Page 1 of Fractured Sky
Chapter One
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DALLIN WAS THE ONLYmage without a dragon.
Initially, it had been easy for him not to feel left out.They’d found the dragons one by one, so Dallin had been able to focus on everyone else and ignore the fact that he still didn’t know what had happened to his shield.Now that everyone had found their dragons, though, there was no ignoring the massive hole in Dallin’s life.
It was made worse by the fact that they’d almost found Sol.If they’d been just five minutes faster, they could have reached him before Carlyle.They could have saved him from whatever Carlyle was doing to him.
Dallin pressed his forehead harder against the cool window.Nothing about thinking about Sol was easy.For one, he only knew Sol’s new name because Sol’s best friend had been at the apartment when they’d gotten there.She was the only one of them who knew who Sol was now.He wasn’t Dallin’s Kent anymore.He hadn’t been in a long time.
Dallin didn’t know Sol, but he’d been forcing himself to think of him that way.He wanted to be ready when they got Sol back.He couldn’t think that they wouldn’t, and getting to know Sol through Pippa was the only way for him to keep hope.Sometimes, he wasn’t sure he could, anyway.
Dallin knew what Carlyle was capable of.They had no idea what themage was doing to Sol, but they knew it couldn’t be good, and there was nothing any of them could do.Ansley hadn’t been able to locate Carlyle or Sol, and until he could, they couldn’t go to Sol’s rescue.There was nothing they could do but wait, and Dallin had been waiting for so long that he wasn’t sure he could continue doing so for much longer.
The feeling of powerlessness made him want to scream.He eyed the lake outside his window, wondering if he had it in him to head out there to scream at the sky.It would feel ridiculous, but maybe it would help him feel better, and he sorely needed that.He just wasn’t sure that anything he could do would achieve that.The only thing that would was getting Sol back, and that wasn’t about to happen unless Carlyle made a massive mistake.
Dallin sighed and got up from his armchair.He was supposed to be working, but instead, he’d been curled up there and staring out the window for the past half hour.His focus was shot, and nothing he did made it better.Every time he tried to get to work, his thoughts drifted to Sol and stayed firmly stuck on him.Trying to force himself to work wouldn’t help anyone because Dallin would make a mess out of it, so he might as well leave his office and find something productive to do.
He didn’t want to talk to his brothers, even though they might help.He already knew what they’d say, and he didn’t want their pity or their fussiness.They were doing everything they could to help, and that was enough.It wasn’t their fault that none of them knew how to find Sol.
Screaming at the lake was out because it wasn’t Dallin’s style, as was spending time with his brothers, so Dallin did the next best thing—he went to find Pippa.
He didn’t know what she thought of him.When they’d found her at Sol’s apartment, she’d been terrified.She’d seen Carlyle attack and take Sol away, and even though she’d known about Sol being a dragon shifter, neither of them had been aware that magic existed.Pippa had been slowly making her way through all the new information that had been thrown at her, but a lot of the time, she stayed in her new room at the castle, isolating herself.
Dallin suspected that she was overwhelmed, but it could also be because she didn’t know if she could fully trust them.After all, she didn’t know them.They hadn’t hurt her, but they were mages, just like Carlyle.There was no way for Pippa to know they were the good guys, although she’d relaxed after Dallin had shown her old pictures of him and Sol.The pictures had made it obvious that Sol and Dallin had been close.It seemed to have helped Dallin to earn Pippa’s trust enough that she’d answered his questions about Sol and his new life.
Dallin knew where to find Pippa.If she wasn’t in her room, she’d be in the kitchen with Jillian.Jillian was human, so Pippa probably felt more comfortable with her than with most of the people at the castle.She’d never refused him entry when he’d knocked on her door, though, and he hoped she wouldn’t start today.
He wanted to be alone, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be.He knew it would be better if he stopped obsessing over Sol and what was happening to him, but he also couldn’t.After so many years oflooking for his dragon, he’d almost found him.He’d almost managed to rescue Sol from Carlyle.
He’d failed.
Something massive was missing from Dallin’s life.Before, he’d had his brothers, but now, everyone was focused on their relationship with their dragon—as it should be.Even Tyne had better things to do than to comfort Dallin, and he was still actively avoiding Meyer.
Dallin wanted to know what had happened between them, but he didn’t think he’d have the strength not to give Tyne a piece of his mind if they talked about this, and he didn’t want to fight with any of his brothers, especially not Tyne.He could be a dickhead when he wanted to, and that was most of the time.
Pippa’s door was closed when Dallin reached it, so he knocked.He could hear music inside, and he smiled when the door opened.Pippa looked wary for a moment, but she smiled back when she saw Dallin.
“It’s been a few days,” she said as she stepped aside and gestured for him to come in.
“I wouldn’t want to bother you.”
“You’re not bothering me.Honestly, you’re a nice distraction.There’s not much for me to do here.”
Dallin looked around the room.Pippa had already made the place hers.It helped that Dallin and the other mages had gone back to the apartment a few times to get her things.She’d only gone once, but after that, she’d refused to step foot in the place, and Dallin didn’t blame her.That was where Carlyle had attacked her and had taken her best friend.Because of him, she’d lost Sol, her home, and her job.
But she was settling in.It was clear that she wasn’t planning on going anywhere, which was what Dallin and the other mages had hoped for.Once they got Sol back, this would be his home, and he’d want his best friend with him.
Unless he decided he wanted nothing to do with mages, grabbed Pippa, and flew as far away as he could.Dallin supposed that was a possibility.Whatever Carlyle was doing to him, it couldn’t be good.He was the first mage Sol would remember meeting, and that might taint what he thought of every mage.
Dallin couldn’t think like that, though.He had to think that whatever Carlyle was doing, Sol wouldn’t hold it against him.He had to hope that Sol would feel the bond between them.
He had to hope that theywouldget Sol back and that when they did, he’d be in one piece.
* * * *
NO ONE HAD TOLD SOLwhy he was stuck in this fucking cell.
