Page 262 of Of Empires and Dust

Dayne snatched the satchel of dressing and catgut from atop the blanket rolls near the wall. He produced a small tin of brimlock sap and a cloth from within. He puffed out his cheeks at the sharp, pungent stench of the sap but drew a deep breath and proceeded to kneel beside Mera and clean the wound.

He wasn’t quite as deft a hand as Mera when it came to stitching a wound, but he took his time, ensuring the catgut pulled tight and the wound was neatly closed. In truth, he was more used to working on his own wounds than somebody else’s.

“Try to be more careful next time.” Dayne brushed Mera’s naked shoulder gently before grabbing a clean tunic from atop the blanket rolls in the corner and tossing it to her. “It’s easier on my heart when it’s you stitching me back together instead of the other way around.”

“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” Mera slid her arms into the tunic, grunting as she pulled it over her head. “Do you have any other sensibilities you’d like me to pander to, oh mighty Dayne Ateres?”

Audin pressed his snout into Mera’s shoulder, a soft purr vibrating in his chest. It was such a strange thing to see a creature so powerful and vicious behave so gently.

“I’m fine.” Mera rested a hand on either side of the wyvern’s jaws, fingers brushing across his deep red scales. She pressed her forehead against the tip of his snout, exhaling softly. “You’re like a mother hen. Go and eat. I’ll be fine.”

The wyvern gave Mera a deep growl in response, his lips curling, nostrils flaring.

Mera growled back, pressing her head harder against his.

“Go,” she repeated.

Audin’s breath blew Mera’s hair back over her shoulders. He pressed his snout into her once more, then turned and leapt from the edge of the Rest, dropping like a stone before swooping back into view and soaring over the camp.

“He’s a little needy, isn’t he?” Dayne said.

Mera snapped herself around and stared at Dayne as though he were an idiot of the highest order.

“What?”

“Did you really just say that out loud without realising the irony in it?” She moved closer to Dayne and cupped his hands in hers. “You know, there was a point years ago when I believed you had died and your spirit had found me again through Audin. That you held on and found a way to watch over me. He is stubborn, courageous, gentle, protective… irritating at times. You are one and the same.”

Dayne brushed a strand of bloody hair from Mera’s face. He could have looked into her eyes until time broke, and he’d die happy.

“What are you staring at?” She narrowed her gaze in mock suspicion.

Dayne let go of Mera’s hand and cupped her cheeks. “The one thing that keeps my heart warm.”

He turned and walked towards the back of the Rest, his gaze trailing along the scratch marks in the rock that Audin had carved. He tilted his head back and fixed his gaze on a spot on the back wall.

“Dayne. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” He let out a long sigh, then reached into his pocket, feeling the dulled edges of the hard wooden box. Even in the flames of battle, his heart never beat as furiously as it did in that moment. His throat constricted, breaths fluttering.

“There is clearly something wrong, Dayne. Talk to me.”

Dayne shook his head, still looking at the back wall. “When I was gone all those years, not a day passed that I didn’t think of you, that I didn’t think of coming home.”

“Dayne, I know. You don’t have to?—”

“I would replay the night I left again, and again, and again. I made the right choice. I know I did because we both stand here now. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t cut me so deep I still bleed.”

“We’ve already spoken about this, Dayne. Where is this coming from? I don’t care that you left. I only care that you came back.”

Dayne turned, staring into Mera’s eyes, his own brimming with tears.

“Why are you crying?” Genuine worry bled into Mera’s voice.

He looked at the ground, his hand trembling in his pocket. “You are the fire that kept my heart warm on the coldest of nights. You are the reason I want to be a better man. I wasted so many of our years. Twelve long years that I could have felt the warmth of your skin, heard the sound of your voice, built a family… So many years gone.”

Mera leaned forwards and wiped the tears from Dayne’s cheeks. “I’m here, Dayne. And I’m not going anywhere. We can’t take back time lost. We can only look forward.”

Dayne pressed his forehead to Mera’s, then stepped back. “Mera Vardas, you are everything that is good about me. You are warm when I am cold, you are right when I am so very wrong, you are strong when I am only ever a moment from breaking. You are the light that keeps my ship from crashing against the rocks, the star that guides me home. I have wasted so much of my life not looking into your eyes. And I refuse to waste another second.”

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