10. Fersen

Once Fersen had a general idea of where they were, he told Jaega where to land. He needed to be on the ground to get his bearings on where they were in the large Morven forest. Since it was such a nice day out and the tree cover was so thick, they walked the rest of the way to Fersen's house, because there wasn't enough room for a dragon to land.

The closer they got to Fersen's home, the more excited he became. There were nights he feared he'd never see his beloved home again. Olina had left him her house inside a massive, hollowed-out Elysian tree. It was cozy but comfortable. It was such a relief for his ordeal to almost be over, even if it meant the end of his time with Jaega. But thinking about that was too sad, so Fersen pushed it from his mind.

When they emerged into the clearing where his home was, Fersen gasped in horror as he stopped dead in his tracks. King Decius's men who had kidnapped him had burned the once magnificent Elysian tree. The verdant leaves were gone, and the tree bark was blackened and splintering. Everything had been destroyed.

Tears fell from his eyes as he sobbed. The only thing stopping him from collapsing on the ground was Jaega's muscular arms embracing him from behind. Fersen turned into the comfort, weeping for everything that had been taken from him. Not only his home but his sense of safety, his virginity, everything that mattered most to Fersen—it had all been taken by the awful man who wanted to control his unicorn powers.

Fersen didn't know how long he cried, but Jaega never let go of him. He rubbed soothing circles on Fersen's back, letting him work through his emotions in silence. Fersen appreciated Jaega didn't placate him with false platitudes about how everything would be fine when it felt like nothing would ever be normal again.

When Fersen's sobs quieted to sniffles, he stepped back to wipe his eyes. Jaega kept a firm hand on his shoulder, grounding the emotional unicorn shifter. "Will you help me get inside?" Fersen asked when he finally found his voice.

"It is too dangerous for you to go in there."

"I know, but there's something in there I can't live without. I have to find it."

Jaega's voice was gentle, but his words cut deep. "Fersen, nothing would have survived that fire. It is not worth risking your life. What little is left of the tree could collapse with one strong gust of wind. It is not safe for you."

Fersen looked up at Jaega with tears in his eyes. "Please. I need this. I can't let him take this from me, too. I can't."

Jaega visibly softened. "Very well. But I will go with you."

"Thank you." Tears gathered in Fersen's eyes as he approached the burnt remains of the door to his home. Jaega had to force it open, making the remaining limbs on the tree creak ominously.

The destruction inside was even more devastating. All the books and trinkets from Olina had been reduced to piles of ash and cinder. The lingering smell of smoke made Fersen cough, but he walked through the wreckage to the back of his house, where his bedroom had once been.

Part of the ceiling had collapsed where Fersen needed access to. He tugged on it but wasn't strong enough to move it. Before he could ask for help, Jaega used his massive muscles to remove it.

Fersen pulled up some of the burnt floorboards. Jaega once again began helping without being asked, revealing a metal box below that had miraculously survived the fire. But Fersen wouldn't be okay until he saw what was inside of it was safe.

Jaega used all his strength on the silver box, but the top didn't budge. Fersen stopped him. "Even with your huge muscles, you'll never be able to remove it. I enchanted it so only I can access it." To prove it, he lifted it off without any effort. He almost cried with relief when he saw the item that meant the most to him in the world had survived the fire undamaged.

He pulled out the leather-bound book, which had the golden flower crest of his family on the cover. Fersen hugged it close to his chest as he rejoiced. "Thank all the Powers that be this survived. They didn't get to take this from me, too."

A powerful gust of wind made the remains of the tree groan as more wood fractured. There was urgency in Jaega's voice. "We must leave before it's too late."

Fersen took a last look around the place he had called home for centuries. His heart broke that there was no way to restore it to its former glory. He was homeless now, but at least he had protected his family's most prized treasure. Between that and being alive, Fersen was grateful for the two miracles.

Fersen allowed himself to be guided by Jaega out of the damaged tree. He couldn't bear to look back at the husk of his home again. "Can we go to the cave behind the waterfall near here?" Fersen asked. He needed some time to process everything that had happened before he could figure out what he was supposed to do with his life.

Fersen never stopped hugging the book close to his chest as they walked the familiar path to his beloved waterfall. When they reached the edge of the lagoon, he frowned at his dilemma. He couldn't get the book wet, but there was no way to access the cave behind the waterfall without going through the water.

Jaega's dragon wings sprouted from his back. He gathered Fersen in his arms, cradling him close. "I will use a shield to protect the book from the water," Jaega said, almost as if he had read Fersen's thoughts.

With those words, Jaega flew them across the lagoon and through the waterfall. As he promised, his protective shield kept them and the book dry as they landed in the cave on the other side. When Jaega set him down, Fersen sank to the ground with another sob. How had it come to this?

Jaega sat near him in silence, letting Fersen work through things in his own time. He never once huffed with impatience. It made Fersen even more grateful the dragon shifter had stayed with him.

Instead of cycling through unanswerable questions about what he was supposed to do now, Fersen looked down at the book in his lap. It had been years since he had last taken it out of the box. But it hadn't changed at all. The dark blue leather and gold floral emblem of his family crest stood as a testament to his family's refusal to let the necromancers win during the awful war.

Fersen spoke. "When I was a kid, my mother hid me and this book when the necromancers came to find her and my father. She had just enough time to enchant the space to hide my scent so they wouldn't find me, too." Fersen fell silent as the awful memories from that day replayed in his mind. "The necromancers killed them to steal their horns, then left once they had them. I stayed in my hiding spot until Olina arrived. She had been a friend of my family's, so she took me in since I had nowhere else to go."

Jaega covered Fersen's hand with his own larger one and gave it a squeeze. "I am glad she was there for you."

"This book has all of my family's magic secrets in it, so Olina helped me create that metal box that only I could open to keep it safe." Fersen hugged it tight to his chest once more. "I don't know what I would have done if this was destroyed in the fire, too."

"The important thing is that it is still safe."

"But I'm not." Fersen's fear clawed at him. "I have nowhere to go now."

Jaega shook his head. "That is not quite true."

"I'm not going to Kunushi and putting Olina's family at risk by associating with me," Fersen said in a firm tone. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to them because someone wanted me."

Jaega's expression was sympathetic. "That was not what I was going to suggest."

"Oh." Fersen was taken aback. "Then what?"

"Come back to Valzerna with me."

It wasn't a solution as simple as that. "I have nowhere to go, and the victors' bonus money you gave me isn't anything close to what I would need to make my own home in a forest away from people."

"I know you do not care to live around people, but you would be safe in the Valzerna castle. You could work as one of the Enchanters, which would let you earn your own money. That would give you the freedom to not depend upon me or anyone else."

As much as Fersen felt he should protest, the offer was the best option he had for not only finding a place to live safely but also having money to take care of himself. "But I don't want to be a burden?—"

"You would not be a burden. It would give me great peace of mind knowing you were safe within our walls where I can protect you, instead of out in the woods by yourself, at risk from anyone who hears a rumor about a mythical unicorn shifter and wants to take you for themselves."

It was a valid and very real threat Fersen faced when alone. "You would still want to protect me?"

Jaega's expression softened. "Of course. It is my honor to protect you, although you will obviously be in no danger at the castle."

"What would I do without you?" Fersen asked, tearing up again. He had too many emotions swirling within him.

Jaega reached over and caressed Fersen's cheek. "Thankfully, you will not have to find out the answer to that question."

Fersen didn't have the wherewithal to figure out what Jaega meant by that statement. But he really hoped the dragon shifter was interested in him as more than a mere ward. It would be too heartbreaking if Fersen was the only one feeling the pull of attraction between them.

* * *

When Fersen awoke in the morning, he realized two important things: his heat had begun, and Jaega was on the opposite side of the cave instead of curled around him like they had been last night. Was it because Jaega was disgusted by him? Fersen couldn't judge from Jaega's expression, but his amber eyes were rimmed with the glowing orange of his dragon.

"I-I'm sorry," Fersen stammered, feeling like he had failed Jaega somehow. It was ridiculous when he had no control over his heat, but it was unbearable thinking that Jaega was keeping his distance in distaste.

"There is no need for apologies." Jaega's voice was a dark rumble, even more so than normal. It sent shivers down Fersen's spine as heat pooled in his belly and spread all over. "You are fine."

"Am I?" Fersen asked with a borderline hysterical bubble of laughter. "Because my heat is the last complication I needed right now. And now you're over there in disgust and?—"

"Do not mistake my distance as disgust," Jaega said, the orange glow in his eyes brightening as more of it overtook the amber. "We—I am over here for your protection."

The comment baffled Fersen. "Protection? From what?"

"My dragon. He is quite taken with you, so I separated myself to keep him in check."

Fersen's flushed cheeks weren't only because of his heat. "He is?"

"Very." The single word came out as a sensuous purr that made Fersen ache for Jaega.

It was a difficult question to ask, but Fersen had to know the answer. "He's interested in me, but you're not?"