Page 32 of Tempest Blazing
"How did you hear about me?" he asked suddenly, interrupting my question about legitimate business licenses.
I hesitated a beat too long. "Through the academic underground network. My position at the Library gives me access to certain resources."
Something about this felt wrong—like I was being led down a path I couldn't see.
"Not many humans know about our message systems," Garanth observed, studying me too carefully.
"As you noted, I'm not exactly typical."
"No," he agreed softly. "You certainly aren't."
Ice crawled down my spine. But before I could form an excuse to leave, he reached into his jacket.
I tensed, but he only withdrew what looked like an old coin, tarnished silver with worn edges.
"Perhaps this will help illustrate our old methods," he said, placing it on the table between us. "A relic from the underground networks. We used these for identification, passing messages."
The coin sat innocuously on the dark wood, looking like nothing more than an antique. "Go ahead—examine it. Your Library would probably find it fascinating. You can still feel the old enchantments if you're sensitive to such things."
Every instinct I had screamed danger. My hand jerked back instinctively. My mother had taught me to recognize manipulation, and this felt like bait in a trap. But the coin looked harmless—just old metal with worn markings. And this was my job, preserving supernatural history.
Professional curiosity, I told myself. That's all.
My fingers moved toward the coin. Behind Garanth, I saw Draven surge to his feet.
The instant my skin touched the metal, I knew I'd fucked up.
Ice flooded my veins. Power crashed through me—cold, grasping, wrong. My stomach dropped like I'd missed a step, lungs compressing as reality twisted. Portal magic seized me in an iron grip.
The trap had been perfectly laid, and I'd walked right into it.
Garanth's pleasant mask finally fell away, revealing something sharp and inhuman beneath.
"The boss has been waiting to meet you," he said, voice dropping to demonic registers. "The first human Dragon Rider—what a prize."
"No—" I tried to pull back, but the portal had me.
"Did you really think we wouldn't know? That we wouldn't be watching?"
Draven was already moving, taking the stairs three at a time. His eyes blazed amber, incubus nature breaking through his careful control. But Garanth raised one hand, almost lazily, and invisible barriers slammed down around us.
"Your dragon can't save you here, little rider."
Books tumbled from shelves as magical energy warped the space. The portal widened, reality tearing like wet paper. Someone downstairs screamed. The comfortable atmosphere of Books 'n' Brews shattered.
Draven hit the barrier at full speed, power crackling around him in waves that made the air recoil. His human mask was completely gone now—all incubus fury and lethal grace.
"TESS!"
But the portal had me, pulling me backward into freezing darkness. The sensation was like being turned inside out, every nerve screaming as dimensions folded wrong. The last thing I saw was Draven attacking the wards with raw power, his face a mask of protective rage.
Garanth's final taunt followed me into the void, "Let's see how special you really are."
Then everything went black, and I fell into nothing.
Chapter 14
Draven
