Epilogue

Penley looked around the table. Everyone was again gathered in the dining room, but nothing had changed. Carlyle was still out there, and he still had Sol. The mages were still waiting for Carlyle to attack.

Everything looked the same, but Penley felt different. Before, he'd been sure that his magic would be useless in the fight. Even though he'd lent Jarvis his magic and power the first time around, Jarvis had been the one who led the spell that had locked Carlyle in that gemstone. He'd been the mind, while Penley and the others had been the power.

But Penley knew that wasn't all he was now. He'd fought Carlyle when Carlyle had attacked Marlow. Penley didn't feel like anyone had won that day, but he'd been strong enough to stand up to Carlyle. Even more importantly, he'd given Emory the ability to shift back and had done so using earth magic.

He was powerful. He was useful.

But he still wished there was more he could do. He wanted to find Sol and bring him home. He wanted to find out what had happened between Tyne and Meyer and fix it. He wasn't sure they'd ever find their way to each other if someone didn't step in. Everyone had stayed away because they thought it would be for the best, but Penley was starting to believe that wasn't the case.

Tyne and Meyer were on opposite sides of the table. Meyer sat next to Bennett, who sat next to Penley. Tyne was all the way on the other side, quietly talking to Winter.

Jarvis was on Penley's other side, and while this might not be the right moment because the others might hear, Penley was done trying to get Tyne to talk. He needed more details, and the best person to ask was Jarvis.

Penley cleared his throat. "Can I ask you something?"

Jarvis gave him a gentle smile. "Of course. I'll answer if I can."

"Were Meyer and Tyne a couple before?"

Jarvis didn't look surprised by Penley's question. He looked in Tyne's direction and frowned while Penley waited for his answer.

"You think we should intervene," Jarvis said.

"I think that someone needs to. It's clear that Tyne is angry and hurt and won't let go of those emotions, but he has to. I want him to be strong for the fight against Carlyle, but even more so, I want him to be happy. He's always been somewhat angry and introverted, but things have gotten worse since Meyer arrived. Tyne is always angry now. He keeps all of us at arm's length, and I feel like we're losing him. He'll probably stick around until the fight with Carlyle is over, but what will he do after that?"

Penley had recently realized that having everyone living together in the castle was temporary. It had suited the mages when they'd lost their dragons, but now, they had them back, except for Dallin. They were ready to fight Carlyle, and when they did, they'd make sure he couldn't return a second time. What would they do after that? The mages had supported each other over the years when they'd been alone, but they weren't alone anymore. They might not want to continue living together like a big family, especially Tyne and Meyer.

Penley's heart broke. He understood why both of them might want to leave, but he didn't think that was the best way to deal with the situation. That would be for them to talk, which meant that the situation rested on Tyne's shoulders. The problem was that Tyne was too angry to see that.

He insisted that he'd be fine on his own, and he'd probably managed to convince himself of that. Maybe once he left, he'd be able to forget what Meyer had done to him and start a new life, but the kind of pain and rage he felt had deep roots. If Tyne didn't deal with those roots, he'd carry those emotions with him his entire life. He'd never be at peace, and Penley could think of nothing worse. Tyne didn't deserve to live like that, and neither did Meyer.

"They weren't together," Jarvis said.

Penley blinked. He hadn't thought Jarvis would answer, since he firmly believed that Tyne and Meyer should fix their relationship on their own. "No?"

Jarvis hesitated, then looked at Tyne again. Tyne was focused on his plate, quickly eating, the way he'd started doing since Meyer had moved in. As soon as he was done, he'd leave like he always did.

"I don't know much. I was looking for allies and reached out to almost anyone I could find. I had friends who knew Tyne and Meyer and pointed them my way. One of them mentioned something about Meyer having had another mage before Tyne."

Penley sucked in a breath. "What?"

"I don't have details. I just know that Meyer had another mage before Tyne. That mage died, and Meyer and Tyne ended up together. They weren't a couple, so I don't think their bond is complete."

Penley remembered what Tyne had said about always being second choice. Was that what he'd been hinting at?

Penley had difficulty wrapping his mind around Meyer having found a second mage. Usually, when a dragon lost their mage, it took them decades to work through the pain of the bond breaking, even if they hadn't been fully bonded. That kind of pain always left traces and never fully vanished.

What Jarvis had just said didn't fully explain the situation, but it hinted at the reason behind Tyne's anger. Maybe if Penley learned more about it, he could get to the heart of the problem and solve it.

"You never told Meyer that, did you?" he asked Jarvis.

Jarvis shook his head. "I didn't know if I should. I doubt that knowing he had a mage before Tyne would help him. He's already in enough pain as it is. I don't want to cause him even more of it."

"I get that, but I have a feeling that we'll have to hurt both Tyne and Meyer if we want to get to the bottom of this and for them to patch things up between them."

"Is it our place to do so?"

It probably wasn't, but Penley wasn't watching Tyne and Meyer hurt each other. Tyne was his brother, and Penley wanted him to be happy. He was ready to work against Tyne's choice and wishes if it meant that Tyne would eventually let go of the anger and pain he felt.

Penley squared his shoulders and looked at Tyne. Penley wasn't weak, and he wasn't useless. He was just as powerful as the other mages and knew how to use his magic. Even more so, he knew how to help people, and it didn't matter that Tyne wouldn't want him to.

Penley would help Tyne whether he wanted him to or not.

* * * *

Bennett was focused on Meyer, but he could hear part of the conversation between Jarvis and Penley. He wanted to ask what was happening, but Penley would tell him once they were alone, so he kept his attention on the person who needed it the most.

Meyer was pushing his food around his plate. He looked sad, and things got worse with every day that passed. Tyne used his anger as a shield and a sword, and Meyer was useless to protect himself against them.

Bennett had never felt so useless. There was nothing he could do for Meyer, just like there was nothing he could do about Carlyle and Sol. They both had vanished, almost as if they'd never existed. Everyone was terrified of what Carlyle was doing to Sol, especially Dallin.

Bennett looked at him. He was as sad as Meyer, and just like him, he wasn't eating. Bennett wanted to rage and beat Carlyle to a pulp. He might not have anything to do with Meyer's sadness, but it would make Bennett feel better.

He hated that Dallin kept insisting that the mages would be able to defeat Carlyle even without Sol. It was almost as if he'd convinced himself that Sol was gone for good. He might be right, but Bennett and the others would do everything they could to ensure that he wasn't. If there was anything they could do, they'd do it, and Carlyle would pay for what he'd done.

But right now, there was nothing they could do, just like there was nothing Bennett could do about his best friend and the stubborn mage he was supposed to protect. Bennett wanted to grab Tyne and give him a good shake, but he doubted it would change anything. Tyne had to be the most stubborn man Bennett had ever met.

"Did you hear that?" Penley asked as he leaned sideways.

"I heard you ask Jarvis if Tyne and Meyer were together before."

Penley looked around as if he was about to tell Bennett a massive secret. Meyer didn't appear to have noticed that Bennett wasn't focused on him anymore, so Bennett didn't feel guilty turning his attention to Penley. He leaned closer, using the excuse to kiss his mage's cheek. Like always, Penley flushed, but he was focused on what he was about to tell Bennett.

"Jarvis told me that Meyer had another mage before Tyne."

Bennett blinked. "Another mage?"

"Yes. You know that dragons and mages bond for life, right? Even when their bond is incomplete, they both accept it when they agree to be shield and mage. That bond never goes away except with death. The only way Meyer would have had to get another mage would be that the first mage he was bonded to died."

Bennett wanted to look at his friend, but he kept his gaze on Penley. "You think that's why Tyne is so angry?"

"I don't know. He mentioned he'd had enough of coming second, but without knowing what happened in detail, I don't think we can find out what it meant. Meyer has to be incredibly strong to be able to bond with another mage when his first one died. I don't know if he would have done it if it hadn't been necessary to beat Carlyle."

Bennett leaned back in his chair. Maybe that was what happened. Maybe Tyne had wanted to be involved in taking down Carlyle but hadn't had a shield. Somehow, he'd managed to convince Meyer to become his shield, and together, they'd beaten Carlyle.

But why was Tyne so angry at Meyer? If that was what happened, it would make more sense if Meyer were angry with Tyne.

Maybe Meyer had hidden the fact that he'd had a mage before Tyne and Tyne had somehow found out. "We won't know more unless one of them talks to us, will we?"

"And since Meyer doesn't remember any of this, Tyne is the only one who can tell us what happened between them."

That probably meant they'd never find out. Penley had asked Tyne what was going on, and he hadn't told him. He hadn't told anyone as far as Bennett knew.

Normally, he'd try to stay out of this. As much as he loved Meyer, this was none of his business. Their safety was at risk, though. They'd have to face Carlyle soon, and it wouldn't do anyone any good if Tyne wanted Meyer dead. Bennett doubted he'd go as far as allowing Carlyle to hurt him on purpose, but he might not be as reactive as he normally would be. He resented Meyer and allowed that feeling to control him.

Bennett didn't think anyone could help. Tyne would have to deal with this himself, which didn't bode well. He hadn't done a great job until now.

Bennett looked at Meyer. He was ready to do anything to make his best friend happy. He'd let it go for now, but if Tyne didn't change, Bennett wouldn't hesitate to lock him up in a room and get answers out of him. At the very least, Meyer deserved closure. Not knowing what happened between him and Tyne was eating him and making him think the worst of himself, and Bennett wouldn't stand for that.

Carlyle was their enemy, but as far as Bennett was concerned, he wasn't the only one. He didn't expect Tyne to forgive Meyer for whatever he'd done, but if Tyne continued treating Meyer the way he was, Bennett would consider him an enemy, too.

The last thing they needed was for the mages to fight and for their group to fracture, but unless Tyne finally got his head out of his ass, Bennett was afraid that was precisely what would happen.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.