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“Hello, Your Majesty.” He grinned, squeezing me tightly before placing me back down on my feet. I laughed,fixing my shirt where it had ridden up, and smiling at him.
“Tarian,” I greeted him, the sound of Cyrus’s feet hitting the ground as he dropped into the bunker making me look over my shoulder.
“This is incredibly unexpected,” Tarian smiled at Cyrus, bowing his head slightly as a show of respect. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
Hollis scoffed at the word pleasure, and I looked past Tarian to where she was still standing with Aepein. She had been trying to feed her, wiggling a dead chicken under her snout, but Aepein was not interested. Her giant, icy eyes bore into mine, and I smiled, stepping around Tarian and making my way across the bunker.
Hollis glared at me, crossing her arms over her chest as she backed away slightly. I offered her a small smile, lifting my hands in a show of peace. Aepein pushed Hollis to the side with her snout, making my smile grow until my cheeks hurt.
“Hi, Hollis.” I said softly, letting my arms drop to my sides and taking her in. Her skin had paled from the last time I saw her, and her cheek bones were more defined. Dark circles filled the space under her eyes.
She did not reply, turning her face away from me and patting Aepein on the nose before she turned on the spot, making her way across to the cots. I watched her until she had sat down, her back against the wall and her armscrossed over her chest again. Her eyes were still on me, and her lips were pulled into a tight line. I knew, deep down, that the hatred she felt for me right now was warranted, but I would be lying if I did not admit that it stung.
Turning my attention to the great beast next to me, I felt happiness swell in my chest.
Two large, icy blue eyes were already glued on me, Aepein’s head resting on her front legs. She let out a small noise, and I grinned even wider as I ran my hand up her snout, relishing the feel of her scales.
“Hello, sweet girl.” I mused, resting my forehead against her head, and closing my eyes. She leaned to the side, moving her head so I could rest my weight against it. I laughed lightly, opening my eyes, and scratching the space at the top of her snout with my nails. “I missed you.”
“She missed you, too, I think.” Tarian said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see him and Cyrus standing side by side. Tarian looked relaxed, his hands in his pockets as he grinned at Aepein and I, but Cyrus looked tense. His eyes were wide as he took in the sight in front of him, and I could not help but laugh at the sight.
Stepping towards him, I slipped my hand into his, pulling him forward with me until he was up next to Aepein. He had resisted at first, digging his heels into the ground, but once he realised, I would not give up, he relented. He kept himself situated behind me, his hand holding minetight enough to break off some of the circulation in my fingers.
I squeezed his hand lightly, reassuring him, before I pulled him to my side, lifting our joined hands and resting them on top of Aepein’s snout. She narrowed her eyes at Cyrus, huffing a breath through her nose and growling deep in her chest. I frowned at her, unsure of why she was acting in such a way. Cyrus’s face paled, and he pulled his hand away quickly.
Aepein tracked his movements closely until he had backed away several feet, and then finally drew her eyes away from him. She focused on the satchel I had slung over my shoulder. Her nostrils flared, and her head shot upwards. Slipping the bag down my arm, I smiled.
“This belongs to you, I believe.” I said softly, reaching into the bag. The coals burned at my hands, but I barely registered it, as I took hold of the egg inside.
Aepein’s tail swung wildly, and she watched me so closely it made sweat start to form along the back of my neck. Holding the egg up, my arm shook slightly under the weight of holding it up one-handed. Hollis stood from her cot, her mouth open and eyes wide, and Tarian whistled low, crossing his arms over his chest.
I sat the egg down on the floor in front of Aepein and stepped back, giving her enough space to lunge forward and nuzzle at it with her snout. A series of happy yips made my grin as she gently took the egg in her mouth and turned away from us all, retreating to a corner and wrapping her tail around herself.
Turning on the spot, I was met with three pairs of eyes on me. Hollis had moved back to join Tarian and Cyrus, but she kept her distance. Tarian was grinning, and Cyrus had his head tilted to the side, a small smirk on his face as he took me in.
“That was unexpected,” Tarian smirked, repeating his sentiment from earlier, and I laughed lightly, glad for the small break in tension.
Cyrus held his hand out for me to take, and I let my fingers slide through his easily. The whole day had taken an unexpected turn, and while Tarian invited us to sit with him beside the barely burning fire, I still could not figure out what Cyrus’s plan was.
He wanted a dragon. Badly enough that he had been checking on it with Cirro the day Gracie and I had sneaked through the tunnels. Badly enough that he was willing to give up the only dragon egg he had, without knowing he would ever see it again.
If Aepein took it home, left it to hatch with its siblings, would she return here?
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, watching him closely as he spoke with Tarian in a hushed voice.
Hollis made her way over to the group slowly. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Cyrus and I, but she sat herself down on the small wooden stool across the fire from me. The dwindling orange flames cast a shadow across her face that made her look even more gaunt than she hadappeared when we arrived. Her hair was split into two braids on either side of her face, and her knee bounced as she sat. I knew that was a sign of her anxiety, and I so badly wanted to reach over and comfort her.
As though she could hear my thoughts, her eyes flickered to me. Instead of looking away, though, I offered her a smile. It took a second, and I was not sure if it was a shadow from the fire, but I could have sworn a small smile was sent my way in return.
Tarian handing me a wooden cup pulled my attention away from his sister, and I peered into it cautiously. Tarian laughed, sitting on the stool next to me and bumping my knee with his.
“It’s just water.” He smirked, taking a drink out of his own cup as though to demonstrate that it was safe for consumption.
I laughed, taking a sip from my own cup and relishing in the feeling of sitting with friends.
Moments passed in silence. Cyrus’s hand had found its way to my back, and he was rubbing circles at the base of my spine with his thumb. Tarian was watching Aepein, who had started snoring as she snuggled up close to the egg she had been missing so dreadfully. It was heart-warming to see.
Hollis cleared her throat, and Tarian’s head spun around, his eyebrows raised.
