Page 3 of Tempest Blazing
Commander Hayes barely glanced at the shelf. Instead, she stepped closer to me, her eyes sharp and calculating. "What exactly did you do when this... person... allegedly attacked you?"
There it was again. Allegedly. Like she thought I was lying.
"I created a Golden Shield to protect myself. It's a defensive spell—"
"A Golden Shield." One of the men spoke up, his tone skeptical. "That's advanced magic, Miss Whittaker. Quite advanced for someone who's only been bonded for a few weeks. Seems like overkill for a simple break-in, don't you think? A basic ward would have been more appropriate."
The implication hung in the air like smoke. Too advanced. Too convenient. Too suspicious. But what he didn't understand—what none of them understood—was that I couldn't cast basic wards. My human magic was limited to whatever spells I could access through Thalon's power, and apparently that meant the complicated stuff came as easily as breathing while the simple protective magic remained completely beyond my reach.
My temper flared, golden sparks dancing at my fingertips before I clenched my fists to suppress them. "Are you suggesting I made this up? That I attacked myself?"
"We're not suggesting anything," Commander Hayes said smoothly. "We're simply trying to understand what happened. Sometimes, when people are under stress, they can misinterpret—"
"I know what I saw." My voice came out harder than intended. "Someone broke into the Library, stole a book, and attacked me when I tried to stop them. Instead of questioning me like I'm the criminal, maybe you should be figuring out how they got past your security."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Commander Hayes's expression went cold, professional mask slipping just enough to show something uglier underneath.
"Miss Whittaker, I understand you're new to our world, but there are protocols here. Security protocols that exist for everyone's protection." She stepped closer, voice dropping to something that might have been a threat wrapped in silk. "Protocols that require cooperation and... discretion... from all members of our community."
The words sent ice through my veins. Was she threatening me? Warning me to keep quiet?
Before I could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the section again. Multiple sets, but these moved with different authority—heavier, more deliberate. The security team immediately straightened, hands moving away from weapons.
"Stand down." The voice that rang out was unmistakably Silvius Ellesar's, cold and commanding. "We'll handle this from here."
Commander Hayes's jaw tightened, but she stepped back. "Lord Protector. We were just—"
"Dismissed."
The single word cut through any protest. The security team filed out without another word.
Into the sudden quiet came a parade of figures that made my stomach clench with new anxiety. Silvius led the way, his silver hair gleaming and those piercing blue eyes already fixed on me with obvious displeasure. The air around us suddenly grew thick with heat and the scent of sulfur as Moriyana's massive form materialized in the space behind him. Theron followed, but something was different about his bearing—he wasn't here as my instructor. He wore full Rider gear, sword at his side, moving with the alert readiness of someone on duty.
And behind them, two figures I recognized from news broadcasts and political coverage: Elara Windmere, the Fae councilor whose glamoured appearance couldn't quite hide the ancient power radiating from her, and Dorian Vail, the vampire whose pale perfection and crimson tie pin screamed old-world aristocracy.
My heart sank. This wasn't just a security incident anymore. This was political. But why were all these high-ranking officials responding to what should have been a routine security breach? The question must have been obvious in my expression, because Theron caught my eye and offered the briefest explanation.
"Council meeting," he said quietly. "Conference room three floors up when the alarms went off."
"Miss Whittaker." Silvius's voice could have frozen flame. "Perhaps you'd care to explain why half the Library's defensivewards are screaming about unauthorized magical combat in a restricted section?"
"Someone broke in," I said, keeping my voice as steady as possible. "They attacked me when I tried to stop them from stealing a book. I defended myself."
Dorian Vail stepped forward, his movements predatorily graceful. "How convenient that this alleged intruder left no trace. No magical signature, no physical evidence." His pale eyes fixed on me with unsettling intensity. "Almost as if they never existed at all."
The accusation in his tone made my magic flare, golden light flickering between my fingers before I forced it down. "Are you calling me a liar?"
"I'm calling this situation... curious." Dorian's smile was sharp as glass. "A human claims to have fought off an intruder using advanced magic, yet our security detected nothing until her own magical signature lit up every ward in the building."
"The situation is more than curious—it's concerning." Theron's voice cut through the tension with quiet authority. "If someone breached the Library's defenses, that represents a significant security failure that affects all of us." He stepped forward, his posture alert and professional. "Regardless of who reported it or how they defended themselves, any threat to the Library's collection should be our primary focus."
Silvius shot him a sharp look. "Theron—"
"With respect, Lord Protector, this is exactly the kind of incident we've been preparing for since the Harbinger Forest attack." Theron's tone remained measured, but there was steel underneath. "Someone penetrated restricted areas and accessedprotected materials. That's not a personnel issue—that's a security crisis."
I felt a flicker of surprise at his support. He wasn't defending me personally, but he was taking the threat seriously in a way the others weren't. There was something reassuring about his objectivity, his focus on the actual problem rather than the politics surrounding it.
"Enough."Moriyana's mental voice carried quiet authority that made everyone pause."The Library itself confirms an intrusion occurred. Its defenses were breached, and Miss Whittaker acted to protect both herself and the collection."
