“What?” he asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise. “But I...”
“Go. Inside,” he repeated, giving him a look that he hoped would communicate that it was an order, not a request. Volkmar frowned, eyes flickering between him and the stranger for an instant longer, then with a polite nod at the other figure, he turned and headed for the door. Adrissu watched him until the tower door had closed behind him, and with his one free hand he flicked his wrist, hearing the lock click. Only then did he turn back to face the traveler, whose gaze lingered on the door with a perturbed expression.
“Are you Naydruun the Blue?” Adrissu asked sharply, his voice just above a hiss as he took a step closer. A distance of only about five feet separated them now—he hated being so close, but did not want their voices to carry, and to cast a silencing spell around them could very well be seen as an act of aggression, even though this was his territory.
The figure did not look surprised at the question. “I am,” they replied, nodding once. “You are Zamnes the Black?”
Adrissu nearly winced at the name—it had been a long time since he had heard it. It had been decades since Zamnes had been sighted anywhere near Polimnos, and when the town's citizens discussed the beast, it was always Zamnes the Scourge of Polimnos. Only another dragon would know him as Zamnes the Black, and he had luckily avoided the presence of other dragons for many years.
“Yes,” he said, openly scowling at Naydruun now. “You are bold to come into my lair, right up to my home.”
Naydruun lifted their hands in an appeasing gesture. “I mean no harm. Heriel told me about you when I visited home, how you bought the beryl bowl. I wanted to meet you and perhaps offer my congratulations to you and your mate, but...” Their eyes flickered up to the tower door again. “I wondered why I only sensed one draconic presence as I approached. Was that human really your mate?”
“Heismy mate, and you would do well to remember where you are,” Adrissu growled. Indignation flared in his chest. Every time he had been in another dragon’s territory, he had practically humiliated himself with how he’d crawled and begged; yet this strange dragon had the audacity to walk right up to him, as if they were equals in his own home? They were acquaintances at best, and even that was generous; but Naydruun clearly had no intention of lowering themself before Adrissu. He barely knew the dragon and already he hated them. “What do you want?”
“As I said, I intended to come here to introduce myself to you and your mate, but I see now that won’t be necessary,” Naydruun sighed. Their lips pressed together in an expression that was not quite a frown, but was decidedly unfriendly. “I have half a mind to take our bowl back, frankly. To do such a thing with a mortal... I don’t know how it was even possible. The possibility of it disgusts me.”
Adrissu’s vision went red with rage, as he took a step closer to Naydruun, feeling his face contort in an expression of anger. Every instinct in him was screaming to kill this intruder, to defend his mate from this threat, and it was only the knowledge that Volkmar was likely watching from the upstairs window that kept him from pulling down a thunderbolt onto their head.
“You know just as well as I that I could kill you right here and be completely justified under our laws,” he hissed, lifting one hand to point threateningly. “I do not care what you think of me or my mate. We are fated, and we are soul bound, and your opinion doesn’t change that. You are inmyhome, so it doesn’t matter that you’re older. Your mate treated me with kindness when I met her, and asked me to treat you the same should I ever come across you. For that, for Heriel, I’ll let you leave. If Ieversense you in Polimnos again, I won’t be so forgiving, so I would advise you to never return.”
Naydruun’s posture had stiffened throughout Adrissu’s tirade, and now they took a careful step back to restore the distance that had once been between them. Adrissu realized he still held a cloth bag filled with vegetables in one hand; the sight of him couldn’t have been remotely threatening, but at least his words seemed to unsettle Naydruun enough that they remembered their manners.
“If any other dragons find out your mate isn’t a dragon, it’s going to go poorly for you both,” they said stiffly.
“Then it would be best if no other dragons find out, wouldn’t it?” he said. For a long moment they were both silent, staring each other down.
“I...apologizefor the intrusion,” Naydruun finally said, their face twisting with distaste as they said it. Adrissu wanted to punch them—he hated lowering himself as much as any other dragon, but at least he had the decency to keep a straight face when he had to. “You won’t have to worry about seeing me again. And I won’t tell others about your human. I don’t keep secrets from Heriel, but no one else will hear it from me.”
“Good,” Adrissu spat. “Farewell.”
He stared down Naydruun for several long, silent seconds, until finally the traveler lowered their head in a curt bow.
“Goodbye,” they said, just as unceremoniously, and took a few steps back before turning and walking away. Adrissu watched them until they disappeared down the next hill, and only then did he turn back to his home. With a sigh he scrubbed a hand over his face, willing his hammering heart to slow, and stepped up to the door of Saltspire Tower.
Inside, Volkmar was standing at the top of the stairs and looking down at him with red-rimmed eyes. The bags of fruit and grain that he had brought had been tossed haphazardly onto the table in their sitting room, evidence of how quickly the human must have hurried upstairs to peek out the study window overlooking the path.
“Who the fuck was that?” he asked, voice trembling.
“An unwelcome visitor,” Adrissu growled, regretting his angry tone almost immediately. He sucked in a deep breath as he set down his sack of groceries, clenching and unclenching his fists on the tabletop, before looking back up at Volkmar. “We should... talk.”
Volkmar’s expression didn’t change as he took a step down the stairs, but his voice rasped with barely-constrained emotion when he spoke. “Yes. We should.”
Chapter Nineteen
“First,whateveryouthinkthis is, it isn’t,” Adrissu said, looking at Volkmar from across the low table in their sitting room. Volkmar had come down to sit in the chaise lounge where Adrissu often read; Adrissu had pulled over one of the cushioned chairs that was normally pushed up against the wall to sit across from him. He watched Volkmar wince at the abrupt words, rubbing his forearms nervously and looking down at his feet. The human’s distress and anxiety were sharp against Adrissu’s nose, the scent roiling off him like steam. It would have gutted him, if he were not already feeling distressed and uncertain himself.
“Whatever I think it is?” Volkmar muttered, shaking his head. “So you leave in the middle of the night, and a few days later a stranger approaches you in the street and you send me away? And they’re not related? That sounds awfullyconvenientfor you, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” Adrissu sighed, biting down on the angry retort in the back of his throat. “I know what it looks like, Volkmar, but I promise you it is nothing of the sort. I have never met that person before today.”
“They certainly seemed to knowyou.”
“Yes, and that happens quite a lot,” he protested, frustration starting to rise in his voice. “I’m the headmaster of the only school of magic in this part of Autreth, not to mention that I can count the number of elves that live here on one hand. Most people in Polimnos know me on sight, Volkmar. You know that, and it isn’t fair to act like that isn’t the case.”
Cowed, Volkmar kept his eyes on the ground and was silent, but Adrissu could see his expression twist.
“I asked you to go inside because I could tell they were dangerous,” he continued, forcing his tone to become more even. “I didn’t know why they were here, and I wanted to keep you safe.”
