Koldis the Green (DRAGONWALL SERIES 4)

CHAPTER 9: A PLEDGE OF SUPPORT

Kastali Dun

Talon stared across his desk at Reyr, glaring. They sat in his study, their goblets of wine mostly untouched on the mahogany desktop. The days were getting shorter and darkness had long since fallen, but he kept the glass doors leading out to the balcony open, letting the crisp air flutter the curtains. It was more humid than normal, signaling the approach of yet another storm. Winter would bring days of rain, which also meant days of being sequestered indoors.

"Look, if you'd just think about this rationally, my king, and stop being so temperamental—"

"I am not temperamental," he snarled. Reyr lifted an eyebrow—case in point. Talon sighed, running a hand through the tangled tufts of his hair, massaging his temples, the bridge of his nose.

"Talon, if the dock master's—"

"If."

"Would you let me finish?!" Reyr snapped. "Gods." Talon huffed, but remained quiet this time. "If his records are correct," Reyr continued, "then the last time this happened was during Gallant and Lena's reign. Oshea attacked in full force. An entire fleet of ships and nets and dragon lances converged on the Bay of Bandu hoping to use Kastali Dun as a point of conquest for Dragonwall."

"They were unsuccessful, obviously," Talon drawled. "And those records are what, forty thousand years old? They've probably become unreadable by now, easily misinterpreted. This is Oshea, Reyr. They're so far across the sea that sometimes I struggle to believe the country even exists. I mean, really."

Reyr shook his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. "You forget that we preserve parchment with magic. The records can be trusted." His voice was flat. "You cannot deny this, Talon. You cannot deny the implication. The possibility of what is coming. I know with Claire gone..."

"Don't." Talon's eyes narrowed. "Just...don't."

Reyr's expression softened. "You forget that I know exactly what it is like to have a mate. To be separated."

Talon's heart tightened then. Painfully. At the reminder of what Reyr had lost. And with that reminder came a deep, intense fear. Because he could also suffer the same loss...some day. Nothing between him and Claire was promised. Reyr's past was evidence of that.

He blew out a breath, staring at Reyr. "Is it supposed to hurt this much? That...feeling? It's like something is gripping my ribs and trying to rip them out."

"It hurts." Reyr nodded. "Badly, if memory serves."

"Why?" It angered him, the pain. It kept him on edge. Did Claire feel it too? The unease? The tug? He hadn't felt this way when he'd been in the forest. Not like he did now, and at that time, they'd still been mates. He voiced these concernes to Reyr, opening up. Revealing his vulnerability.

"It's the magic of the forest," Reyr said, offering a theory. "The many barriers erected to keep the Sprites safe. Think about it. She is cut off from you entirely. It's the same reason we couldn't communicate with anyone outside whilst we were there. Remember? It is its own bubble."

Talon grumbled. It made sense. "Claire said she couldn't eat while I was away," he recalled. He seemed to be struggling with food too. "She said she lost her appetite in my absence. That something felt wrong the whole time I was gone."

Reyr rubbed at the stubble along his jaw. "It would seem that she bore the brunt of your departure the last time, and now you bear it this time."

"And knowing now what she is to me, how much I love her, hasn't made that burden any easier."