The Bond (Book 2) (19 page)

Willem watched Master Canneth and Master Doronal leave and frowned. Why was Fillion moving into the dragon stable right next door to Aeron? There was plenty of room at the boys’ dorms, why didn’t the masters have him move in there? It had been a mistake not to take Master Canneth up on the offer to move in.

Willem put that concern out of his mind, though. Right now, he wanted to speak with Aeron. The others had walked with Fillion to get his things from his horse. This gave him an opportunity to be alone with Aeron for a moment.

“Hey.”

Aeron looked up from his desk. “Hi.”

“You okay?”

“I guess so.”

“It’s just that you’ve been a little quiet, recently, and, I dunno, moody. I haven’t even asked for study help, assuming you had something on your mind you needed to think about.”

Aeron didn’t say anything, just looked at him.

“Earlier, it seemed like you were back to your happy self when Fillion got here. But then, you got even worse.” He walked over, leaned against the desk. “Can you tell me what’s wrong? Please?”

“I’ve been worried.” Aeron looked down. “Worried that you won’t be the next dragonlinked. I mean, there’s now six candidates instead of just you.”

Willem’s heat skipped a beat and he smiled. “That’s what’s been bothering you? Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care if I’m next, as long as we can—”

“Well, I care.” Aeron stood, walked to the door, and stared at Anaya. Turning back, he said, “It matters to me. I want you to have what I have, to experience this incredible bond.”

He put his hands to his forehead. “When I sensed another dragonlinked out there, another one who wasn’t you, I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t.”

He lowered his arms. “I wanted
you
to be the next one. You used to be the only candidate, but now there’s all these stupid others!”

Anger flashed across his face, and he yelled, “What, Anaya?” Spinning to the door, he said, “I heard you call me the first—” His head turned to the right and he took a step back.

Willem walked over and looked out the door. Jessip, Liara, and Fillion were all standing in the large doorway to the courtyard.

Jessip, looking highly uncomfortable, said, “Ah, were you guys going to dinner?”

Liara’s face was crimson and her lips were pressed together in a thin line. “How dare you!” She stomped up to Aeron. “Master Doronal and Master Canneth invited us to join. Even Anaya said we were candidates. We ‘stupid others’ have just as much right to be here as you.” Taking a step back, she said, “I thought I knew you, Aeron. I guess I didn’t.” Spinning on her heel, she left.

Though the reason Aeron had been out-of-sorts made Willem feel great—Aeron had been thinking about him—the way Aeron worded it, the way the others had heard it, was terrible.

“Listen guys,” he said, “Aeron didn’t mean it like that. He’s been under a lot of pressure lately, and it just came out wrong.”

Fillion stared at Aeron. He looked disappointed. “I’m going to catch up with Liara.”

Jessip watched Fillion head off. “I think I will too. See you guys there.”

Willem shook his head. This was going to take some fixing. He turned back to Aeron and was surprised to see him sitting on the ground, head hanging down.

“I can’t do anything right.”

Anaya padded over and touched her nose to Aeron’s head. She let out a sad rumble.

+ + + + +

Lord Eldin smiled. Sitting back, he looked around his business office. Its walls were covered with the ads and posters being distributed in newspapers and in villages, towns, cities, and caers across the continent. All the advertising was magnificent. And he’d had a hand in each and every ad. Even the words shouted by the few town criers they’d hired had passed across his desk.

The ads focused on their trump card: speed of delivery. To be sure, reliability, consistency, and security were mentioned, too. But getting product from one place to another the fastest was what separated them from every other shipping company.

And the ads were working. The first demonstration hadn’t even occurred and inquiries were already flooding in. He’d had to hire an additional employee to handle them all.

A small price to pay, for business was going well. Lord Eldin leafed through documents on the desk. Sales reports, security reports, efficiency reports, and more, all brought good news. The last document in the pile, however, made him frown.

This was the only thing that concerned him. In his latest letter, Gregor evinced a worrisome attachment to Baronel’s dragon, Anaya. The boy seemed positively enchanted by the beast. That could hamper his objectivity and might make him refuse requests for drastic action, should it come to that. Perhaps a reminder of his duties to his family was in order. Not too overt, though, the boy wasn’t thick. Subtlety was needed. But nothing could be allowed to stand in the way of the company, and no one.

Millinith stood beside the carriage and stared at the mansion. It was bigger than The Residence back at Caer Baronel.

Stop gawking like a simpleton, she thought.

One of the doors opened, and a man stepped out. He began walking down the stairs.

“Thank you for riding with us.” The carriage boy, he was actually a young man, stood beside her luggage. Two pieces were all she’d brought, and they sat on the gravel drive.

“You’re quite welcome.” She handed him a tip.

He smiled, bowed, and climbed atop the carriage.

The walk down the mansion steps was of such length that the carriage had nearly reached the outside gate, horses and wheels crunching through the gravel, by the time the young man from inside reached her.

“Miss Millinith?” He looked to be not much older than her. The set of clothes he wore was quite nice and fit very well. Tailored.

“Yes.”

“Excellent.” He reached down for the travel cases.

“Oh,” Millinith moved to intercept him, “I can—”

“Please, Miss. Allow me.” He grabbed the luggage and said, “Lady Erindia Gallia is waiting for you inside. If you’d be kind enough to follow?”

His smile was astonishing, and she even felt her cheeks warm a bit at the look he gave her. His brown eyes sparkled in the morning light and his sandy hair shone.

“Of course,” she said, looking up at the door. Anywhere but at that smile.

They were inside, walking down a short hallway, when the full import of his words struck her.

Lady Erindia Gallia.

Master Doronal’s family had a surname? No wonder their house was so huge. They were practically royalty.

The young man lead her into a room. Inside, a woman sat in a large chair and enjoyed, at least based on its shape, a cup of tea. She also wore fine clothing, and her hair was done up in a complicated, though beautiful, arrangement. Little crystals tinkled faintly when she moved her head.

“Thank you, Kaiden. Take her luggage to the first guestroom, if you would?”

“Of course, my lady.”

She smiled warmly at him as he left. Turning to Millinith, she said, “Grandson. He’s quite the scamp. I absolutely adore that he insists on calling me ‘My lady.’ Do be wary of his smile, however. It’s been known to melt many a heart.” She indicated the chair to her left. “Please, sit. Have some tea. Your trip has been long.”

“Thank you, Lady Erindia Gallia.”

“Oh gods, don’t use my entire name. Erindia is fine. Or if you must, Lady Erindia.”

“Lady Erindia, then.” Millinith smiled. “And you’re not wrong about your grandson,” she said, sitting. “He’s already unleashed his smile in my direction. It’s alarmingly effective.”

Millinith picked up the tea pot as Lady Erindia chuckled. After pouring hot water into a cup, she lifted and lowered the tea infuser again and again, making swirls in the rising steam. “The trip was actually more pleasant than I thought it would be. It gave me time to think and study. Getting away from Caer Baronel has been nice. However, I’d like to deliver the first application to the Bureau of Business Affairs as soon as possible.”

“Of course. Do you have the second application for me?”

“I do.” Millinith opened her satchel and removed a large, fat envelope. She handed it to Lady Erindia. “Master Doronal said he included it in here along with correspondence for you.”

“Excellent. I’ll have Kaiden deliver the other application in the morning. Best not to have them put in on the same day.”

Millinith dropped two cubes of sugar in her cup. She stirred the tea, silver spoon clinking, and said, “So you agree with Master Doronal that someone has their eye on us?”

“I do,” Lady Erindia said, then smiled. “Master Doronal. It still amuses me to hear my son called that. But he earned the title. Magic Craft was the first thing to truly hold his attention, the first thing to interest him enough that his flirting almost disappeared.”

Millinith stopped stirring. Master Doronal? Flirting?

Her thoughts must have been plain on her face, because Lady Erindia laughed and said, “Oh, yes. He was just as bad as Kaiden, if not worse.”

A shocking thought occurred to Millinith. “K–Kaiden isn’t Master Doronal’s son, is he?”

The delicate sound of tinkling crystals accompanied Lady Erindia’s chuckle. “I only wish. Kaiden is his oldest sister’s son. Doronal is still a bachelor.”

Millinith let out a soft breath of relief. The idea that Master Doronal might have had a son upset her, for some reason. Perhaps it was because it just didn’t seem like he would. If he had a child, it would have shaken the image of the magic craft master she thought she knew. Taking a sip of tea, she noticed Lady Erindia studying her. Millinith swallowed.

“So, where did you meet my son?”

“A–At Caer Baronel.” Why was she stammering? Clearing her throat, she continued. “I was accepted there for the opening, along with a . . . friend. He was her instructor. My friend and I were both in Magic Craft, though I was ahead in rank. I was studying for my mastery, actually, studies which I’ve just returned to.”

“Hmm. I see.” Lady Erindia’s gaze was unsettling. She set her cup down and smiled. “Well, I do hope you’ll join us for lunch, or at the very least, for dinner.”

An hour later, Millinith strode down the sidewalk on her way to the Bureau of Business Affairs. She glanced at the map Kaiden had given her. One more street and she’d take a left.

He’d offered one of their carriages for her use about town, but she told him the walk would do her good.

‘Too many days sitting in a stagecoach.’

One of his smiles was followed by quick strokes of pen on paper as he sketched out a map for her.

In truth, she wanted the time it would take to get to the bureau in order to think.

The talk with Master Doronal’s mother had gotten very uncomfortable toward the end. What bothered her was that she couldn’t figure out why. The other thing on her mind was Enora. The talk about the initial trip to Caer Baronel had brought back memories of the girl.

Young woman, she corrected herself. They were same age, after all.

Enora had left for Delcimaar to work on her own mastery, leaving Caer Baronel, and Millinith, behind. They’d parted on good terms, at least. And if she didn’t visit Enora on what was likely the last time she’d ever come to Delcimaar, she’d never be able to forgive herself.

Sighing, Millinith walked into the large stone building that was the BBA. It had sounded more difficult when Kaiden explained it, but the process was fairly simple. She went to the proper clerk and presented the application. After filling out and signing a few more documents, one under oath, she received copies back and was on the way out. Easy. Her next task would be less so.

Enora’s hair was short.

“Millinith!” She ran over, arms flung wide.

After the collision, Millinith found herself wrapped tightly in a hug. Laughing, she said, “Gods Enora, you’ll strangle me!”

“I don’t care. It is
so
good to see you.”

Millinith had to agree. It was good to see her friend again.

Enora lead them to a small shaded table. It sat to the side of the large courtyard at the center of the Magic Craft Guildhall.

“I’ve never been here,” Millinith said. The enormous size of the place made her feel just as awed as she had felt outside the Gallia residence.

“Oh, you get used to it, soon enough.” Enora was grinning. “So, what have you been up to?”

“I just started my mastery studies, again.”

“Really? That’s great! And about time, too.”

Millinith smiled. “Master Doronal said he wanted me to get back to it. Though, to be honest, I think he has other reasons for it as well.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. He always seemed to have more than one reason for doing anything. Plans within plans.” She smiled again.

The shorter hair complimented Enora’s face and made her eyes stand out. Millinith tilted her head. “This place seems to agree with you. You’ve changed.”

“Changed?” Enora’s brows raised.

Millinith burst out laughing. “Not in any bad way. And you certainly seem happier.”

Enora crooked her mouth in a smile. “I am happy.”

+ + + + +

Aeron, lost in thought, only listened with half an ear to Gregor’s lesson.

Awkward. Awkward, awkward, awkward, awkward. It started sounding very odd when you said it or thought it often enough. Awkward.

That was actually perfect, though, because he felt odd. Things were awkward, and he felt odd. He actually felt a little like he did when he’d first bonded with Anaya.

A glance found her lying in her den, eyes on him. He retreated from the link, not wanting his weird feelings to leak through.

As when he’d bonded her, he felt scared and nervous. But instead of the added excitement, there was worry. Instead of looking forward to every day, he dreaded them. At least then he’d been able to go to the library and do research on dragons. He doubted very seriously they had any books explaining what to do when you pissed on your friends.

“They don’t seem to tend toward over-eating,” Gregor said, “so that’s not something you need concern yourself with as they’re growing.”

The healer adept seemed to really enjoy what he was doing, enjoyed being involved with dragons. Master Canneth sat to the side, taking in the lesson as well, and occasionally adding his own insight. He seemed to stop by less and less, lately.

Aeron felt eyes on him, and, sure enough, Liara was staring his direction. When she saw him look over, she returned her attention to Gregor’s lecture.

The passing of several days had done nothing to lessen the tension between Liara, Fillion and himself. Jessip didn’t seem to be affected by the rift. Just Liara and Fillion. Being around them was almost painful.

To make matters worse, Sharrah started a weekend recap session for dragonlinked, to go over each week’s lessons. Aeron loved the idea in principle, but the timing was terrible for it. Well, for him, anyway. It just meant more time near Liara and Fillion. She with her piercing, angry glances, and he with his sad, puppy-dog eyes. Aeron had tried saying something, tried apologizing, but Liara turned those angry dark eyes on him and words fled.

It was good that Gregor was around, because it seemed that even Sharrah and Cheddar were a little distant. At least Aeron could still speak with Willem and Gregor without feeling completely terrible. Without feeling awkward.

“We still know very little of their diet,” Gregor said, “so we urge you to track anything new that they eat. You should also be cautious. Many animals have allergic, sometimes deadly, reactions to foods that we eat with no issue. Track everything in your dragon logbook.”

Most of the Animal Craft lessons covered things Aeron had either already done, or was already doing. This was new, though. He’d have to think back on everything Anaya had eaten. And, if possible, recall any adverse reactions she’d had.

He remembered one time when she was only a few weeks hatched. She’d swallowed a handful of marbles. The look on Sharrah’s face when they found them in Anaya’s scat a few days later had been priceless.

“Now that’s a very welcome sight,” Willem murmured.

Aeron leaned to his left and quietly said, “What is?”

“You were smiling.”

Instead of making him feel better, it felt as if a giant were squeezing his heart. He’d been so withdrawn that a simple smile made Willem say that?

Aeron?

I’m fine, dear-heart.

You are not fine.

No, I’m not. But I will be.

I love you, you know. So does Willem.

Aeron closed his eyes. This problem needed to be resolved, and soon. But how? Yrdra’s ice–cold tits,
how?

+ + + + +

Millinith wondered if not accepting the carriage had been a mistake. Caer Baronel was nowhere near as large as Delcimaar, so she was unused to walking as much as she had this day.

At least lunch with Enora had been pleasant. The meal had been so enjoyable, asking Enora if she’d already taken her mastery exam completely slipped Millinith’s mind. Still, it was good to see that life here seemed to be treating her friend well.

Back at the Gallia family residence, she lay on the bed in the guestroom, glad that there were a few hours before dinner. Her feet could use a rest and so could she.

A soft knock woke her up. After a brief moment of confusion, she said, “Yes?”

“Dinner will be served in a hour. Lady Erindia asked me to let you know.”

She could actually
see
his smile in his voice. How did he
do
that? “Thank you, Kaiden.”

“I’ll be back, just before, to show you to the dining room. I couldn’t bear the thought of you getting lost.”

A laugh burst past her lips. He really was a scamp. “You’re most kind.” Fading footfalls signaled his leaving.