“I have no regrets about this, either,” Adrissu replied evenly. “I do not know if such a bond would work between species in this way, but I will consider it. But at the moment, I’m trying to get you cleaned up.”
Braern blinked owlishly at him, then a grin split his face as he laughed.
“Well, considering half-elves exist, I’d guess the bond would still work between us,” he sighed, settling back and allowing Adrissu to clean him. “Even if not, I’d at least go through the ritual with you. You’d be my husband then.”
When he was done, Adrissu let out a long, contented breath as he curled himself protectively around Braern. “Perhaps... that would be nice. Perhaps.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Doyouthinkhewas telling the truth about my mother?”
The question was barely more than a whisper, much later that night when they were laying in bed. Exhausted from the day’s exertion, Adrissu was right on the edge of sleep, but Braern’s soft voice pulled him back into consciousness.
After they’d cleaned up, Adrissu had tossed the body out into the ocean far beneath them, carefully set the amethyst inside a metal chest that was placed amongst the rest of his hoard, then carried Braern back up to the tower. By then it was past sundown, and they were both dirty and tired, so they bathed and went right to bed. Evidently, rest was more elusive to Braern than it was to Adrissu.
“That she’s sick?” Adrissu asked, his voice rough with sleep. He cleared his throat as he pushed himself into a sitting position, finding Braern curled on his side facing him, eyes gleaming in the moonlight coming in through the window.
“That she’s sick,” Braern agreed, nodding. His eyebrows were knit together with worry. Adrissu sighed, then reached out to rub his shoulder.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s possible, but it’s just as likely he was lying to try and lure you back home, away from me.”
“Could we... go there? To check?” Braern asked, voice even softer now, as if he were ashamed to ask.
Adrissu was silent for a long moment, gathering his thoughts in the dark.
“Dragons do not have these kinds of relationships with their parents,” he finally said, rubbing his eyes wearily. “So I do not understand why your mother being ill would have any bearing on what you do. But if it is important to you—and I can see that it is—then of course we can go. Braern, you do not need to ask me permission for something like that.”
A small smile had spread across Braern’s face as he spoke.
“I think my parents will like you,” he said, and Adrissu scoffed, shaking his head.
“I think they might be concerned if we give them any reason to suspect Lorsan is... gone by our hand,” he replied.
“Knowing them, they won’t ask questions,” Braern said, shaking his head.
“I can fly us there,” Adrissu said, settling back down into bed. “If you want to leave soon. I can tell the Academy I’ll be gone for a week or two while we check up on them.”
“How soon could we go?”
“The day after tomorrow, I think,” Adrissu yawned. He felt Braern nod next to him.
“The day after tomorrow, then,” he echoed quietly. Neither said anything after that, and by the time Adrissu drifted back off, Braern’s breathing had taken on the slow rhythm of sleep.
Two days later, they set out for Aefraya.
Although Braern was nervous about flying for so long, both agreed that the need to get there quickly outweighed his apprehension. So at sunset they went down to Adrissu’s lair, and under the cover of night they slipped out over the sea—Braern secured to Adrissu’s back as he flew.
“It isnota saddle,” Adrissu had grumbled, as they affixed the leather straps that would lash them together. “If I hear you call it that, I’m tossing you into the ocean.” Braern laughed, and did not call it a saddle.
For all that he trembled and made noises of fear for the first hour or so, Braern soon fell asleep on Adrissu’s back, so the night went by quietly. They touched down before dawn in a forested area about a day’s walk from Menserine, the city where Braern was from, and where his family still lived. Adrissu did not relish the thought of walking for most of the day, not when he’d already flown through the night, but it was far safer than continuing to fly in broad daylight. They rested for an hour or so in the forest, before heading for the road, which they would follow all the way to the elven city. When they’d been walking along the stone-paved road for about thirty minutes, Braern laced their fingers together, smiling up at Adrissu. Adrissu returned the smile, and they walked hand-in-hand for a long while.
They passed a handful of others, some merchants and some lone travelers: mostly human, but a few elves among them as well. Now late autumn, the majority of travel was winding down before the first snows arrived, so the limited presence of other travelers was expected. Some gave them polite nods or waves, but for the most part they were left alone.
At sunset, they approached the border between Autreth and Aefraya, marked by a large stone tower that served as a checkpoint, with two elven soldiers standing guard. No other travelers were at the checkpoint when they arrived, so one soldier held up a hand as they came into view, partly in greeting and partly to signal that they’d been spotted, Adrissu was sure.
“Greetings,” the soldier said as they drew nearer. “State your business, please.”
“I am Braern Rolastra,” Braern said quickly, before Adrissu could speak. “My... my husband, Adrissu Rolastra, is a citizen of Autreth. We are coming to visit my family, who live in Menserine just up the road.”
