Page 128 of Deadwood
“To bring the kingdoms back together,” I offered.
“And that would benefit Torbernite?” he asked as we walked side by side between two houses, entering the town.
“What do you mean?”
“They were doing just fine with their arrangements with Sulphur and Feldspar. It’s Amosite they all have problems with.”
I tilted my head in thought. “Are you saying this was only for my father’s benefit?”
Bowen shrugged. “Perhaps the Bulars had their own reasons.”
With not a clue what those might be, I said instead, “So you’refriendswith Glacies.”
A glance at Bowen showed the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile he fought to keep at bay. “I wouldn’t say I’m particularly friends with the dragon. Or any dragon, in fact.”
“What would you call it, then?”
We walked down the main street. A few burly, drunk men were hanging around the front of the saloon as we passed.
“An alliance, I suppose. We help them, they help us,” Bowen explained.
“We, as in…”
“Fae,” he filled in. “We have a sort of bond with dragons, and Vulcan happens to be my bonded pair. He loathes being connected to anyone, but we complement each other.” With the two of them being just as intimidating as the other, I believed it.
“How does this connection work, exactly?” It’d be hard to believe they had some sort of written agreement.
“Like with a partner, your feelings grow attached. But rather than gradually, it’s instantly. Dragons have a sense that fae don’t—being able to mentally tell when their bonded fae is injured. But if the dragon gets hurt, their fae companion almost feels it like a phantom pain. It’s such an inner connection that living without your dragon… It’d be agony. The mourning never stops. Your heart breaks, day after day.” He was silent a moment as the knowledge settled in my mind, his eyes on the squelching muddied street. “Many fae choose death over the pain.”
The thought of how it would feel to be so deeply connected to a being and then to lose them only made me sympathize with the fae more. Would Bowen choose death if Vulcan were to die? He seemed too strong. Too unbreakable. The thought of something like that causing his end forced a foreign unease to run through me. I didn’t want to think of that happening to him.
“Why were they in the clearing in the first place? Did you call to them or something?” We rounded the end of the street, walking through the lined up houses.
He shook his head. “They wanted to discuss something. And I was a little…pent-up.”
“What was it?”
He looked at me with resigned eyes. “Auria…”
My lips pressed into a thin line. “I just want to help.” A purpose while being stuck in this town would be nice, but I gathered I wouldn’t find it with Bowen. Not that I should have expected to in the first place.
He faced forward again, shoulders stiff. “We don’t need your help.”
I reared back, almost as if he’d slapped me with his words. Thankfully, my house was straight ahead. I didn’t hesitate before quickening my pace, closing in on the porch.
“Auria, wait.”
As I reached the step, I spun, and he halted feet away. “No, I get it. Nobody really needs me anyway.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know that,” he defended.
As if he didn’t just say the words himself. I propped my hands on my waist and narrowed my eyes. The movement reminded me of the pain in my ribs. I’d need to find a healing vial soon. “I clearly don’t know you like I thought I did. So no, Bowen, I don’t know that. No one will open up to me about anything, and maybe that’s how it always ought to be.”
“I tried?—”
I let out a snort in disbelief. “By telling me about dragons? That’s not you.”
“Itisme. It’s part of who I am. There’s a lot you don’t know,” he started.
