I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and leaned back in my chair, my eyes aching from the strain of reading. I was aboutto stand and stretch when the creak of the office door opening made me jump. My heart leapt into my throat as I turned to see Theron stepping inside.
Gods, he was unfairly handsome. The sharp planes of his face, the strong cut of his jaw, the way his thick black hair looked perpetually tousled, as if someone had just run their fingers through it. And those eyes—emerald green, piercing and intense, like he could see straight through me. He had the kind of presence that made the air feel heavier, like he carried the weight of unspoken things on his broad shoulders. No wonder my heart was still thumping.
“You’re jumpy,” he said. The door clicked shut behind him.
“And you’re sneaky,” I shot back. “What are you doing here?”
His presence felt out of place. Theron wasn’t the type to seek me out unless it was for training—and even then, he often seemed reluctant, like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, his tone clipped. “It’s getting late, and you’re alone. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is right now?”
I rolled my eyes, even as my pulse quickened. “I’m in a magical library surrounded by wards. I think I’ll survive.”
Theron crossed the room in a few long strides, his presence dominating the small space. He leaned against the edge of my desk, his arms crossed over his chest. “You’re too trusting. The Harbingers aren’t just some shadowy organization lurking in the dark. They’re here, Tess. In the Guild. In the library. Probably watching you right now.”
A chill ran down my spine, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. “What am I supposed to do? Hide under my desk and hope they go away?”
“That would be a start,” he muttered, his tone dry but his eyes serious. “You’re the first human Dragon Rider, and a librarian on top of that. You’re a threat to everything they stand for. They’ll come for you, Tess. It’s not a matter ofif—it’swhen.”
I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling over me like a lead blanket. “I’m not going to stop. If anything, this makes me more determined.”
Theron’s jaw tightened, his frustration evident. “You’re stubborn, I’ll give you that.”
“And you’re overbearing,” I shot back, my tone sharper than I intended. “But thanks for the pep talk.”
His lips twitched, almost forming a smirk, but his eyes remained hard. “I’m serious, Tess. You can’t trust anyone. Not fully. The Harbingers have a way of getting to people, turning them. Even within the Guild.”
The implication hit me like a punch to the gut. “You think there are spies here? In the library?”
“I’d bet my life on it,” he said, his voice low and grim. “Be careful who you share your findings with. Trust the wrong person, and it could cost you everything.”
“Why do you even care?” The words came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t back down. “Aren’t I just another annoying human who doesn’t know her place?”
I knew I was pushing him, but the question burned inside me. I still remembered the first time I met Theron, before I ever set foot in the Dragonne Library. There had been an undeniablepull between us, a spark of chemistry that neither of us acknowledged but both of us felt. Back then, he had been gruff but not entirely closed off.
But everything changed when I bonded with Thalon. After that, Theron’s walls had gone up like an impenetrable fortress, and every interaction was laced with tension, an unspoken battle neither of us fully addressed.
He was my instructor—I shouldn’t have been thinking about him that way. But my body and my magic didn’t seem to care. They were constantly drawn to him, as if something fundamental in me recognized something fundamental in him.
His jaw tightened, a muscle ticking in his cheek. For a moment, the mask of cynicism he always wore cracked, revealing something raw beneath. Concern? No, that couldn’t be right. Not Theron.
“You think I enjoy this?” he asked. “Watching someone as reckless as you get closer to being a target every damn day?” He straightened, towering over me. “You’re playing with fire, and you don’t even realize how badly you can get burned.”
He leaned in closer, his presence overwhelming. The faint scent of pine and smoke curled around me, clouding my thoughts. His gaze lingered on my lips, and my breath hitched. Heat radiated from him, drawing me toward him.
For a heartbeat, I thought he might kiss me. The thought sent a jolt of panic—and something else—through me. But just as quickly as the moment came, it passed. A distant noise echoed through the library, shattering the spell
Theron pulled back, his expression hardening once more. “I mean it,” he said, his voice clipped. “Don’t take this lightly.”
With that, he turned and strode to the door, his cloak sweeping behind him. He didn’t look back as he left, leaving me alone with my racing heart and a thousand unanswered questions.
“What the hell was that?”
???
