Page 10 of Killian
A girl of seven peeked her head around the stone stairs that led to the Great Hall. She spotted Killian, grinned cheekily, and dashed inside to lean against his side. The braid he’d put in her hair that morning was already messy, which pleased Killian.She had played hard since daybreak and deserved every moment of joy that came with being a child.
Slinging an arm around her, Killian faced his frightened mate. “Dravyn, this is my sister, Aloisa.”
“Nice to meet you,” Aloisa offered.
“Hello,” Dravyn told the floorboards.
“Dravyn is my mate,” Killian said.
Aloisa gasped, clapped, then danced around the room. “What wonderful news,” she shouted.
Saura laughed at her antics, and Aloisa ran to the woman who had taken the young girl beneath her wing to embrace her. Castle Leolinnia was a second home for both Killian and Aloisa, and it was reassuring to have Saura and T’Eirick’s aid in raising his sister following the death of their parents four years prior.
“I need to go home,” Dravyn whispered.
The last thing Killian wanted to do was to be separated from the man Fate had chosen for him after so short an acquaintance, but he had no choice.
“I understand. Close your eyes again, and I will return you to Castle Draconis. The garden perhaps?”
“Yes, my thanks.”
Holding in a sigh, Killian cast a teleportation circle to the spot where he had first seen Dravyn. Had it been minutes or hours ago? The morning had been so tumultuous, Killian wondered why the sun had not raised itself higher.
“Dravyn, please accept my apology,” Killian said the moment they arrived at the castle teeming with mystery. Filled with unease, it was not his desire to leave Dravyn here, but he could not abduct the man. “I fear this day has overwhelmed you. How could it not? I hope you do not think too poorly of us for stealing your Emperors. We can grant them something lost to them…a future.”
“I do not understand magick,” Dravyn murmured, once again without looking up.
Needing to see his beautiful eyes, Killian gently lifted Dravyn’s chin with his finger. Dravyn’s dark gaze held nothing but fear.
“I would be happy to explain everything and to answer any question you have. Perhaps not today. Your people are in mourning. Can I ask you to keep our secret? It must be up to Drystan and Conley to decide what information we tell the dragons.”
“I speak to no one,” Dravyn said. “I will not mention the events of this day.”
Saddened that he’d ruined what should have been a joyous day with his hasty decision to thrust Dravyn into a position where he must hold his tongue from his own family and friends, Killian wondered if he had already poisoned the relationship he sought with his other half.
“So much I have put you through this morning,” Killian lamented. “I have been unkind. That was not my intent. I fear my eagerness to show you off to those closest to me has filled your heart with so much terror you may never wish to be near me again.”
A host of emotions swept through Dravyn’s gaze, but they offered no clue about what was going on in the dragon’s mind.
“I must go,” Dravyn said, trying to lower his head, but Killian refused to allow it. If he had to say farewell to the man so soon, Killian desperately needed to memorize every feature of his strong handsome face.
“Can you read or write?”
“A former noble working in the garden alongside me instructed me.”
Relieved that they had some way to communicate, Killian produced a stack of botanical paper above the palm of his freearm. “These pages are magick. If you wish to write to me, scrawl my name on a page and wish for me to see it. Your letter will instantly appear in front of me. Keep them hidden if you wish no one to know of my presence. I will respond only when you tell me it is safe and you are alone.”
For several moments, Dravyn remained still. Then he reached out and took the paper with a trembling hand. “I need to return to the castle.”
Dropping both arms to his sides, Killian nodded sadly. “I understand.”
Dravyn shoved the paper under his tunic and ran from the garden as if arrows were aimed at his back. At one and twenty, Killian had given little thought to having a mate. It had been his experience that Fate rarely granted them to men and women so young, but she had set a different course for Killian.
In his haste and stupidity, he had petrified Dravyn. How long would it take Dravyn to calm? Was he turned now away from magick after witnessing the leaders of The Council robbing the dragons of their Emperors and resurrecting them? Time would tell. Somehow, Killian must find it in his impatient heart to wait for Dravyn to make the next move.
???
Two weeks later
