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“I have lived a long life, and I understand not all pain heals quickly. Sometimes, it never heals at all. I do not expect you to return home with open arms, ready to love with your whole heart after the way I have failed you. If you need time to think things over and decide what is best for you, I won’t begrudge you it. But if you feel you have healed enough, I hope you know that no matter how long it takes, you are always welcome here.” Grimbold’s voice caught just slightly. “I love you, Bertram, and I am sorry.”
“I love you, too, Father,” Bertram said, his voice catching a little as well. “And I am truly sorry for what I’ve done. I will need some time to think on what my next steps will be, but I am extremely grateful for your understanding and forgiveness. I have not been a great agent, and now I will never be, but I vow that should we be able to work things out, I will be a better son.”
The call disconnected suddenly, and when Bertram took the phone from his ear to see what was the matter, he discovered an image of a cartoon magpie on the screen, wings spread and beak open in a playful caw. Beneath the illustration was a message which read, NICE TRY, SILLY DRAKON, BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT.
“What’s wrong?” Sorin asked, leaning in to see.
Bertram showed him the phone. “I think Reynard was attempting to hack the call in order to trace our location, and some programming Misha installed shut him down.”
Sorin frowned. “Are you going to call your father back?”
“No.” Bertram powered the phone down, then brushed the mist from his eyes and stood somewhat stiffly. Sorin had had the right idea, bringing out a blanket—the cold night had gotten to his bones. “We said all we needed to say. I’m sure you heard, but we are free to travel back into Amethyst territory. Father wants to hear our side of the story before he passes judgment, but I don’t think we need worry—he gave me the impression that he is open to hearing the truth, and I think once we tell him exactly what happened, he will understand why everything happened like it did, and he will see things our way.”
Bertram held his hand out to Sorin, and Sorin took it, clasping it tight as Bertram pulled him to his feet. While Sorin stood, movement in the far distance caught Bertram’s eye, and he looked up just in time to see every one of his brothers’ mates high-fiving through the window.
“Do you think they heard your conversation?” Sorin asked. “I didn’t think it would be possible from this far away.”
Bertram narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at the distant window, then looked down at the phone. “I think, perhaps, Reynard was not the only one attempting to hack into the call. So much for a secure line.”
“They certainly are a determined bunch, aren’t they?” Sorin snorted with laughter and pulled his blanket around his shoulders, clutching both ends over his chest with one hand as if it were a cape. With the other hand, he reached out for Bertram. “Let’s go back inside and see what they’re up to. They might not have been invited, but they’re still our guests, and we shouldn’t leave them alone.”
Bertram took his hand automatically, falling easily into line at his side, and together, hand in hand, they walked away from the cliffside and headed toward the manor. Along the way, Sorin’s snake wound down his arm and wrapped itself around their wrists in cozy loop-de-loops until their hands were fastened together. It was a curious creature, unlike any other snake Bertram had encountered before, but he found himself warming to it quickly. It was sweet. Sweeter than it had any right to be. And to think he never would have known it if he, like so many others, had dismissed it as nothing more than the snake it appeared to be.
Outside the manor door, Bertram squeezed Sorin’s hand and brought him to a gentle stop. Sorin turned to face him, a curious expression on his face that made Bertram laugh.
“Before we go in,” he said, “I want to ask you something.”
Sorin’s expression grew even more intrigued. “Sure. What is it?”
“Will you spend some time thinking over how you would like to proceed now that we know Aurora is, in fact, an option for us? I know you are of the opinion that we should return, that the world is now different enough to make it worth it, and that if we continue to fight, we can improve it even more… but the world is not the only thing that has changed since we were young. We’re different now, too. Our circumstances are different. We are free to be with one another. Free to live as we wish, and love as we wish, and free to raise our children accordingly. We have never been given a chance like this before, and I want to make sure we don’t rush into any decisions. I love you, and I want what is best for you… and if that means a quiet life in the countryside, far from my meddling family, I am ready to give that life to you. Just as ready as I am to pack up and move back to the city. To champion in a new era, this time with you by my side.”
It was almost night now. To the west, the dying light of day had nearly disappeared, but the east was dark and star-speckled. Still, the darkness did not hide Sorin’s smile.
“I’ll think about it,” he promised. “Why don’t we pick this conversation back up a week from now? It should give us enough time to reflect on things and figure out how we really feel.”
“That sounds like a perfect plan to me.”
Out of an abundance of caution, Bertram glanced at the nearest window and, upon finding no one peeping through it, drew Sorin in for a tender kiss.
“Shall we go in?” Bertram asked in a whisper, the kiss having ended, but the distance between them still scant enough that anything louder than that was unnecessary. “I’m sure they must be wondering where we are.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
Bertram went to open the door, but Sorin tightened his grip on his hand, holding him back.
“Just… before we do, I have one more thing to say.”
Bertram looked over his shoulder to find Sorin glowing with love.
“No matter what happens, and no matter where life takes us,” he said, looking into Bertram’s eyes, “I’m proud of you. Thank you for everything.”
“You deserve it,” Bertram replied and, as he shouldered open the door, admitted something he’d never been able to truthfully say before. “I’m proud of me, too.”
30
Sorin
The Dragonet Club left the next day, and life returned to normal.
