Page 6 of Saving Destiny

“Where is he?” I growl. The need to shift nearly causes feathers to erupt from my arms. I will peck out the culprit’s eyes and tear their body in half with my talons. The tether is causing my mate and my brother physical and emotional pain. I won’t tolerate it.

Zosia collapses onto her haunches, her tail lashing furiously. Her feathers are ruffled in agitation, and her wings extend from her back as if seeking to carry her away. She’s also swatting at her chest with an unwieldy paw as if she has a human hand to soothe her pain. I understand the desire because my ribcage feels like it's splitting in half. I might have mistaken the sharp twinges of pain for a heart attack if I didn’t have the healthy body of a shifter.

“He’s close,” Zo whimpers. She sounds like a tiny kitten, and I want to pull her into my arms.

“Kodi is still a guardian, and so are you. Seek him out through the bond you share,” Duggar tells me. He somehow manages to say it without the snide, mocking tone that every tutor of my youth used.

I still bristle at being commanded by a three-foot-tall, hairless garden gnome, but his point is valid. The bond is the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced, however, and I don’t know how to use it yet. With a touch of irony, I recall searching for Bren when he hid from me – usually after an episode.

I close my eyes and think of the ghostly pain in my ass. I want to punch him even though he isn't solid. I find that it doesn’t matter what kind of thoughts I think about him. Even plans for bodily harm give me a lead on his position. He’s on the academy’s campus, but much farther than he should be considering the size of the grounds. After a minute, I realize it must be because he’s in the sky. Height isn’t an issue for my beast.

My eyes pop back open. “I’ll retrieve him. They can’t tether him if I get him back onto the library’s property, right?” I ask the goblin. Duggar’s nod confirms my assumption.

Zosia rises to all fours, determination in her gaze as if she intends to join me, but I shake my head and crouch in front of her. The position still places my head above hers, but it prevents her neck bending backward. Her golden eyes shine with pain, worry, and … magic. The realization makes my heart pound with renewed awe. I’ve never met anyone who appears to contain pure magic; the goblins don’t count.

“You can’t leave the library’s protection, Zosia. This was intended as a trap from the beginning. They’ll take Kodi, but they want you. You’re far more valuable than him, and we can’t risk you getting tethered.”

“But ….” Another whimper accompanies her whining protest. It nearly sways me, and I’m not surprised. I could never deny Bren anything, either.

Avery rests his pale hand on the lioness’ shoulder. I don’t know how he manages to find it with such accuracy, but the vampire is as much an anomaly as the rest of us. “Garrett has a point, and you needn’t worry. I will aid him. We’ll return Kodi to the library where he’ll be safe from harm.”

I almost object to Avery’s offer, but a backup vampire might not be a bad idea. We don’t know what we’ll face beyond the library, and I’ve already decided that he’s more lethal than his pretty mannerisms suggest. Zo opens her mouth to argue, but I speak first.

“My brother needs you right now, Zosia.” I lower my voice even though Bren is beyond hearing me in his state. “He has these episodes … he struggles when the visions become overwhelming or if he sees a particularly bad ending. His farseeing abilities aren’t the extent of his skills. I can’t explain it or name it, but he has magic inside him that is unpredictable and extremely powerful. If he allows his control to lapse, an eruption could destroy the library, the campus, and the surrounding countryside for several miles.” I pause to let the gravity of my warning sink in, but I also pray my next words are true. “I think you might be able to calm him.”

Zosia’s eyes widen as they settle on Bren’s rocking form. Thankfully, I don’t see or sense judgment in her gaze. Addington couldn’t bear to look at my brother in this state. “I don’t know how to help or if I can. What do I do?”

“All you have to do is sit beside him and offer comfort. He may feel like a stranger to you, but it’s not the same for him. He’s seen you in his visions since he was a kid, and I’m sure your presence will be as effective as mine.” When he’d led me here, I’d immediately made the connection between the lovely librarian and his preoccupation with a ‘mystery girl.’ Zosia is the woman he’s dreamed about, talked about, and seen in his visions since they started. He’d never offered me a name or any details when I’d pried, so I’d started teasing him by calling the mystery girl his future wife. I’m still coping with the idea that the same woman is probably my mate.

Zosia hesitates, and her tail thumps against the wooden floor while she considers my words.

“Please,” I whisper in a choked voice. The foreign word tastes strange on my tongue.

I never beg because Addington punished me whenever the word crossed my lips. He was an alpha intent on training me to be his successor.Alphas don’t bow or plead with anyone,he’d yell, his eyes glowing yellow with his wolf’s rage. I’d silently disagreed with him that asking nicely qualifies as a weakness. If the words he spoke didn’t emerge as commands laced with contempt and disappointment, I might have listened to him more often.

He doesn’t matter anymore. Bren and Zosia are more important. The woman is my partner, employer, and my shifter’s mate. Bren is my brother. He’s provided purpose to my bleak existence since the day he was born.

The sphinx’s ears twitch as she studies Bren, but her tail isn’t thumping any longer, and she’s not arguing. I hope that she’s also considering the library because it’s the most important factor. Although it will pain her, guardians are replaceable. She is the only sphinx in existence. She and the library are ten times more important than all four guardians combined.

I reach toward her slowly and deliberately, offering her plenty of time to pull away. She’d allowed me to kiss her before she’d recovered the memories that included my horrid father. I’ve kissed many women, but her lips had elicited the strongest reaction I’ve ever felt. Unlike other women, her response had been authentic, innocent, and utterly addicting. It’s clear that she hasn’t experienced many kisses, and she didn’t have an ulterior motive. I’d known she wasn’t kissing me back to gain wealth, privilege, or a prized position beside an alpha shifter.

I’d wanted to do more than kiss her. I still wanted more, but the way she’d looked at me after she confronted her memories hadn’t been promising. Although neither of us was a carbon copy of our father, Bren and I have hints of him in our faces. I hate that she might see him when she looks at me, and it strengthens my resolve to destroy him … not that I needed any more reasons. The list is already surprisingly long.

When Zosia doesn’t shrink from me, I allow my calloused fingertips to coast lightly across the soft fur of her shoulder blade. Her coat feels almost plush, unlike my beast’s bristly pelt. I’d noticed her muscular upper body in her human form, honed by the constant use of her crutches and wheelchair. In this form, they’ve become powerful forelegs.

The transition between her human head and lioness body should appear more alien, but it’s practically seamless. A ruff of longer hair sprouts around her neck, resembling a natural collar, and the thick fur continues down her body. The coat shields her breasts and practically renders them inhuman. Although she possesses beautiful, generous breasts with visible nipples, her beast form only offers the vague outline of feminine curves. The difference placates my beast. Although shifters aren’t modest, I already share her. I couldn’t stand it if her assets were on display to every idiot that walked into the library.

I wrestle my thoughts back into neutral territory and speak in a hesitant tone. “I know we’ve just met, but give me a chance. Addington tried to create me in his image, but I did my damnedest to defy him. I want to be different from him in every way. My brother ….” I sigh heavily. “Bren is the reason I’ve dedicated myself to destroying that man. Will you please try to comfort him while I get your ghost?” My father would suffer a heart attack despite his superior shifter genetics if he knew I’d said please twice. I realize that I’m also manipulating Zosia in some way, though. It’s difficult to unlearn every lesson.

The sphinx studies my face as if searching for any sign of dishonesty. She must approve of what she sees because she nods. “I’ll try,” she whispers.

“Thank you,” I respond. Wasting no more time, I stand and gesture to the vampire before I remember that he can’t see it. He moves with such dexterity that it’s easy to forget. “Are you ready, Avery?”

My fellow guardian flashes a feral smile that displays his deadly fangs. My beast wants to shift immediately, but I control the transformation until we’re outside of the library. Zosia has too much on her mind to add more. Perhaps more to the point, my griffin might get distracted. He’s wanted to rub his scent all over her since she first shifted and perhaps before.

“Let’s get our ghost,” I mutter with grim determination as the vampire and I march from our sanctuary and into battle.

Chapter 4

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