Page 39 of Tempest Awakening

She nodded, determination etched on her face. "I'll be careful, Kane. I'll gather as much information as I can before I even think about approaching him."

For a moment, doubt crept in. Was I putting Tess in danger unnecessarily?

I thought of Mason, of the scars he tried to hide, of the haunted look in his eyes the morning after a bad nightmare. The underground fighting ring had to be stopped, not just for his sake, but for all the others trapped in its grip.

No, I decided.

The risk was high, but the potential reward was higher. I had come too far to turn back now. Whatever complications arose, I would adapt. I would use them to my advantage.

This wasn't just about me anymore. And if using Tess was the key, then so be it.

Chapter 14

Tess

The ping of an incoming call echoed through my new office, my phone vibrating on the antique desk. I looked up from the interview questions I'd been refining for the oral history project. Maddie's name flashed on the screen, and my stomach clenched.

This was the first time she'd reached out since I'd left Sacramento two weeks ago.

Taking a deep breath, I answered. "Hey, Mads."

"Tess? Where the hell are you?" Maddie's voice was full of exasperation.

How much should I tell her? A part of me wanted to share my excitement about this incredible opportunity, but I hesitated. Knowing my family, they'd probably try to use my new job to boost their own status. I could already imagine Mom bragging to her friends about her daughter's "prestigious librarian position," conveniently forgetting she'd kicked me out.

And Maddie... she'd likely want to visit, to see if she could leverage my new connections for her own benefit. No, it was better to keep things vague.

"I'm okay, Maddie. I found a job and a place to live."

"Already? Where?"

"It's in a small town in Northern California. I'm working as a librarian."

It wasn't a lie, just... an abbreviated truth.

"A librarian, again?" Maddie scoffed. "Well, I guess all those years with your nose in a book keep paying off."

I bit back a retort. If only she knew where those books had led me. But I couldn't tell her. This job, this opportunity—it was mine. For once in my life, I had something that was truly, solely mine, and I was determined to protect it.

"It's a good fit for me," I said instead. "The town is beautiful, and the library has some fascinating collections."

"Uh-huh," Maddie replied, clearly losing interest. "Well, thanks to your little adventure, Mom's been calling me non-stop. It's like she thinks I'm her personal secretary or something."

And there it was. The real reason for her call.

As Maddie launched into a litany of complaints about the tense atmosphere in Sacramento, I found my mind wandering. My gaze drifted around the office, settling on a small, intricately carved wooden box perched on a nearby shelf.

That box again. The one that held the fire opal pendant.

In the last two weeks, it seemed to pop up everywhere, always catching my eye at the oddest moments. The box hummed with a faint energy, almost as if it were calling to me. But there was something else, too—a subtle pressure in the air, a gentle but insistent nudge that I was beginning to recognize as the Library itself.

I couldn't shake the feeling that the Library was deliberately putting the box in my path, using its influence to guide myattention. The box's presence felt less like coincidence and more like a carefully orchestrated encounter. As the sensation grew stronger, I found myself fighting the urge to stand up, walk over, and open the box.

"Are you even listening?" Maddie's voice cut through my thoughts.

"Sorry, what?"

She sighed dramatically. "Never mind. I've got to go anyway. Just... don't disappear again, okay?"

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