Archer had nearly wept. He was so happy, so pleased at how things had turned out.
But a part of him still niggled at the entire mate situation. He wanted to be Romilly's mate. That wasn’t the issue. It was the questions he wanted to ask and felt like he couldn't. Ones that would probably send Romilly spiraling thinking Archer didn't want to be with him or that he feared something would go wrong.
After learning how protective Romilly's dragon was, he didn't want to risk setting him off. That meant he needed to find someone else to give him intel on the dragons.
While Belinda seemed like a nice enough human, she wouldn't be able to give a dragon's perspective. Eden wasn't serious enough for the conversation, and Hadrian was still doing something with Silas.
That left Mira and Soren.
Mira would have probably gone over everything with him in a comforting, gentle manner. Maybe explained how her own mate bond worked. Yet, for some reason, Archer didn't want to go to her about this. He didn't want any type of parental discussion, so to speak. He needed someone who was on his level, someone who would be direct and concise without all of the flowery language.
Romilly's explanation had been romantic. He basically declared Archer the love of his life in human terms. Archer knew that Soren would probably be hesitant to explain it to him, but they were who he felt best about given the situation he was in.
Archer spent the morning after his Daddy day with Romilly, contemplating how he would track Soren down. He didn't havea clue as to where they spent their time, and asking Romilly to point them out would lead to questions.
As Archer sat on the bed, legs crossed, thinking of what to do, a tug in his gut drew his attention. He pressed a hand there, confusion overtaking his previous thoughts.
"What in the world?" he whispered to himself.
He thought about telling Romilly who was at work doing whatever it was king dragon men did but telling him he had a stomach flutter would either be ridiculous or it would turn into Romilly panicking and sending in a healer.
Archer shook his head. "All I wanted was to find Soren." That tug came again. Archer's eyes widened. "I wonder if there's some type of magic pulling me forward?" he said out loud to himself. "Maybe I should follow it."
Archer eased himself off the bed and took tentative steps toward the door. The tug in his stomach pulsed continuously. It wasn't painful. Just demanding. He walked down the hall slowly, paying attention to his body and how it felt. When he took a turn and the pulsing stopped, he immediately spun around and went the other direction.
It was like his body had started a game of hot and cold. He remembered watching that as a child, though he didn't play it much because kids were mean. You would move toward an object and the closer you got, they would tell you you were getting warm, or if you were right on top of it, you were hot. If you went the wrong way, they'd say you were cold.
His body directed him through the halls and down staircases until he reached a large, ornate set of doors. The pulsing in his stomach was a steady tug now, no longer leading him as if to say keep moving forward. Archer wondered if he should knock on the door or just swing it open.
A voice on the other side called out, "Just come in already," in a frustrated tone.
Archer startled but grabbed the door handle, nonetheless. He had to use all of his strength to pull the thing open. Once it was wide enough for him to slip past, he eased in and tugged it closed behind him.
When he spun back around to face the room, he found himself in one of the most amazing libraries he'd ever seen. Just floor-to-ceiling shelves of nothing but books. There were no paintings, no items of decoration. The books themselves were the beauty. Couches sat at one end of the room with a couple of large, cozy chairs spread out around the rest of the area. A small table in one corner was covered in open books and papers. It made Archer smile seeing all of this here. It was so normal, so human of them.
"Well, well, what is my brother's mate doing here with me?"
Soren's voice drew Archer's gaze in their direction. Somehow, he hadn't noticed them leaning back on a couch. Legs crossed, body relaxed as if they were one with the furniture. Despite the relaxed pose, they were in a suit from head to toe as if leaving a business meeting.
Archer studied them for a moment, then stepped further into the room. He wrung his hands together.
"Do not be scared. You can tell me whatever it is, and I will do my best to either help you or help you explain it to my brother if he needs to be involved."
Archer slowly moved closer. The way Soren spoke calmed him some, but still the anxiety of it was disheartening. He needed to be brave, needed to get the answers he sought.
"I want to know about the mate bond."
Soren's brows rose. "I am pretty sure you have a mate you can ask that about. He is about yay big, wide as a door, muscles for days, and good looks that run in the family."
Archer laughed at Soren's assessment. "Yes, I could ask him, but I don't want him to sugarcoat anything. Some of thequestions I have are hard, and I don't want to upset him." Archer's tone went from joyful to remorseful.
Soren took it in, their gaze roaming over Archer's face like they could pinpoint exactly what was going to be said. "Come then," Soren said, leaning forward and patting the other side of the couch. "Have a seat with me. Let your new sibling tell you what you need to know."
Archer had been mid-stride when the word sibling was used. He quickly started moving his feet again, but his mind was already racing. Sibling, family, that's what he was getting with Romilly, what he was going to have for however long he lived.
Once he sat down, Soren crossed his ankle over his knee and leaned forward onto his elbows. Their gaze was sharp, taking everything about Archer in. "What is your first question?"
Archer took a deep breath. "I know that mate bonds are permanent, and that they are really a big deal here, but what happens with Romilly if I have to leave or something happens to me?"
