Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter Fifty-Two

It continued to rain until our last day of travel, and, of course, it left us trekking in a sticky, humid heat, with no wind to give us any reprieve. The humidity was so thick and profound I swore I could practically taste the moisture in the air. And that made our travel all the more difficult and completely miserable.

Though, as miserable as we felt, Davian seemed to be acting more like himself—thank the gods. He was finally walking, instead of having Drakell or I carry him, though...he did stay close to me, just in case anything happened. His bruises were practically gone, thanks to his draconic blood, and he actually carried on a full conversation with Drakell about their families, and some of the crazy things their brother did in his youth.

I was so relieve to see that small smile on Davian's face as Drakell recounted such memories, and that warmth in my chest only grew as I stared at the pair.

"What did he do next?" Davian wondered as Drakell chuckled and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Well, he hid amongst the barrels of grain and when he saw Fyra approach, he jumped out of hiding and awkwardly asked her out on a date."

"That's incredibly adorable. How old was he when he did that?"

Drakell smiled in amusement—those crimson eyes twinkling. "Ah, he was eleven, I believe? He was the shy one between the both of us, but he's the type that once he sets his sights on something, he...well, he attempts to follow through with it. When he told me about his infatuation with Fyra, and how hesitant he was to approach her, I had to...convince him to at least take a shot and ask her. After all, what's the use sitting back and wondering "what if's"? Now, twenty-one years later, and they're now married with two children."

Davian nodded and linked arms with me, his body just as warm and clamy as mine was as he leaned his head on my shoulder—attention still on Drakell. "I'm glad he was able to find his happiness...even though I don't really know him." Davian squeezed my bicep and continued. "What about you? Did you ever awkwardly find "the one"?"

I smirked and glanced over to the brother in question just as his pale cheeks burned even redder than they already were—the man awkwardly rubbing the back of his sweaty neck as he averted his gaze. "Oh, uh, not really. Not to say I-I haven't dabbled, o-or anything, I'm just...I don't know. I guess I'm not really looking at the moment. My main goal now is getting you home."

Davian—being the absolute sweetheart he was—gently patted Drakell's arm, causing the older dragon to glance at him. "I'm sure you'll eventually find someone to spend your life with."

Drakell chuckled and shook his head, before he patted the top of Davian's head and pointed forward. "Thanks for that. I'm sure once we're all settled down at home, maybe I'll give a relationship for myself some thought. But for now, I'm pretty sure we're nearing the town my friend is in. I can smell the salt in the air."

Furrowing my brows, I took a moment to...well, sniff the air, and once I did, I realized that I could smell the faintest hint of the ocean, and my heart began racing at the thought of being in front of people again. Especially since I didn't know how far the news of our escape traveled. Then again...we were far enough from the castle that maybe...just maybe no one would recognize me. And to be honest, I didn't think I had been to this side of the continent before—which could be utilized in my favor. Well...hopefully, anyway.

We traveled on for another twenty or so minutes before we finally came across a dirt road, leading to the small ocean-side town. My anxiety inevitably grew once we began to see the buildings and commonfolk that bustled to, and from, festering like a bad omen within my gut. But Davian—bless that beautiful man, held my hand firmly, silently letting me know what he was here with me, and that we weren't alone this time. And just that thought had my anxiety calming down to a more tolerable level, and with a full heart, I looked at Davian and smiled towards him—causing his cheeks to burn pink as he shyly smiled back.