Page 69 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

Then again, if we do nothing, every one of these books will be empty soon.

I take a deep breath.

My magic swirls to life the moment I call on it.

And just as quickly, I can feel it being drained.

Doing my best to hang on, I use it to recreate my vision of the library’s central hub. There’s no portal this time, no doorway to step through to take us there. Instead, the stacks around us fade away, replaced with the chamber I remember standing inside with Athenaeum herself.

The day she named me Hoc’s successor.

The day she revealed herself to me as the library’s spirit.

I blink and look around.

The heart of the library is a vast chamber, its ceiling soaring into darkness. The first time I stood here, everything was lit in bright white, but now gray shadows press in from all sides. In the center of the room is a table. On it lies a massive, ancient tome, glowing with an eerie, pulsating light.

And there, standing before the strange book, is Constantine.

His presence is overwhelming, a dark shadow that seems to suck the little bit of light from the room. His eyes, glowing with a malevolent gleam, fix on me with a hunger that makes my blood run cold.

“You think you can stop me?” he sneers, lifting his hand. Dark tendrils of magic spiral out from his fingertips, lashing toward me like living snakes.

I barely have time to react. I throw up a barrier, but it shatters under the force of his attack, the impact sending me sprawling to the ground. Pain explodes in my head as I hit the cold, stone floor, and for a moment, everything goes black.

“Paige!” Aries’ voice cuts through the haze, filled with panic.

I force myself to sit up, my vision swimming. Constantine’s magic presses down on me, suffocating, and I struggle to breathe, to think.

“You are nothing,” Constantine hisses, his eyes locked on me as he advances. “A child playing with forces beyond your understanding. Did you really think you could challenge me?”

My heart pounds in my chest, each beat a reminder of how close I am to losing everything. I reach out, trying to draw on my magic, but it feels distant, sluggish, as if Constantine’s darkness is sapping it away.

Desperate, I reach for the library’s magic, trying to draw from whatever’s left. But there’s nothing here. Only us and that strange book in the center of it all—pulsing as if alive.

“Get away from her!” Aries roars, and in an instant, he’s between us, his body a protective shield. His eyes blaze with fury, the dragon within him barely contained.

Constantine’s smile widens, his gaze shifting to Aries. “Ah, the dragon prince stripped of his birthright from his own people. So noble, so foolish.” He flicks his wrist, and a wave of dark energy slams into Aries, knocking him back.

“No!” I scream, struggling to my feet. But before I can do anything, Constantine turns his attention back to me, his magic tightening around my throat, lifting me off the ground.

I gasp and kick, clawing at the invisible force choking me, my vision darkening at the edges. Constantine’s eyes gleam with sadistic pleasure as he watches me struggle.

“This is the end for you, little mage,” he whispers, his voice a deadly promise.

I can feel my strength slipping away, my magic fading as the darkness closes in. I’m going to die here, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

But then, through the haze of pain and fear, I hear Aries’ voice filled with raw, desperate fury. “Let her go!”

Constantine merely laughs.

In the next instant, the entire chamber is engulfed in flames. Aries has unleashed his dragon fire, the intense heat and light searing through the darkness. The flames roar to life, consuming everything in their path.

Constantine’s grip on me falters as he reels back, his dark magic retreating in the face of the dragon’s fire. I drop to the ground, gasping for breath, as the inferno rages around us.

But the fire is uncontrollable, wild. It spreads across the floor, up the walls. The chamber vanishes, and the library itself returns as the vision I created bleeds away. A mirage only. We never left the stacks. And now, Aries’ fire licks across the shelves, lighting the books—incinerating everything.

“No!” I scream, rushing forward, but the flames drive me back again.

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