Page 55 of Feathers and Scales

Keiran continued, “You need to deal with these Tattered Ones swiftly, or I’ll have to remove her from Pentros. Silas will remain in Dyamur Territory, monitoring your behavior. Don’t fuck this up. I don’t want to demote you, but I will if I must.”

The frustration in Daxton’s chest made him grind his teeth.Just when I think I’m getting back to normal after the incident, I’m back to having a babysitter. Great.

Izzy breathed in the grassy and vanilla scents of ink and decaying glue. She squeezed through the tiny aisles with another book in hand until she reached a large rectangular table and a leather-backed metal chair that sat in the center of the room. Next to it lay two large chests filled with the Archives.

It was paradise.

Later that afternoon, she read her fifth Centurion journal written in Castilian Spanish.The Keepers want to hide the knowledge written by the Tribunal: six dragons that came to Earth from the Garden. Our ancestors. Ones that secreted away our traditions into the codices. My life’s mission is to find their resting places. What truths can they tell us about our origins?

Voices filtered into the room. Serephina’s stern yet airy tone and a deeper voice. Steady footsteps thudded against the floor.

Izzy’s shoulders straightened with anticipation, her mouth tightening against an unexpected grin.Stop that nonsense. Daxton can wait until after I finish this passage…

The visitor sat on the opposite side of the table. Heated inhuman energy crashed against her skin.

That’s not Daxton’s presence.She frowned and gazed over the stacked books before her.

“Ouch,” Keiran murmured. “Don’t look so upset that I’m not Daxton.”

Why hadn’t she picked up on Keiran’s aura earlier? And where had Serephina gone?

His dragon watched her with glinting metallic eyes. The heavy weight of his stare left her eyes sore. She fiddled with the pages of the open book. His company unnerved her, and from the look he gave her, he knew it.

“You’re mistaken.” To escape his intensity, she returned to the book, heart galloping in her rib cage. “The interruption disturbed me.”

“Ahh.” The murmur said he didn’t believe her. “Daxton would be here, but he’s out hunting two Tattered Ones.”

“Two?”

“Yes, it seems that a pair of Tattered Ones are working together.”

Izzy clenched her shirt above her twisting stomach. “That’s impossible.”

“You must be special.”

She shook her head. “I barely have power.”

“Then the target on your back must be for some other reason. Whatever it is, I hope Daxton puts a stop to it before more people get hurt.”

She did too. One Archfiend was bad enough. She trembled at the thought of what the two of them could do together. “I’ll help him in any way I can.”

As if Keiran had all the time in the world, he poked at a stale roll on a plate of food Serephina had brought for Izzy earlier. Frowning, he grabbed an apple from another platter. When he tossed it to her, she almost bumped her hands into the counter in her haste to catch it.

“Please don’t wither while you’re learning about us,” he said.

His eyes locked with hers, and she took a bite. Sweetness filled her mouth with crunch. A prickle heated her back and accompanied the realization that he’d compelled her to eat. She didn’t need or want his prompting, but if he planned to talk, she could indulge her hunger.

“Daxton is my second-in-command in all but name. If he trusts you, I know I can do the same,” Keiran said. “I wouldn’t have let you near Pentros otherwise.”

“Why do you hold him in such high regard?”

“Many dragons look up to him, and most have received his help. He built his company from the ground up, establishing a branch in every state. It’s been our financial backing for years.” He chuckled. “He’s already made his role as chief seem like a cakewalk.”

“Daxton’s a chief?”

“Yes, of this territory.”

His bringing her to New Hampshire and his proximity to Acadia National Park made sense. He’d carried himself with a certain authority, but she thought it was because of his role in his company.