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All the former council members have been awakened, but with Malix indisposed, I don’t know who to trust. Did others follow Aeron’s way of thinking? Would they accept a human as their queen? For now, my council is composed of just the two of them.
Today Aracelia and I take on the responsibility of checking in on the awakened dragons so Vivia can stay with Mina and start getting the word out that we are going to need warriors for this upcoming battle. Mina is supposed to be well enough to leave the healers, but I have yet to see her. Vivia says she is doing much better, but I’m anxious to see her myself.
Aracelia and I visit families all day, mostly those who have reached out to her or Vivia in need of help. The reactions are all the same when they see me. Confusion and disbelief morph into curiosity at seeing a human. A fleet of questions follow, and most are good-natured. There are a few who are hesitant and clearly see me as other.
I don’t take offense. I am a stranger and all of a sudden I’m their queen? If I were in their shoes, I would question the person’s character and authority as well. Besides, after I answer their questions, most of the dragons seem reassured.
One of the families we visit, the mood of the home is different from the others we have entered today. The house is dark and seemingly empty. A layer of dust coats everything in sight and the faint smell of mothballs lingers in the air.
There’s one faded orange chair in the middle of an otherwise empty living room. An older man rocks back and forth in his chair. I don’t recognize him, which isn’t surprising. Everyone’s faces—dragon or human—had become a blur after a while.
“Good afternoon, Caliban.” Aracelia’s voice takes up too much space in the quiet room. The man, who looks like he could be my grandfather, looks at Aracelia. His eyes are void of any emotion. I’m not even sure he fully acknowledges our presence in his space.
“We wanted to check on you. See how you are since your awakening,” Aracelia’s voice remains calm and I’m glad that she’s here. The woman is a fierce warrior who could break me apart with just her pinkie finger, but she’s also extremely gentle when the time calls for it. Like now.
Caliban’s forlorn face droops even more. “My wife, she’s…” but the words never come out. He’s overcome with grief as sobs wrack through his body.
Aracelia curses softly next to me, regret written across his features. “What is it?” I whisper, though Caliban is too distraught to pay us any mind.
“When Caliban succumbed to the sleeping curse, his wife was beside herself with grief. She had known her mate since they were hatchlings and experienced almost all her life with him. She declined rapidly. If it were possible to die of a broken heart…” She trails off, but I don’t need to hear anymore. My heart hurts enough for Caliban and his deceased mate.
The thing about me is that I can’t be around a person in pain and not want to help in some small way. Logically I know I can’t take away a person’s pain, but I can provide their pain some company. Sometimes just your presence is all a person needs.
“My Queen.” Aracelia’s words are a warning which I ignore. She cautioned me against approaching a dragon in distress, but I’ve never been one to ignore pain.
Caliban sees me approach, though he’s still in the midst of his despair. I crouch down next to him, placing my hand over his. It’s cold to the touch. Actually, the whole room is freezing. It’s a cold day outside and the house seems to have soaked in all that chilliness.
“Aracelia, could you light a fire?” There’s an old fireplace behind Caliban’s chair that looks like it hasn’t been touched in ages. Aracelia nods before dusting all the cobwebs and dust away from the fireplace so she can load it with firewood.
I feel the heat of the fire as soon as Aracelia starts it with her dragon fire. Caliban’s body eases just a fraction, but it’s something.
“What was your wife’s name?”
Caliban sniffles, running a finger under his nose. “Salinea.”
“Salinea, that’s a beautiful name.” I smile and for a moment, I swear Caliban returns it. “Do you want to tell me what she was like?”
People don’t know how to act if they’ve never dealt with the death of a loved one. When my parents died it was always the same apologies and the same stories of how much they were loved. It’s fine, but it doesn’t paint the real picture. It’s almost like a caricature of who they really were.
No one ever asked me to describe the parents I knew and loved. They only ever wanted to tell me their stories or simply forget they passed all together. I get it. Death is weird and hard. No one likes talking about their own mortality. But I had wished that one person would ask me about the parents I knew.
Caliban still hasn’t pulled away from my touch, which I take as a good sign. The older dragon takes another few minutes to compose himself before he starts talking. “Salinea was a good chef, but a terrible baker.”
We both laugh, though his is still full of pain. “She would make all my favorites and never get mad if I asked for the same food multiple times throughout the week. Once in a blue moon she would get a wild hair and think she’d need to make cookies. Always turned out burnt. She even started a small fire in the kitchen once.”
“My mom was like that too. Could make the best dinners. So good that you wanted to lick your plate clean, so you didn’t miss a single drop. But the moment she attempted to bake a cake or cupcakes…” I shake my head. “Let’s just say we had to ban her from ever baking.”
“Did you lose your mother?” Caliban asks, noticing the way I spoke about her in past tense.
I nod. “Both. My mother and father.” Once I would have been a crying mess on the floor, unable to speak about them. It still hurts, yes, the pain would never go away. But it had become more manageable.
But losing a mate, a person you chose to spend your whole life with, is not something I have experience with yet. Malix isn’t lost to me in the way Salinea is to Caliban. If the pain and hurt I feel over my cursed husband is even a fraction of what Caliban feels, then I’m amazed he even had the effort to get out of bed this morning.
Caliban goes on to tell me that Salinea and he had two children, but unfortunately both ended up passing away at a very young age. He speaks of her love for singing and knitting. The way they would dance to music only they could hear in the evenings.
He also speaks of their childhood and their dreams. The day they shared their first kiss and how they were inseparable ever since. I cry when Caliban does and join in for his laughter.
I spend most of my day with Caliban. Aracelia finally had to leave to continue checking on the other families, but I assured her I would be fine alone.
