Chapter Six

Winter had done a lot of thinking. It was something he generally avoided, but he hadn’t been able to this time. He’d never lived through something this serious that he could remember, and while the situation made him want to run, he couldn’t. He owed it to himself and to Keylon to be honest, and he wanted to fix things both with Keylon and with Samuel.

It wouldn’t be easy. It had taken several days for Winter to think over his feelings and understand that he’d gotten himself into a mess. He still wasn’t entirely sure how this would end, but at the very least, he had to apologize. He understood his feelings for Samuel better now, and he wanted to tell Samuel about it, but he’d hurt his best friend. Where should he start fixing things between them? Would Samuel even listen to him?

Winter huffed and stared out the bedroom window. Normally, he’d go to Samuel to talk this out. Samuel was his best friend, and he always listened to whatever problem Winter had. He gave him good advice, and Winter couldn’t help but wonder what he’d say if he went to him now.

He’d probably tell him to fuck off.

Winter gently bumped his forehead against the window. For the first time since he could remember, he might have to do this without Samuel. It would be a disaster, but Samuel would expect it, and maybe it would help push him to forgive Winter. If he pitied Winter, he’d want to help him, right? When it came to Keylon, Winter had no idea what he was doing, and the thought of talking to him was terrifying—and not only because Keylon could turn Winter into a frog.

Winter decided that Keylon was a problem he’d try solving another time. He’d definitely need Samuel’s help, which meant he had to fix things with him first. More than that, he missed his best friend. They’d never gone so long without talking, and even going home to the clan hadn’t helped. Samuel’s mother had talked some sense into Winter, but she couldn’t solve his problems for him.

Winter left his bedroom. The castle was silent, but he could see two dragons flying above the lake every time he passed a window. It made him want to join them, but he hadn’t spent a lot of time with the dragons yet. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with anyone but Samuel, even though Samuel had pushed him to do so.

Winter had desperately been trying to cling to what he knew, and in this situation, the only thing he knew was Samuel. When Winter couldn’t be with him, he preferred to hide in his bedroom or roam the castle on his own.

That had probably been a mistake. Unfortunately for Winter, he hadn’t realized it until now, and he’d gotten himself in trouble. He wasn’t friendly with the other dragons, and he didn’t know how they’d take it if he tried flying with them. They probably knew by now that Keylon had decided to break the bond that tied him to Winter, and if Winter had to take a guess, people weren’t happy with him. It was a small miracle that they hadn’t kicked him out of the castle yet. He suspected that the only reason they hadn’t was that the bond that he shared with Keylon was still intact. As soon as it was gone, Winter would be out.

He wasn’t sure that was what he wanted anymore. Now that he’d had to give up on his ridiculous idea of being Samuel’s shield, Winter couldn’t think of a reason to ask Keylon to break their bond. He still disliked the thought that he hadn’t chosen it, but there was nothing he could do about that. Alvin had been bonded to Keylon. He’d loved the mage. Winter might not be him, but he had to deal with the consequences of Alvin’s actions. For once, he couldn’t afford to run.

That would be the hardest thing to do.

Still being unused to how large the castle was, it took him a while to find Samuel. He should have known he’d be outside, though. Samuel was an outsider in this castle. He was a mage, but he didn’t have a shield, and even more so, he hadn’t worked with the mages to defeat Carlyle. They’d lived together since then and had grown as close as friends could be.

Samuel was new. While everyone was nice to him, Winter was sure that sometimes he felt like he didn’t belong. Winter had been there for him, but since the kiss, Samuel had to feel even more alone.

Winter did.

When Winter found him, Samuel was sitting on a bench outside the castle wall. He was on the side of the lake rather than the road, so the area was protected by spells that meant he wouldn’t be hurt even if someone attacked. He was watching the two dragons flying above the lake, and now that Winter saw them better, he realized that one of them was smaller. It was probably Marlow’s son. Winter couldn’t remember his name, but he’d been told about him.

But Winter wasn’t interested in the young dragon. He slowly walked toward the bench, wondering if Samuel would leave when he saw him.

When a branch cracked under Winter’s foot, Samuel looked over. A complicated expression appeared on his face, but it quickly vanished, leaving Winter wondering what was about to happen.

“Can I sit down?” he asked.

“You can do whatever you want. It’s not my bench.”

There was a harshness to Samuel’s words that usually wasn’t there when he talked to Winter. Winter didn’t like it. He and Samuel had been thick as thieves since Samuel had found him, and he didn’t know how to live without his best friend. It probably wasn’t healthy to be so close to him, but for decades, Winter had only had him.

Winter sat down and stared out at the lake for a moment before sighing. Samuel wouldn’t take the first step, which meant it was in Winter’s hands.

“I wanted to apologize,” Winter said.

Samuel was tense next to him, but Winter thought he felt him relaxed slightly.

“What are you apologizing for?” Samuel asked.

“For kissing you without asking if it was okay. For thinking we could be anything more than friends. For being an asshole and an idiot, especially when it comes to Keylon.”

“Why did you do it?”

Winter continued staring at the lake because he couldn’t stand watching his best friend as he explained himself. “I had to talk to your mother to realize what I was doing,” he said with a smile.

Samuel snorted. “That explains why she called me and told me to give you a chance. She said she didn’t want to lose one of her children and that I needed to be nice to you because things were confusing.”

“They are confusing, but I still shouldn’t have behaved the way I did.” Winter sucked in a breath. “I don’t remember anything before you found me. Every time I try, it’s just a blank space, but I thought that eventually I would recover some memories. When I realized that I wouldn’t, I clung to what I already knew. Ever since you found me, I’ve been terrified of losing you and your clan. I wanted to be truly part of your family, and I thought that if you and I bonded, I would be.”

“You’re an idiot,” Samuel commented.

“I’m very much aware of that. You’ve always been the brain between the two of us, which probably explains why I did something so stupid.”

“You’re not in love with me.” Samuel sounded sure of himself.

“I think I was in love with the thought of what we could have. I wanted to be part of your family and to be sure that I wouldn’t lose everything again. Besides, I might not be in love with you, but I do love you. You’re my best friend, and that’s never going to change.”

“If I’m your best friend, you should have listened to me when I said I didn’t want a shield.”

“I did listen. I just thought that I’d be different.”

“You are different, but not that much. I never want to kiss you again, Winter. That was like kissing my brother, and it was horrifying.”

He bumped their shoulders together, and Winter laughed. “You forgive me?”

“I forgave you the minute after you kissed me. I know you’re confused and afraid. You’ll never lose me or my family, though. You should’ve known better than to think you might.”

Winter should have, and thankfully, that problem was dealt with now.

That only left Keylon.

* * * *

“I’m really sorry, but nothing I’m doing is working,” Ansley said.

Parker leaned close to him, clearly trying to comfort him.

Keylon wanted to do the same, but it wasn’t his place, and Parker had things in hand.

Keylon hadn’t expected this new meeting to help, so he wasn’t surprised. They were stumbling in the dark with no idea where they were going or what they were supposed to do. Their main goal was to recover Sol and destroy Carlyle, but none of the mages knew where to start.

Being surrounded by them made Keylon want to run. He felt they were watching him, waiting to ask questions about Winter and the bond Keylon would break. Surrounded by books as they were in the library, this meeting should have been pleasant, but the things they were talking about weren’t.

Carlyle had never been pleasant.

“Don’t push yourself too hard,” Jarvis said. “We always knew it was a long shot. I don’t think anyone here actually expected you to locate either of them. Carlyle knows what he’s doing, and he knows we’re looking for our last dragon. He doesn’t want us to find him.”

Keylon didn’t want to think about what Carlyle was doing to Sol. He couldn’t take it.

“If we can’t locate them, what’s left?” Tyne asked. “Where does it leave us?”

“How about the two guys who work for Carlyle?” Penley offered.

Everyone turned to him, and his cheeks reddened, but he didn’t back down. Finding Bennett again had done wonders for him. Gone was the shy and quiet man Keylon had known for so long. Penley was coming out of his shell, and he was more secure in his magic and in himself. It was a delight to watch.

“You know, the guys who freed him from the gemstone,” Penley continued.

“What do we know about them?” Jarvis asked as he looked around.

“That they attacked Ansley,” Parker said with a growl.

Keylon made a mental note not to allow Parker anywhere near the two. They’d need answers if they ever managed to get their hands on them, and it was hard to speak when one didn’t have a tongue anymore.

“Not much,” Keylon said. He’d looked into the two, but nothing he’d found would help. “Their names are Simon and Graham. From what little I was able to gather, the gemstone in which we trapped Carlyle was passed down from generation to generation in their family. I don’t know how they managed to break the spell we cast on the gemstone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some of Carlyle’s old stuff, maybe books or something. From what I could see, they’re not mages, just human.”

“Why’s Carlyle working with them?” Penley asked with a frown.

“Why not? When he was let out of the gemstone, he probably realized he didn’t know anything about the modern world. He had these two humans right there, and he needed help. I suspect he still does.” Keylon leaned over the table. “What if he didn’t cast a spell on himself but rather on a place? It would make sense. He doesn’t want us to find him or Sol. He could cast two separate spells that would block Ansley’s seeking spell, or he could cast one big one on the place where he’s hiding.”

“But he wouldn’t be able to leave it if that’s what he did,” Tyne pointed out.

“Which means he’d have to send out someone else, like maybe the two brothers. He probably would anyway, since he has no idea how to deal with the world. What if we could find them ?”

Everyone turned to Ansley, who looked excited.

Keylon would rather see him like that than like he was about to cry, the way he’d been a few minutes earlier.

“I can probably find them as long as they’re not in the same place as Carlyle,” Ansley said. “The problem is that we barely know anything about them. It took me years to perfect the spell to find the dragons, and even then, it’s much easier to use when I can use the bond between the dragons and their shields. I’m not sure how I can locate these two.”

“We can find more information,” Jarvis declared. “Even if Ansley doesn’t manage to locate the two, we still need to know who we’re dealing with. Keylon, would you mind taking the lead on this?”

Keylon nodded. He needed a distraction, and he might as well do it. Maybe he’d find something that would lead them to Carlyle and Sol. Maybe thanks to him, they’d be able to free the last dragon. Keylon might have lost his, but he didn’t want Dallin to lose Sol. If there was anything he could do to recover the dragon, he’d do it.

The meeting didn’t last much longer after that. There was new excitement in the air, and while Keylon told himself not to hope, it was hard not to. They finally had a direction. Trying to locate Carlyle and Sol hadn’t worked, but hopefully, locating these two guys would. At least now Keylon had something to pour his energy into.

He was one of the first to leave the library, eager to get to work, but he almost went right back inside when he walked out and found Winter standing there. He looked around, wondering why the dragon was hovering in the hallway like he was waiting for someone. Samuel hadn’t been at the meeting, so there was no reason for Winter to be here.

Keylon nodded at him and started to walk away, but a hand on his arm made him freeze. He couldn’t believe Winter was touching him willingly.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Winter snatched his hand away. “Sorry. I didn’t want you to leave.”

“Why not?”

“I’d like to talk to you.”

There was nothing Keylon wanted less. “Why would you want to talk to me? You’ve already said everything there was to say.” And it still hurt to think about it, but Keylon wasn’t about to admit that. He doubted he had to. Winter had to know how badly he’d hurt him, yet he’d done it anyway.

Keylon didn’t blame him entirely. If he tried putting himself in Winter’s place, he wouldn’t want to be permanently tied to a guy he didn’t know, either. He’d hoped they would go back to what they’d been one way or another, but he’d been wrong. Now, he had to deal with the consequences of allowing himself to hope.

“Please,” Winter said.

But Keylon couldn’t do this. He shook his head and stepped away, and when Winter opened his mouth, he turned the other way and ignored him.

Winter had already hurt him once. Keylon wasn’t going to give him another chance to do so. Things between them were over, and he had to accept that.

It would be the hardest thing he would ever do in his life.