Page 116 of Grave Situation

“Coryn—”

“No.” He holds up a big hand. “You might be in charge when it comes to the mission and the magic stuff, but protecting everyone is my job. Maybe I didn’t know Tia all that long, but you get to know people when you’re traveling together, and I know she’d never have let the temples take you. Let me honor her by standing in her place now.”

My eyes burn, but I refuse to let the tears fall. Instead, I clear my throat, give myself a moment, then just nod. “Thank you.” The words are choked. “She liked you a lot, Coryn. I think she was already planning the best way to keep you when this is all done.”

His smile is sad, not like his usual grin at all. “I wasn’t planning to let any of you out of my life forever either.”

“That human is a rare gift,”Leicht says, startling me. Aside from an outburst of rage when he heard Master’s news, he’s been unusually quiet for the past two hours.“I would not allow the priests to have you either. Humans aren’t the only ones who have instructions.”

I blink.“What does that mean?”I ask, but apparently he’s done with talking, so I muster a return smile for Coryn and say, “Leicht likes you too.” He beams, genuine pleasure returning to his face.

“Are we all agreed, then?” Jaimin asks, looking at Arimen. “We go on with our mission and hope the temples don’t find us, but if they do, we let Coryn defend Talon and the stone and get away as fast as we can.”

Arimen lifts his chin, green eyes flashing. “Agreed. When this is over, I’m going to find a way to fix the corruption in the priesthood. Our gods deserve better.”

Because apparently saving the world isn’t enough—he has to fix our religion as well. Was I ever that young and enthusiastic?

“Now,” he continues, “I found an old handwritten book of folklore in the bedroom, so after dinner, we can read stories!”

Gods’ turds.

“…neverexpected that she would befriend one of the godsborn and be swept off to new adventures away from the farm, but when she looked back on her life, she knew she’d lived it the way she was supposed to. After all, how could one refuse the will of the gods?” Arimen sighs and lowers the book, and I jerk out of my doze. In the chair across from me, Jaimin’s eyes have a glazed look, and Coryn long ago stretched out on the floor for a nap.

“Thank you, Arimen,” I manage, just in case he has any plans to read more. Whoever collected all this folklore was determined about it—the book isthick. The first few stories were mildly interesting, but I’ve heard versions of them before—as a child—and it didn’t take long for me to zone out. “I think it might be time for bed. We have an early start tomorrow.” Something I never thought to be grateful for.

“Oh! Good point.” He glances down at Coryn and his brow furrows. “Was I… boring?” His suddenly stricken expression has Jaimin hastening to reassure him.

“Coryn has to be extra alert all day, as our guard, and that means he needs a lot of rest at night. The brain is very strange like that.”

“Ohhhh. Is that why I’m always so tired when I’ve been studying all day?”

Jaimin nods. “Yes, exactly. Why don’t you wake him so he doesn’t have to sleep on the floor all night?”

Ten minutes later, Arimen and Coryn have disappeared into the bedroom, and Jaimin and I are up in the loft, where I look at the rather lumpy—though large—feather mattress.

“A mattress indoors is better than the mud,” I mutter, unrolling my bedding beside Jaimin’s as he takes off his boots.

“It is.” The usual note of amusement is absent from his voice. “What an unusually positive perspective from you.”

Sighing, I take off my own boots and then join him on the mattress, extinguishing the magelight as I do.

“I owe you an apology,” I say to the darkness. He doesn’t respond, but I can sense he’s listening. “I was rude this afternoon, and I shouldn’t have snapped at you. You’re thinking of me, I know that.”

There’s a moment of silence, then a quiet rustle as the mattress shifts. I think he’s rolled over to face me.

“I care about you,” he says softly. “Leicht being bonded to you is dangerous. It’s going to upset a lot of people, and I want to make sure you’re as safe from them as possible.”

“Tell the healer his concern is unfounded. The dragons will stand by us,”Leicht announces cryptically.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Why will they?”

He doesn’t answer, and I turn my attention back to Jaimin.

“I know. I appreciate that—so much more than I can say.” I don’t add that soft words are hard for me. We’ve been traveling together long enough, been through enough, that he’s aware of it already.

Although, it’s only been a few months. It just feels like forever.

“It’s… I…” The explanation he deserves gets stuck in my throat.

---