie points before graduation. Besides, I’m three weeks out. I’ll be a full keeper soon enough, so it’s not like I’m a total newb.”
He hesitates, and I can see him considering it. I cross my fingers because this is seriously the best thing I know to prove to Hoc I can do this. The look of disappointment he gives me every time he sees me now is just too damn much to handle. Being a keeper might not be my dream, but I can’t lose Hoc.
“I don’t know,” Mag says.
“Just take a couple of hours,” I reply, talking far faster than normal. “It’s not that long, but your brother will know you showed up. And besides, Bingo is here with me. I’m not completely alone. Worst case scenario, I’ll release the hound.” It’s meant as a joke because we both know there is no way in hell—pun intended—I’m going anywhere near the obsidian dog with impenetrable skin and blazing red eyes.
Nope.
Definite pass.
Even with the keeper mark, that hound terrifies me.
Mag eyes me, considering.
“Two hours,” he concedes, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I blink, eyes widening. “Seriously? Shit, thanks, Mag. You won’t regret it.”
His expression transforms, and suddenly, the easygoing playboy is gone, replaced with a stone-faced—and I mean that literally—gargoyle warrior. “I seriously hope not, Paige. Because if you get my ass busted, I will kick yours all the way through one of these dead-end portals, got it?”
