I was going to destroy him, and he was going to hate me for it…
Whatever was starting to happen, whatever was shifting inside my mind, it wasn’t going to last.
Exhaustion was weighing on me, and if I had known the tide didn’t rise high up along the coast, I would have been tempted to drag a blanket out and sleep on the sand.
Hael hadn’t come back.
He technically never told mewhenhe’d return, and I hated how much I was holding onto it. I found myself gazing up at the sky more than the ocean, waiting to see if white scales would block the moons.
It wasn’t a bad night. It was peaceful. Serene. The sky filled with endless stars that took my breath away. I almost wanted to stay up until the suns took over again just so I wouldn’t miss a second of it.
As soon as I was dragged back to Moriann, this would all be gone. No beautiful sunrises, no colors painting the clouds as they set, no stars. I wouldn’t even be able to see the colorful glow of the moons until theWatalacame, and even then it’d only last seven days.
Then it would be nothing but endless gray fog, illuminating my suffocation.
I didn’t want to go back.
I spent the majority of my time out on the beach, even opting tobring cheese and bread by the waves and picking at dinner instead of a hot meal. It was probably the happiest I’d ever felt in my entire life.
It wasn’t until the suns set on the second night that the door to the cabin finally opened.
Currently, I was curled on his sofa after taking a long bath, facing the fireplace that took me an embarrassingly long time to light when Hael walked through the door.
“Hi,” I said, sitting up straighter.
“Hi.” He still hadn’t moved from the doorway.
“I like this place better than your cabin in MonClem,” I blurted, trying to fill the silence. I had a blanket curled around my lap and a bowl of grapes in front of me. I had no idea if he cared that I helped myself to his kitchen, but after he didn’t come back the first night, I was starving. It was so much cozier, more homey, seemed more lived in.
He smiled then. “Me too.”
“Where did you go last night?”
Hael slowly unstrapped the sword at his back, propping the hilt against the door. “I had to help the new recruits today. They’re still figuring out their magic.”
I didn’t miss the fact that he didn’t actually answer my question.
“Is that what the king was talking about at breakfast when you asked for more time?”
“Yeah.” Hael walked over to the kitchen. “He wants to know the level of bonds that formed. Do you remember me telling you about the three different kinds?” I nodded, watching as he filled a glass with amber liquid. “He wants to know how many have the strongest one. Once Vinculum bonds are created, the rider’s access to their powers usually shows up within the week.”
“So Elion wants to know how many have the Plenus?” I asked, trying to recall my memory. “The bond that gives the riders independent power?”
He nodded.
“And do a lot of riders have it?” I tried to push away the guilty feeling that was seeping into me with each question I asked because Iknew it wasn’t curiosity that kept my mouth running. I was searching for what I could tell Dahes, wanting any sort of information that wouldn’t directly hurt Hael.
He shook his head. “Not many have the complete bond this year.”
“What about the other two bonds?” I asked. “Does the king care about them?”
He exhaled, then started pouring a second glass. “Semis bonds are fine, but having a Nullus bond isn’t good.”
“That’s where a rider can only use their dragon’s powers while on their dragon, right?”
He nodded, and started walking toward the sofa, and I realized how stiff his shoulders were.
“What happens to the riders that have the lowest bond?” I asked, taking the glass he extended to me, watching as he sat down at the opposite end of the sofa. I curled my legs closer to my chest, resting the glass on my knee without taking a sip.
