Page 65 of Dragon Compelled
“Yes. They gave him life in servitude for his crime.”
“That’s horrible! He tried to avenge his family and was sentenced to a lifetime of servitude for it?”
Phillip reaches out and touches my shoulder gently. “I agree that it seems unfair, and I cannot pretend to understand why he was sent here, only that he was.”
My mind drifts to the man who raised me. To memories of his kindness, his laughter. All the times I suffered nightmares and he sang to me as I fell asleep. Tears burn the corners of my eyes. He’d been in so much pain and I hadn’t even realized.
“I’m sorry, Paige, it is not my intention to make you sad.”
I force a half smile. “Thank you for telling me; it helps me to understand him a bit better.”
Philip offers me a smile of his own. “Good. Now, shall we get this over with? I imagine you are looking forward to getting back to your routine.”
“More than you can imagine.”
We make our way down the hall, and I’m surprised to see that Blossom has already gathered everyone. She stands beside Mag and Bingo while the gnomes and Kitty remain beside Aries. His blue gaze finds mine, and my heart skips a beat because, even though it makes no sense to me, I can feel his love for me through our bond.
“Thank you all for coming so quickly,” Phillip says. “I imagine you are all more than ready to get back to some semblance of normalcy.”
A distrust creeps up my spine, and it only takes one look at Aries to know that it’s his wariness I’m feeling. He doesn’t like Phillip. Just as he doesn’t like Oliver.
“Paige, join me.” Philip gestures to his right while Oliver remains on his left. With my gaze on Aries, I move closer to Phillip, though I keep a foot between us in an effort to appease Aries. It’s no surprise that Aries doesn’t like him. He despises Oliver, too, but with this new bond between us, I can feel how much.
It’s concerning, to say the least.
“With our third council member missing for more than two days now, we feel it’s time to replace her so we can get the vote she initiated out of the way. Do any of you disagree?” Phillip asks.
Silence.
Oliver clears his throat. “At this time, we ask you all to clear your mind and think only of your intention to appoint a new council member to replace Tawny. Think of nothing else.”
Phillip turns to me. “The rest is up to you, Librarian. Use your connection with the library to make your request.”
Even though I’ve been trying to connect with the library for weeks with no success, this moment suddenly feels different. With everyone else gathered here, there’s a thread of magic springing to life inside me that hadn’t been this strong before. I close my eyes and seek the power I sense deep inside of me. That place in my mind that only came into existence when I took over Hoc’s position.
Something shifts inside of me, a warmth that spreads straight through my body. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and my tattoo begins to pulse. It whispers to me in the language of the keepers—a voice inside my head. The library’s voice, I realize. All along, it was trying to communicate with me, but I shut it out just as I’d shut out my own magic.
A moment later, I open my eyes as a portal opens just before me.
Seeing it brings a quick smile to my face. I’ve finally connected to the library.
But that smile vanishes the moment my gaze locks on that of the man who’s walking through the swirling light. His arrogant smile will forever be burned into my brain as that of the worst kind of evil my world has ever seen.
“Hello, Nephew,” Constantine greets as he steps through the portal and right into our midst. “Well done.”
Nephew?
I follow Constantine’s gaze, horror and rage burning inside me as Oliver rips a knife from where he’s just plunged it into Phillip’s back. The older council member falls forward before crumpling on the floor, and Aries roars. “Uncle,” Oliver replies with a twisted smile. “Welcome back.”
Chapter20
Aries
The gnomes scream so loudly I am sure my eardrums will burst.
Before Phillip has fallen, I surge forward, a snarl ripping from my lips as I rush at Constantine.
He merely steps aside, and two monsters emerge from the portal behind him—intercepting me before I can snap the asshole’s neck. One is a giant, the likes of which I’ve only ever read about in Astronia’s history books. He stands at least three heads taller than me and carries a mace in his hand that he swings as if it weighs nothing. The other is a long-beaked bird of some kind with talons that look sharp enough to slice right through flesh.
