Page 26 of Dragon Compelled
“Are you hurt?” I demand, protectiveness rushing through me. I’ll kill him. Slaughter them all where they stand.
“No.” She reaches for my hand and squeezes it reassuringly. The touch soothes me, but my dragon is not in the least bit calmer for it. “Everyone’s fine. Blossom got to us quickly and took care of it. But Tawny showed up and demanded answers and...”
“What?”
“That shelf couldn’t have simply fallen over,” she says, and I realize exactly why she looks so afraid.
Fury rises inside me, coating me with worry on behalf of the woman I love. “You think Constantine was here.”
“Who else could it be?” she whispers. “Unless...” She trails off, her fear turning to anguish.
“Unless what?”
“What if it was me?” Her voice is so low, just above a whisper.
“No,” I say firmly.
“It’s possible. I was startled, and maybe my magic slipped out and affected that book.”
“And what about the shelf?” I ask. “Was that your magic too?”
“Maybe I freed the werewolf first and he knocked over the shelf? I don’t know. I keep asking myself who’s responsible, me or Constantine, and honestly, either option terrifies me.”
My chest tightens because all I want to do is tell her everything will be all right. No, more than that. What I want to do is kill everything hurting her and make it okay again. Anything to put a smile back on her beautiful face. But Constantine eludes me still, and as for Paige’s magic... that’s not a battle I can fight for her. Nor is it something we’ve talked about since Hoc disappeared. Every time I try to bring it up, she changes the subject.
“If it’s Constantine, I’ll find him,” I tell her fiercely. “I swear it, Paige. I will destroy him for what he’s done to you. But if your magic is endangering you—”
“I know, I know, I have to find a way to shut it out better.”
“No, you have to find a way to harness it.”
She visibly pales. “How? Hoc was the only one with answers.”
I shake my head. “You’re the smartest, most capable woman I’ve ever met. And the magic you have never should have been kept from you. That was his mistake, but it doesn’t mean we can’t find a way to control it.”
“That day in his office, Hoc admitted he knew and never told me about it,” she says quietly.
“I’m sorry he kept it from you.”
“He said it was for my own good.” Pain flashes in her eyes. “But what does that mean?”
“He didn’t give you any answers then?” I ask grimly.
She shakes her head. “There wasn’t time. And I was so angry at him. I didn’t even have a chance to make up before he was gone.”
“He knew you loved him, Paige.”
“I hope so. It’s my biggest regret.” She meets my gaze. “Not telling him how I truly felt before he disappeared.”
Silence envelopes us, and with it, a fresh wave of guilt settles over me. Isn’t that what I’m doing now? Keeping how I truly feel from her?
“I’m so sorry, Aries.” She gestures to the table. “Did you really do all this for me?”
“Don’t apologize, my love.”
She looks up at me with watery eyes. “Did you cook for me?”
I smile, brushing her hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. “I did my best.”
