Page 60 of Light Magic

She stepped forward and hugged me tightly. “It’s good to see you.”

Ash came to us and patted my shoulder. “Everyone is worried about you.”

I almost rolled my eyes. “I know, but I’m good, I promise.”

I pulled back to see Kaz fuming at me. “I think I said only you and two witches.”

Kaz was an impressive dragon shifter. Tall and wide, wearing a leather vest that showed off his toned arms, and a large crossbow on his back. He had long brown hair on top with the sides shaved short, his eyes were dark green, and he had a light red scar across his left eye and eyebrow.

“I know but?—”

“I’m Leviathan, a higher demon, and I’m bonded with Ariella,” Levi said, in his most charming voice. “I’m here merely for her protection.”

“Is this true?” one of the other dragon shifters asked.

“Yes, we’re bonded,” I said, the words sour in my mouth.

Evelyn looked at me as if she wanted to know how that had happened. I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell her.

“Ariella, this is Trolin and Velak,” Kaz said, gesturing to the two older dragon shifters. Trolin had auburn hair tied in thick braids, and Velak had the sides of his head shaved and the remaining black hair in a mohawk. “They are part of the council.”

I frowned, taking in their leather clothes, their weapons, their hair. These dragon shifters sure looked like Vikings. I made a mental note to one day, when things were peaceful again, look up if there were any historical connections between Vikings and dragon shifters.

“We’re here to make sure you don’t take more than you need,” Trolin said. Clearly, Kaz had to convince them to do this.

“I assure you I won’t,” I said, firm and yet gentle.

I closed my hand around the coin Abbie had given me and the portal opened. Abbie and Lacey stepped through, and I introduced them to everyone.

“Wait.” Ash frowned. “The Grand Eternity Hall is a real place?”

Abbie nodded with a proud smile.

“What is the Grand Eternity Hall?” Evelyn asked.

“It’s a place of great knowledge and power,” Abbie said. “Imagine the ultimate supernatural library, museum, and prison all into one.”

“Wow.” Evelyn glanced at Ash. “And you knew about this place?”

Ash nodded. “Yes, my mother and sisters mentioned it a couple of times. Apparently, some old and powerful grimoires are in here, and they often joked about trying to steal them.”

“We do have many powerful grimoires,” Abbie said. “And thankfully, none have been stolen.”

“Oh, I would love to see those someday.”

Trolin and Velak cleared their throats.

“All right, we should get started,” Kaz said. “Evelyn and Abbie will perform the spell. Are you all ready?”

“Give us five minutes to talk about it,” Abbie said, approaching Evelyn.

The two of them walked among the five pillars, followed by Lacey and Ash, and I took a good look at the place. The pillars were made of smooth black stone, like the floor among them.

“Is this a special place?” I asked Kaz.

“It’s a meeting place,” he said. “For when we need to talk to other supernaturals.”

Right. Because the dragon shifters and the dragons didn’t want anyone to find their mysterious hidden island. For good reason. I bet dragons would be in terrible danger again if everyone knew where to find them.

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