Page 14 of Storm In The Sky

Of course that was what Samuel wanted to talk about—the one thing Keylon wanted to forget.

“What Winter wants doesn’t have anything to do with you,” he told Samuel. “There’s no need for you to apologize.”

“I still want to. I feel partially responsible.”

“Why? Winter’s an adult. He makes his own decisions, and in this case, he’s decided he doesn’t want to be with me or to protect me. It would be useless to try to change his mind, and I won’t. He’s all yours.”

“I don’t want him, and I don’t think you should break your bond.” He hesitated, then sat in one of the other armchairs. “He kissed me.”

Keylon briefly closed his eyes. “Congratulations, but I really don’t want to know about this.”

“That’s not what I meant. He kissed me, but I didn’t kiss him back. He’s my best friend, but that’s all he is.”

“On your part, maybe. It’s clear he has feelings for you that differ from friendship, though.” Feelings he should have for Keylon. Feelings he oncehadfor Keylon.

Samuel shook his head. “You don’t understand. I know him, and I’m sure he’s not in love with me.”

“Why would he kiss you, then?”

Samuel leaned back in his chair. “When I found him, I didn’t know what to think of him. I was gathering ingredients for spells, and I stumbled onto this dragon shifter. He was in his dragon form, and he seemed panicked. I didn’t understand why, but I had to talk him through shifting back to his human form. He was terrified. He didn’t know who he was or what had happened to him. He had no idea how he’d ended up so close to our clan. He was completely lost, and I couldn’t leave him there.”

Keylon was grateful that Samuel hadn’t. As angry as he was with Winter, he couldn’t imagine being in his place. Not remembering anything and not knowing where he was had to have been terrifying, and if Samuel’s presence had helped, then Keylon was happy that Samuel had been there for Winter.

Keylon couldn’t bring himself to hate Winter, no matter what was happening between them. It hurt, and it made him want to scream, but Winter was a different person than Alvin had been. He didn’t know Keylon. All of this was new to him, and it had to be confusing and overwhelming.

“He built a life with my clan,” Samuel continued. “When I realized someone was using a spell to find him, he didn’t want me to figure out who it was or to come here. I think he was afraid of what he’d find and that he’d have to leave the life he’d built behind.”

“And he had to,” Keylon murmured.

Samuel nodded. “My clan and I are familiar to him. We’re the only solid memories he has. Now, he’s been told all about Alvin and what happened, and knowing him, he has no idea what to dowith that. He’s panicking, and he’s doing what he does best when he panics.”

“He runs.”

Samuel nodded. “I don’t know if that’s something Alvin did, but Winter does. He wants everything to stay the same, and when something changes, he doesn’t know how to deal with it. He doesn’t really want me, Keylon. He wants what I represent. He doesn’t want to lose me and my family and the life he built with the clan. I’m sure that if you give him some time to think, he’ll realize that.”

Keylon wanted to hope, but he was afraid to. Winter would never be Alvin. He might never want Keylon the way Alvin had wanted him.

The same could be said for Keylon. He didn’t actually know Winter. He didn’t know what kind of man he was beyond the fact that he ran when he didn’t know what to do and when he was scared. Was he someone Keylon could see himself with?

That was a moot point. Winter had been clear that he didn’t want Keylon, which was why Keylon was planning to break their bond. Why Winter was doing what he was doing didn’t matter in the end. The only thing that did was the result of his behavior, and the result was clear.

Winter didn’t want anything to do with Keylon.

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, andeven 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.

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