sleep.” He fought for control, and the noise in the room rose as everyone else did the same.
"Enough!" Louis bellowed, and it was so unusual for the sorcerer to lose it like that, it had an immediate effect. Silence slammed into us, like he’d used power to enforce his command.
"How did he find a wild dragon?" Tyson asked, probably one of the few beings in here that didn't fear the wrath of Louis. The sorcerer still shot him a withering stare, but didn't blast him into a million pieces. Family. They pissed you off but you didn't kill them. Kind of the motto of this pack.
"I don't know all of the details,” Louis bit out, “but from what I've discerned, the dragon was the one who found him. When I created that schism of energy and threw the balance off in the worlds, it allowed some creatures to escape from Faerie. Most of them were harmless, ending up in the communities, but a few, like this dragon, had a specific plan in mind. He's been behind the scenes the entire time."
"Fuck," Jacob groaned. "I felt stirrings of dragon energy when I was with the president, but I figured it was me losing control, spilling my power into the world. I never guessed a wild dragon would be there."
I had a brief thought that maybe the wild dragon was part of the reason Jacob had so much trouble controlling himself when we were with the humans. That energy ignited his own.
Louis nodded. "Yeah, it’s not exactly a common occurrence to find a dragon on Earth. It appears that this one has been waiting for an opportunity to get out from under the control of Josephina. It went rogue to gather power.”
“It’s been grooming the president,” Tee added. “Its plan is to destroy the pathway between the two worlds so no one can force it back to Faerie.”
“And the president secretly envies and admires us. He wants enough power to control the world,” Louis finished. “They both needed each other, one to hide while it waited, the other to gather evidence on us. They came to an agreement."
"How do we stop them?" someone asked. I couldn't see who it was, but it was a male with a low grumbly voice.
Louis seemed to consider his words. "We need to find and destroy the dragon first. It’s just about corrupted the ley line, and if that happens … both worlds could end.”
“If it’s stolen energy from fifty supes and the ley line, it’s going to be super strong,” Tyson said. “Do we have enough to best it?”
Fuck, Tyson was usually extremely confident, so his worry was a concern.
Louis shook his head. “I don’t know. Until we confront the beast, there’s no way to tell.”
"What about Josephina?" Jessa asked from where she was on the couch, Braxton on one side and Maximus on the other. Mischa was perched on the arm of the chair by her mate.
Louis’s face was grim. "The pathway is too unstable for anyone to travel through. The only reason Tyson, Grace, Jacob, and Justice made it back is due to the unique power of the jeweled princesses. They have a bond with that ley line, and the bridge they created was the last chance to cross. And without the four of them…"
We couldn't open it again.
"Fuck," I murmured. "I should have insisted they come back with us."
Jacob chuckled. "Ruby, you could drown in all your guilt and self-recriminations. Don't take on more than you're owed."
I nudged him, my heart fluttering as he wrapped an arm around me and drew me closer. The feeling of belonging was addictive; no wonder people spent their entire lives searching for it.
Jacob held me like I was everything. Like he would break apart without me.
Like I was his.
"Don't make me cry, Jacob Compass," I whispered. "Now is not the time. We have a crisis to deal with."
He shook his head, pulling back just a fraction. "Baby, I need you to know that I choose you. Over every fucking drama in the world. I promise that I won’t let this be taken from us. We will destroy this dragon if it's the last thing we do."
I was about to tell him not to make promises he couldn’t keep when Louis let out a shout. I found him staring at Jacob and me. "You're the final two," he said.
I blinked a few times, trying to make my brain understand what he was saying.
Jacob waved a hand at him.