Page 23 of Dragon Compelled
“As in—an employment contract stating his role here?”
His words jolt my memory and it flashes with an image of the contract Mag and Blossom both received when they became keepers. Oliver must be referring to that. Shit. “I’ll have to find where Hoc filed it,” I lie again.
Oliver nods. “Just make sure the paperwork is in order, and I’d say you’re good to go.” He looks Aries up and down. “You’re not human.”
“You are,” Aries replies. The threat is there, just behind his blue eyes, but Oliver doesn’t register it. Or, if he does, he pays it no mind.
He just turns back to me. “Well, Paige, you ready to continue our tour? Aries, you’re free to tag along if you’d like.”
“I need a moment with Paige, and then I have my own work to get to.”
Oliver shrugs. “Sounds good. Meet you in the break room.” He starts whistling then strolls down the hall, hands in his pockets, as I pull Aries into my office.
My heart is racing. Pounding a million miles a minute with the force of my nerves. “That could have been so bad. And I lied.Twice.We don’t have a document. What are we going to do?”
“Paige—” Aries starts.
I snap my fingers. “I’ll make one. Hoc has a signature stamp he used for the catalog cards.”
“Paige.”
I stop and look up at him. “What is it?”
He sighs and runs a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m getting ready to leave again and wanted to—”
“What is it?” I ask again. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Just—the more books we go into, the more I worry.”
“About?”
“You. What if we don’t find him, Paige? What then?”
“You will find him,” I say simply. “Because he is out there, trying to get home.”
“Paige—”
“No,” I snap, fear clogging my throat until I can barely breathe around it. “I will not have this discussion with you, Aries. Hoc is fine. He’s going to come home, and then things can go back to normal.” I am fully aware of how unreasonable I sound, but I can’t help it. The only thing keeping me sane is the idea that Hoc will return, and I’ll be able to get my life back.
“For who?” Aries asks.
“For all of us.”
“So, you’re still planning to go to Astronia with me?”
I stiffen, feeling the weight of my promise to him crushing down on me. Truthfully, I want nothing more than to leave this place. But I can see the worry all over his handsome face. Like our future is slipping away from us both. So, I step forward and cup his face with my hands. “Yes, Aries. I want to go to Astronia with you. But I can’t do that and run this place. So, find me Hoc, and help me get things back to normal. Then, I’m all yours.”
Aries’s smile is blinding, and he crushes his mouth to mine.
* * *
“This place is huge,”Oliver says as we finally reach the final leg of our tour. We’ve been at it for hours, and while it hasn’t been overly helpful for me, I’ve enjoyed watching the shock on his face. Like a kid in a candy store.
“It has to be.”
“Fair point.” He shakes his head in wonder. “It must be cool to be here all day every day. Walking amongst these different worlds.”
“It’s something,” I reply with a smile. Once, the library held that kind of awe for me too. Now, the only thing that brings me that kind of awe and excitement is Aries.
