Page 7 of Dragon Compelled
Aries crosses his arms. “You know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” I push my glasses back on my face. “I will sleep when Hoc is home safe. I will eat when I can share a meal with him again. And I will smile when it’s me greeting him at the start of a new day.” The vise that has been around my heart since his disappearance tightens further. “Until then, the survival of this library is all I can focus on.”
“Paige—”
“No.” I throw up a hand.
“I love you,” he growls. His gaze darkens, evidence of the battle he wages to keep his dragon in check. With a deep breath, his eyes clear again. “It’s why I’m worried.”
“Then you need to let me do what I need to do. Please, Aries. Don’t push me on this.”
I can see the argument on his face, the way his jaw hardens just before he pushes back, but he relents—this time. “What about the council? Have you heard back from them?”
Sighing, I sink down into the chair. “I haven’t even been able to reach out. I can’t find any contact information for them. I’ve searched every single file on Hoc’s computer and in his cabinets, and the only thing I found out is what I already knew. The council consists of three humans who live everyday lives in the Earth realm and moonlight as the trio who ensure the library’s wishes are upheld. They are chosen at random by the library itself and receive a message that, upon reading, grants them the knowledge of the keepers that have come before them. A magical download of information, essentially.”
“Magical download?”
“Like a computer in their brain,” I explain, then scan my memory for the easiest way to relate it to something a man who comes from a world with no technology will understand. And then, I remember the one movie night I let myself have last week. “Like, remember on the Matrix? When Neo takes the red pill and can suddenly see through the simulation?”
“Ahh, yes.” He nods.
“Once they are chosen and have gotten the memories, they manage keeper sentences, vote on who gets ousted, and will even call for a vote to elect a new council member in case one of them becomes unable to perform their duties. But what I don’t understand is why there is no contact information to reach them. A ‘break glass in case of emergency’ type system.” I groan. “According to the records, they won’t show up unless there’s an issue. Well, I consider this one mountain of an issue, and yet they are still a no-show.”
“Paige, maybe there is no issue. Maybe, you are where you’re supposed to be.”
His words bring me none of the comfort I know he was aiming for. “No issue?” I demand, glaring up at him. “Hoc is missing, and the library putme—someone who hasn’t even come close to completing her training, has uncontrollable magic, and unleashed a dragon, in charge. I would consider that one big problem. The library is broken. It has to be.”
He cocks his head to the side. “This dragon has no complaints.”
“Yes, you do. You want to be home just as badly as I want Hoc back.”
Aries steps forward and gently grips my chin. He rubs the pad of his thumb over my lips. “I want to be wherever you are.”
“Your home needs you, Aries. And I know that.”
“You have no idea what you mean to me.” He leans in and presses his lips to mine. “But I understand your desires, and I want to grant you everything you need.” After one final kiss, he pulls back and sighs. “Mag and I are going out again tomorrow. We managed to search two worlds today. There are only so many they can be hiding in.”
“Yeah. Hundreds,” I remind him bleakly. “There are literally hundreds of books that were knocked from the shelves during Constantine’s attack, which means he and Hoc could be in any one of them.” It all feels so hopeless, so pointless. But I don’t vocalize it.
Aries’ world needs him, no matter what he tries to tell me, and I hate that agreeing to become a servant of the library, even just for now, meant giving up on the chance for him to return home. But the library makes the rules, not me. And Aries claims he’s fine with it—which is just another reason I am incredibly grateful for the love of this man.
“We will find them,” Aries promises me. “I won’t let you down.”
“You couldn’t ever let me down, Aries.” I turn back toward my computer. “I need to get back to work.”
He nods. “I will bring you food.”
“No need.” I hold up the uneaten granola bar I’d brought in for breakfast.
Aries scrunches his face in disgust. “That’s not dinner.”
“Dinner?” I look up at him then check the clock.Crap. Forgot to eat again.“Oh, yeah, it will be fine. I had a big lunch.”
“What did you eat?”
“Food,” I lie. “Can I get back to work? I have about three-hundred shelving requests to comb through.”
Aries studies me. “Is there no one who can help? Blossom—”
