Page 48 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
Sadly, even when I combined all the knowledge from my mother's books with all the knowledge I could glean from the books in the public library, I still didn't feel much smarter in the end. Visions seemed to be a super nebulous topic that nobody knew much about.
My last hope was going to the biggest library that existed on Dragon Island. I had to call my friend Kylan, whose family owned the place. He wasn't often on the island, living in human territory with his human mate, but I was in luck. Kylan offered to meet me in front of his family's manor that day. "I'm glad you're on the island," I greeted my friend when I got there.
"I never miss the solstice," he reminded me. "My mate and daughter would never let me hear the end of it. Never mind my mother." He laughed a little. "But we are actually thinking about moving back here full-time."
"Really?" That was the first I heard of it. Kylan and I had only become friends in recent years, but for as long as I'd known him, he always seemed to enjoy living in human territory. Apparently, he'd left the island as a young child and got accustomed to life on the mainland even if it didn't come with all the luxuries he'd had here. I eyed the large manor behind him. Kylan's family was an old one. Old money, and lots of it. It wasn't by coincidence that they owned a library bigger than the island's public one.
Kylan gave me a half-shrug. "Mecca really likes spending her summers here and she's said that she wouldn't mind being around people of her own kind more often. Michael and I always planned to let her chime in on where she wanted to grow up when she was old enough, and if this is what she wants, we're thinking about it."
I nodded. Mecca was Kylan's daughter. It made sense that the little dragon girl would want to be around her peers more. "It would be nice if you moved back here."
"It might be," Kylan agreed. "But that's not what you came here to talk about, is it? You wanted access to the library?"
"Yes, if you could let me in there for a bit. There's something I need more information about."
"I don't mind." Kylan started to walk toward the house. I fell into step beside him. "What is it that you want to know, though? Maybe we can help you look."
We? Was his whole family inside? That shouldn't have surprised me. They were all major book nerds. "I'd like to know more about..." I licked my lips. What was the best way to phrase this without telling my friend exactly what was going on? I wasn't ready for everyone to know yet. This island was so small the information would spread like wildfire. "I need to know more about our religion," I said eventually. "Especially the way our priests communicate with our Gods."
"The runes?" Kylan asked, eyes narrowed.
"The runes and the visions," I added.
"Why are you researching this?"
I looked at Kylan. "I can't tell you everything yet, but it might affect my mate."
Kylan opened the door to the house, his forehead in wrinkles. I hoped my explanation would be enough. Kylan had found his fated mate too. He must know what it felt like when there was nothing you wouldn't do for them. No stone you would leave unturned.
"You found your mate?" he asked.
"Yeah," I met Kylan's gaze to impress on him how serious I was being. "I need this information to protect him."
"Okay," he said slowly, and I could tell that he believed me. "Religious texts and texts about religion. I'm sure we can find something." Without further ado, he led me to the library, the sound of our footsteps echoing in the wide hallways as we walked.
"Thank you."
He shook his head. "I just hope you can figure this out."
Me too.I didn't voice that thought, but I knew it was apparent on my face anyway.
When Kylan and I reached the library, his mate and daughter were already there, seated at a table by the window. Michael was reading what looked like a novel and the little girl next to him had a book on her lap that seemed way too big for her, but the smile on her face showed how happy she was. The image tugged on the corners of my lips as well. My friend had found happiness with his family—and I would do anything to give my mate the same thing, starting with my research here.
"I think we should start looking on the second floor," Kylan said in a hushed tone of voice that fit the setting we were in. "Most of the non-fiction books are there."
"All right."
Together, we went up the stairs and started looking. There were a ton of books in this place. Old, leather-bound tomes that smelled of ancient ink, but not of dust. Kylan's family kept this place meticulously clean.
It didn't take me long to find a row of books with titles likeThe Legacy of the Sun GoddessandThe Truth in Religion.I could only hope that they had sections on visions and how to interpret them too. My whole life, I'd run away from my special abilities, trying to suppress them and forget they existed... now I was searching this library for answers.
Taking all the books that seemed likely to hold even a kernel of information, I retreated to a table and started reading.
To my dismay, most of the texts were extraordinarily dry, written by scholars who didn't realize that not everyone might be as excited by their knowledge and the minutiae of their research as they were. I kept working anyway. These scholars could bore me all they wanted if they could only help me prevent the horrible fate I had seen in my dream.
I couldn't let any of it come true.
When the first book didn't hold the answers I was looking for, I started in on the next one. My eyes grew heavy after some time, but I didn't care. Immediately after book two, I flipped open book three. I glanced at the stack next to me. There were still four more after this one.
