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The village we were in was a small community. There were a number of extended families who made their home here, including Emrys, the healer, whose family was overseeing our care. He was still treating me, so he had welcomed us to a hut connected to those of his family.
He seemed to be an elder of this village, but I knew we were being held on the fringes of something much bigger. Emrys would often be called away, and Jaxus came and went and didn’t seem to stay here. The other male, Hadeon, who Zaria said seemed like he was in charge, had not shown his face again.
I could only assume there was more to this place that they did not want us to see, and because I wanted to be able to leave as soon as I could fly, I wasn’t about to go digging around. If they wanted to keep secrets, I’d let them. We’d probably seen too much for their liking already.
We were free to come and go from our hut. Meals were taken in a larger building, where Emrys’ extended family cooked and ate together. He had children older than my father, and some younger than me, and there were grandchildren of adult age, and some still running around, climbing trees. It was a village in itself just inside his family home.
I kept to our room, sleeping mostly. Waiting, planning. Trying to reach out to Kol. It was futile; nothing had changed. It was like all those years without Zaria. I knew she wasn’t dead, but nothing else. The difference was that I could reach his mind, but he was just…not there. Unconscious, I hoped, and safe somehow.
Zaria’s question kept playing in my mind. If they killed and turned the other dragons they took, why keep Kol alive? If I thought too much about that, I was going to drive myself mad, and I needed to keep my head. Zaria taught me a skill she’d learned while living a life with no choices, and I was trying to use it while I had none.
All the things I wondered, all the things I wanted, they were not in my reach today. That might change tomorrow, but today, I was just a fae healing. I needed to focus on that now, so that tomorrow, if the Goddess willed my fate to change, I was ready to take on whatever that brought.
Zaria was truly a wonder. She was off somewhere braiding the hair of the healer’s grandchildren, and I was glad she was able to distract herself. All those years of just dealing with the present moment and not fretting about a tomorrow that was not hers to control were paying off.
I personally wanted to kill every last fae who knowingly held her to that life, and Goddess willing, I would get the chance. We hadn’t talked about the fact that we found an escape tunnel in her village and there were no bodies in the cellar because Kol had needed us. But once this was over, we would face it together.
A knock at the door saved me from spiraling, and I crossed the room to open it. Jaxus stood tall and bold on the other side. I was not used to anyone standing over me, but he was truly huge, and I knew he used it to keep me in my place. I was a problem here; I wouldn’t expect any other treatment.
“Can I come in?” he asked, the self-satisfied smile that never seemed to leave his face on full display.
“Zaria’s not here,” I told him bluntly.
“It’s you I came to see.”
My brows rose. He had been making a point of seeking out Zaria for things and leaving me behind as the patient who needed rest. I had bitten my tongue down to nothing over the past few days, but it was all a power game.
“Sure, come in.” I held the door open, and he strolled past me into our space. He eyed our neatly made bed and smirked.
One bed was all we’d been given, but after what we’d been through, there hadn’t been a question of us separating. The awkwardness of the inn was a distant memory, and we’d slept wrapped in each other each night as our magics blended seamlessly to help me heal.
Nothing else had happened between us, though. We hadn’t even talked about it. We were just focused on getting me strong. And I didn’t like Jaxus’ curiosity. He knew we were mates, and he knew I hadn’t claimed her yet—there was no hiding that fact among dragons—but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of explaining our situation or warning him off. He could see she was mine. An alpha did not need to assert himself on every matter.
“Sit outside so we can talk?” he suggested, turning to the small veranda that looked over the water.
I followed and took the other seat.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better. I think if I can hold my reserve full overnight in the next few days, Emrys will clear me to try my wings.”
“That’s good news,” he said.
“Is it?” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees, facing him. We both knew this was why he’d sought me out rather than Zaria.
He lounged back in his chair, not showing any signs of tension, but he held my glare.
“Are they going to let us leave when I can fly?”
“I cannot speak for the elders.”
“No, but you can give it to me straight. I have to assume to protect this place, they will force us to stay, and I imagine if we won’t, there can only be one solution.” I left our deaths unspoken since it was not a future I would entertain.
Jaxus nodded slowly. “It’s never happened before, so there is no other case to reference. But I believe your assumption would be correct.”
“So, what are my chances of convincing them?”
Jaxus considered my words for a long moment before speaking. “I’m going to say fifty-fifty.”
