Page 17 of Storm In The Sky

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 guyhe 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.

Chapter Seven

Winter had been trying to pin down Keylon, but the mage was sneaky. Every time Winter found him, Keylon managed to disappear before Winter could say a word. If this was how annoying Winter had been when he’d been avoiding Keylon, he could understand why the other man didn’t want to talk to him.

But Winter needed to apologize and tell Keylon that he didn’t want their bond to be broken. He didn’t know if it was the right thing to do, but they could always change their minds later if things didn’t work out. For now, Winter’s job was to protect Keylon, and he wanted to do it.

It would be easier if he knew where Keylon was.

Usually, the man was either in his office or in the library. Sometimes, he went outside, but Winter had noticed that he only did it when he needed to be alone. The rest of the time, he seemed happy to be around the other mages, even though he ran out of the room every time Winter walked in.

It wasdefinitelyannoying.

Winter had knocked on the door of Keylon’s office, but no one had answered. From what he’d seen, Keylon didn’t have an assistant like some of the other mages did, so it meant that the office was empty. Keylon could be outside, but Winter decided to try the library first. If he couldn’t find him there either, he might ask Jillian, the cook, or Thorne, the man who was in charge of ensuring that the castle ran smoothly.

Winter had to be sneaky if he didn’t want Keylon to leave as soon as he noticed him. He was careful as he opened the door of the library, wincing when it creaked a bit. He paused, but no one told him to fuck off as he stepped in.

Someone was working there. There was a pile of books on one of the tables, an open computer, and a coffee cup. Winter could also hear someone humming, and he hoped it was Keylon.Since he doubted that Keylon would go anywhere without his computer and everything else on the table, he decided to wait for him there.

He sat in an empty armchair and crossed his ankle over his knee. He quickly changed position and started bouncing his knee instead, hoping his nervousness would be less apparent if he had a little less energy.

The humming came closer. Winter sat up, looking in the direction it was coming from. He smiled when Keylon emerged from between the shelves a few moments later. He had a stack of books in his arms, and he froze when he noticed Winter sitting there.

Winter quickly raised his hands. “Please don’t leave. I need to talk to you.”

Keylon’s expression shut down as soon as he saw Winter. He didn’t turn and run like Winter had expected him to, though. Instead, he headed toward Winter, dropped the pile of books on the table, and started gathering his things.

Winter sighed. This wasn’t going well.

“Please,” he said.

Keylon glared at him. “Why would I want to talk to you? You already told me everything I needed to know. You don’t want to be my shield, and I accepted that. I haven’t found a replacement yet, but that’s because my sister-in-law is about to give birth. She and my sister haven’t had the opportunity to ask around, but they will soon, and once they do, I promise I won’t take too long to choose another shield. Hopefully, you’ll be free before Carlyle attacks. I know you don’t want to deal with that.”

Winter doubted anyone wanted to deal with Carlyle and whatever he was plotting.

He opened his mouth to tell Keylon that, but Keylon’s computer chimed. Keylon’s eyes widened, and he quickly grabbed it, dismissing Winter.

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