Page 79 of Killian
Dravyn was at his side. They’d found that what made them most content was alternating nights between their trees. It allowed them both to stay on top of everything that went on in their respective lives, and both their beds were comfortable. But Killian’s heart longed for a completed matebond.
Dragons had no traditions besides biting their other half as far as Killian had been told, so he hoped to follow the practice adopted by The Council and unite his soul with Dravyn’s at an upcoming dance. He grinned more brightly as he entered Kaedan’s castle, his mind conjuring ideas about what a mating mark between a druid and a dragon looked like.
In a practice as old as time, every member of The Council had adopted the ancient druidic ritual of combining their blood twice—first to bind their souls and second to ask Fate to marktheir skin with an image of her choosing to honor the matebond she’d granted the couple. Usually, it was a perfect replica of both parties, but druids often had plants or other living things, and they wore the marks proudly on their arms. Killian wanted that. To walk around with a piece of Dravyn no matter where he went.
Delighted at the thought, Killian wandered into the Great Hall, but his smile faded when he found it empty. Since Killian wanted to locate Kaedan to discover if he had any further tasks to complete before nightfall, he headed for the kitchen. If Kaedan wasn’t running The Council with Renny at his side to ensure no detail was overlooked, the Grand Warlock would be feasting upon a sweet.
Killian stepped over the threshold into the kitchen, and the intense heat from the ovens warmed him immediately. To his surprise, Kaedan was absent.
“Killian, care for something to keep you full until supper?” Hilanore asked as she set a large ball of dough into a ceramic bowl and draped a cloth on it.
“No, thank you, I was searching for Kaedan.”
“I have not seen him since mid-day,” Hilanore replied, her brown brows knitting together above her light blue eyes. “Wullem, do you know where Kaedan hied off to?”
Wullem glanced up from where he was aiding his mother by stirring a giant pot of stew. “No, I can go seek him out if you like, though, Killian. Leopold and I could split up and cover plenty of ground.”
At his side, Wullem’s familiar nodded.
“We would be happy to find him,” Leopold said, his smile lighting up eyes the same shade of azure as Wullem had inherited from his mother.
“I appreciate your offer, but I will track him down myself,” Killian replied.
Hilanore wiped the excess flour from her hands on a towel that was swung through the cord of her apron and grabbed a piece of fruit Killian had grown a week ago at the last dance.
“Take an apple with you, Killian, no need to go on such a search with an empty belly,” Hilanore remarked. “Saura headed up to the solar, perhaps she knows where to find her eldest.”
Killian took the apple from Hilanore and pocketed it. “Again, you have my gratitude, I will start in the solar. See everyone at our evening sup.”
His bare feet silent on the wooden boards, Killian headed for the stairs closet to the kitchen. It took him past the front doors, which burst open after Killian had barely taken two steps into the room. Four men stormed into the castle. Sucking in a shocked breath at the intrusion, Killian glared at them for startling him.
“Killian, there you are,” Kaedan called out.
“You are the one who was missing,” Killian retorted.
“What has happened?” Drystan asked. “Why are you cross?”
“I am not cross; you stole the air from my lungs when you charged in here,” Killian commented.
“We hardly knew you were dawdling in the castle,” Conley teased.
“Dawdling?” Killian repeated. “How dare you, Reverent Knight.”
“Enough of this,” Kaedan impatiently remarked. “We must go.”
Killian’s heart sank. “Which village must we help now?”
“Chilstone,” Kaedan replied. “But they do not need our aid.”
“That is a human village. Why would we go there?” Killian asked. “Should we not be teleporting directly to one of our villages if it has been attacked?”
“There was no attack,” Baxter said. “Was there? Again? That would be the second this week.”
“As far as I know, nothing has happened today,” Drystan replied. “Killian, has word reached us that our people are in trouble?”
“No, I thought that was why you were looking for me,” Killian answered, relieved that he would not watch Kaedan light more pyres before the stars twinkled in the night sky. “If there was no dragon attack, why are we going to Chilstone?”
“I wrote to the dragon Kings as we discussed,” Kaedan replied. “King Mardas answered. A dragon recently showed up on his land. He was most eager to hear about a place he might go to live with other outcasts. We are meeting with the dragon. Drystan and Conley insisted on somewhere neutral.”
