Page 88 of Dragon Unleashed
“Maybe I would understand if you’d bothered to share the truth with me. I trusted you, Hoc. You’re like a father to me.”
The words fly from my mouth like an accusation.
His shoulders sag. “I know. And I tried to tell you so many times, I swear I did.”
From outside the door, a growl sounds. It’s low, but I recognize it as Aries. He’s listening, as promised, and that means he might still come through the wall as promised too. But my emotions are churning, and my thoughts are a heated mess, so I can’t bring myself to care.
“What does that mean?” I demand.
Hoc must hear the desperation in my voice because he lifts his gaze to mine and says, “The truth is your magic has the capacity to--”
“Well, well, well, what have we here?”
The voice comes from among the stacks and echoes throughout the library, slicing clean through the tension hanging on Hoc’s words. Hoc goes silent as Aries growls for real this time, and icy claws dig into my heart as my chest constricts.
“Looks like you all had a party without me,” the voice continues. “My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.”
I race from Hoc’s office and stop short at the sight of Constantine. He stands between two shelves, a sinister smile on his face.
Aries is at my side in an instant, Hoc flanking me.
Emerging from opposite ends of the library, Blossom and Mag both draw their swords and move to stand in front of us. I don’t know where the gnomes have gone, but I’m praying they aren’t far. Something tells me Constantine wouldn’t have exposed himself if he didn’t have a plan. And whatever that plan is, it can’t be good for us.
“What the fuck do you want, old man?” Blossom demands.
He ignores her and looks right at me. Dread coils in my gut, a deadly basilisk prepared to strike at any moment.
“Hey there, fucker,” Mag says darkly, waving his sword to get Constantine’s attention. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
“Oh? Can’t say the feeling is mutual. See, all of my attention has been on one particular up-and-coming keeper.” Constantine grins at me, and bile rises in my throat as I recall what Aries told me. That Constantine has been siphoning my magic away for his own horrific use. Magic I didn’t even know I had. “Hello, Paige.”
“What the hell do you want?” I clench my hands into fists.
“Your magic. I thought I made that quite clear.”
Behind me, Hoc snarls.
“Paige doesn’t have any magic.” Blossom spins her blade. “But I dare you to try and get to her.”
Constantine chuckles at her. “From the moment I saw you, I knew I liked your—what do humans call it? Moxy? It’s quite appealing, little unicorn.” He stalks closer to the bookshelf and runs his fingers over the spine of one of the books.
It wiggles beneath his touch, and I hold my breath. “Don’t,” I warn him. So far, no other creatures have shown up, and I can’t imagine he’d walk into our midst alone. But if he’s truly able to extract, he wouldn’t need to arrive with them.
“I’m not the one extracting them,” he says pointedly, and my blood runs cold. Aries had said as much, but I hadn’t wanted to believe him. Now, the need for answers is so strong that I can’t help asking the one person I know I shouldn’t trust.
“What kind of magic do I have?” I blurt.
Constantine’s eye gleams. He wants me to want his help. And I just played right into his hands.Dammit. “Your magic is the most potent thing I’ve ever tasted,” he says. “The stardust of creation itself.” His gaze flicks to Hoc, darkening with disapproval. “It’s a shame you’re not aware of your own potential. Almost as if those around you were jealous, trying to keep you from becoming more powerful than them.”
“Everything I’ve done is to protect Paige,” Hoc snarls.
“Your protection has only kept her locked up like a prisoner,” Constantine says, eyes flashing. “Though that’s clearly what you wanted, isn’t it?” Hoc snarls, but Constantine ignores him and looks at me again. “Someone has bound your power, Paige. And I’d wager the troll standing next to you had something to do with that.”
I don’t answer, but my silence clearly gives away my distrust. Hoc snarls again, this time with Aries joining him.
“If you want, I can unbind your magic,” Constantine says.
“Stay the hell away from her,” Aries warns.
