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They had almost caught up to Kai by now, the warrior riding farther in front, leading the way north, toward snow-capped mountains in the distance.
“Sometimes,” Ere mused, almost to himself, though he spoke loud enough for Sorin to hear, “I sense a darkness in him despite his sunny disposition. The older he gets, the more a strange sort of sadness reflects in his eyes every once in a while. I wonder if I’ve somehow tainted him. I—”
“Never,” Sorin cut in gruffly.
“Your love for each other only brings light. Never doubt it.”
“But you must have noticed too, Sorin,” Ere persisted, turning half around.
“Don’t you sense the pain in him? Like an old, festering wound? The closer he gets to puberty, the more it hovers beneath the surface.”
Sorin was quiet for a long time, and for once, Ere didn’t rush to fill the void with his babbling.
“Aye,” the warrior finally admitted.
“I wonder where it comes from,” Ere added. “I wonder what caused it. Do you suppose he misses his birth mother Olivia?”
Ere didn’t think so. Benjamin couldn’t ask for better parents than Gabriel and Inanna, Ere’s twin.
“But it’s been so long. And Benjamin is surrounded by love, family and friends. I want to understand so I can fix it.”
“He is his own person, as you say,” Sorin rumbled low. “His soul must find its own way. You cannot control everything, dragon.”
Ere didn’t give up.
“When do you suppose it started? This shadow across his soul? When did you first notice it, Sorin?”
At first, his Mate didn’t reply. Perhaps hoping that Ere would let the topic go.
Ere simply waited him out. He could be patient when it mattered.
Finally, Sorin answered, “After Lilith was defeated.”
Ere frowned.
“You don’t think Benjamin blames me for ending that monster?”
“No,” Sorin immediately assured.
“But…it seems that her death has made him…thoughtful.”
“In what way?”
“Erebu,” the warrior said in a tone that made Ere feel chastised, “Let go.”
“But—”
“Benji must find his own way in the world,” Sorin interrupted. “You cannot protect him from everything. You cannot teach him everything. You do not know everything. You can only help guide and support him along the way.”
Ere heaved a drawn-out breath, relenting.
“And you?” he asked his stoic Mate.
“When will you tell me what’s bothering you? These quests are taking a toll, I can tell. You’re hiding something from me.”
But Sorin was all talked out, it seemed, saying no more. No matter how patiently Ere waited.
As they took up a brisk pace, the air growing colder the farther north they went, Ere let himself melt into Sorin’s protective embrace, closing his eyes. He dozed off here and there, catching snatches of rest, his body adjusting to the horse’s movements, the heat and scent of his Mate comforting his worries.
Which was why he couldn’t be sure he heard Sorin’s softly uttered words:
“You cannot protect everyone, dragon. Least of all, me.”
