Page 15 of Fractured Sky
Sol had been through enough already.He’d been taken by Carlyle, and from the state of him, it hadn’t been pleasant.There was no way to know what Carlyle had been trying to do without asking Sol questions, but no spell called for the bruises on Sol’s skin.Magic wasn’t about violence.It could become violent, but it was seldom used to hurt people.Of course, Carlyle had already done so before, so maybe Dallin shouldn’t be surprised.
Carlyle had shown the kind of person he was a long time ago, and it was clear that spending so much time trapped in the gemstone hadn’t changed him.Dallin wouldn’t be surprised to find out it had made him worse.Carlyle seemed to be even more bitter and angry than he’d been before.
But Sol had managed to escape anyway.Graham had helped, and even though he was technically the enemy, Dallin couldn’t find it in himself to blame him for being on Carlyle’s side.The few times Dallin and the other mages had stumbled onto Graham and his brother, it had been obvious that only one of them actually wanted to help Carlyle, and it wasn’t Graham.Dallin had been curious about Graham’s story and how he and his brother had ended up with Carlyle, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions.It also wasn’t the time to start arguing about whether or not Graham should come with them.
Dallin understood why Tyne was wary, and he was, too, but Graham didn’t seem like a bad guy, no matter what he’d been involved in.More importantly, they couldn’t afford for Carlyle to find them before they managed to get everyone through the portal.That meant going with the flow and with what Sol wanted, and that was clearly for Graham to follow them.
Movement on the other side of the portal caught Dallin’s attention.Pippa was talking to Tyne, who was shaking his head and gesturing at the portal.She moved toward it, but Tyne grabbed her arm and pulled her back.Dallin heard Sol sucking a breath.He was worried about his friend, which was sweet but unnecessary.Sol didn’t know that, though.He didn’t know any of them, not even Dallin.
Pippa turned back to the portal and gestured at Sol.It was clear she was telling him that he needed to cross, and Dallin hoped that would convince him.He was ready to push Sol through himself if it didn’t.He wasn’t leaving his dragon behind, no matter what happened.
Dallin hadn’t allowed himself to think about what n.He’d see how hard it had been for some of the mages to deal with their dragons.It had to be terrifying not to remember anything, and Dallin was glad that Sol would have the dragons to talk to.Apart from Tyne and Meyer, though, all the couples were back together.Dallin needed to have faith that, eventually, he and Sol would be, too.It didn’t matter how much time it took.As long as they were both safe, everything would be fine.
“We really need to go,” Jarvis said.“I understand that you don’t know us and that you don’t trust us, but Pippa has been living with us since you were taken, and she’s fine.We won’t force you to do anything.We just want you to be safe.”
“Listen to them,” Graham gently pushed.“They really are the good guys.They’ve been trying to counteract what Carlyle’s been doing since he was freed, and they’re going to stop him eventually.”
Sol was still clutching Graham’s arm as if he was afraid that the man would disappear if he let go.He pulled Graham closer, and Dallin told himself that it didn’t mean anything.Sol and Graham had probably grown close because of the way Carlyle treated both of them.Sol’s bruises were more obvious, but Dallin could see the remnants of some of them on Graham’s skin.
Besides, it wasn’t his place to be jealous.He and Sol had never been together.He’d been in love with Kent, and Kent was dead.He was never coming back, no matter how much Sol looked like him.
Dallin swallowed and kept his focus on the forests around them, or at least, he tried.It was impossible for him to look away from Sol formore than a handful of seconds at a time, even though it made him want to cry.
“Fine,” Sol said.“We’re both coming with you.”
Jarvis’s shoulders slumped, probably in relief.It was what Dallin was feeling.
“Good.Let’s go.”
“We should go fast because Carlyle and my brother are looking for us,” Graham said as he lifted his chin and moved forward.
From the way his hands shook and how pale his face was, Dallin was ready to bet that he was terrified.He would be if he was in Graham’s place, too.He was about to enter the enemy’s home.
Sol made to follow Graham, but he stumbled, and Dallin had enough.He’d stayed away from Sol to give him space, but Sol needed help, and Dallin was right there.Was he supposed to stay away for much longer?He couldn’t.
Dallin loved Kent, but Kent wasn’t here, and he was never coming back, no matter how much Sol looked like him.Sol was there, though, and he needed Dallin.
“Let me help you,” Dallin said, forcing himself to smile at Sol.
Sol stared at him for a moment before nodding.“Thank you.”
“You have nothing to thank me for,” Dallin murmured as he wrapped an arm around Sol’s waist and helped him move forward.He was slightly shorter, but he didn’t care.He had Sol close, and he could feel that his dragon was safe.
They finally walked through the portal.Dallin knew that as soon as they were on the other side, he’d have to let go of Sol, so he took these few seconds to send this moment to memory.He didn’t know if he’d ever have the opportunity to be so close to Sol ever again.
As soon as they were on the other side of the portal, Pippa was on them.She threw her arms around Sol’s neck with a sob, and Dallin had to let go.He took a step back, forcing himself to look away.Pippa and Sol deserved privacy.
Dallin was tempted to run back to his office or his room, but he stuck around, just in case.As soon as Jarvis was through the portal, Tyne was on him.“We should attack Carlyle now.He won’t expect us.”
Jarvis frowned.“He’ll know that Sol is gone soon if he doesn’t already.”
“I think he already does,” Graham murmured.“We heard my brother looking for us earlier.I’m still not sure how he didn’t find us.”
Jarvis nodded as if he’d expected that answer.“I noticed spells in the forest.”
“There are a lot of those.Carlyle wanted the house to be protected and unable to be found.”
“For the first time, we know where he is,” Tyne argued.“We can take him by surprise.We can finally end this.”
