I sank down onto the edge of the bed, my trembling fingers tracing the intricate embroidery of the quilt. I felt drained, and ithad led to me dropping my spoon at dinner. Kael’s face flashed in my mind, his striking features etched in a look of concern as he had sprung to his feet as if to save me from the dangers of a few spatters of food on my blouse.
It was such a contrast to his aloofness of the past few days that I had stared in surprise.
I had believed we’d become friends. And yet, over the past few days, I had felt him drawing further and further away from me. And his reluctance to form a romantic attachment to me didn’t explain it all.
Tonight at dinner, he’d made some excuse about needing to get more firewood, and had retreated from my company. I’d hoped that we were growing closer, that perhaps there might be the possibility of something more between us. But now, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d somehow overstepped, or if I'd misjudged the nature of our relationship entirely.
With a heavy heart, I rose from the bed and began to undress, my fingers working the buttons of my blouse with practiced ease.
Putting on my night clothes, I pushed all thoughts of Kael from my mind, focusing instead on the task at hand. I needed to rest, to regain my strength. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new spells to master, new books to decipher for Kael. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by the whims of my own heart.
As I slipped beneath the sheets, I couldn’t help but wonder where Kael was now, what he was doing. Was he out in the cold, wandering the snowy grounds? Or had he returned to his own room, seeking solace in the solitude?
I closed my eyes, willing my mind to quiet, but the image of his face—the furrowed brow, the haunted look in his eyes—refused to leave me. There was something he was hiding, something heseemed desperate to keep from me. And it pained me to think that he didn’t trust me enough to confide in me.
There was a depth to him, a quiet strength and wisdom that I found utterly captivating. And yet, there were times when I sensed a profound sadness lurking beneath the surface, a burden he seemed to carry alone.
With a frustrated groan, I rolled onto my side, burying my face in the pillow. I needed to let this go, to focus on my studies and my training. Kael was a grown man, perfectly capable of handling his own affairs. If he wanted to share his burdens with me, he would. Until then, I had to respect his privacy and his boundaries.
Slowly, I felt the tension in my muscles begin to ease, my eyelids growing heavy. The day’s exertions were finally catching up with me, and I welcomed the embrace of sleep.
Perhaps in the morning, things would look brighter. Perhaps Kael would be more himself, and I could find the courage to ask him what was truly troubling him.
Chapter 7: Kael
It was working.
Barely.
But it was working.
As long as I stayed away from Seranni, there was no chance my dragon would overpower me. No chance my instincts would betray her trust. No chance I’d ruin the fragile peace we’d found in this tower.
The longer I stayed away, the less chance there was for my magic to affect her against her will. And as soon as she found what she was looking for, she would leave the tower and be safe.
Far away from me.
It seemed she had understood it as well, for I felt her pulling away from me.
My walks through the forest had grown longer. My patrols stretched into the evening as I trudged through snow-covered paths, the cold biting at my exposed skin. It didn’t bother me—not really. The frozen air was a welcome distraction, a salve against the fire that burned whenever I thought of her.
Seranni.
She hadn’t protested my absence. In fact, I could feel her pulling away, retreating into her work the way I had retreated into the woods. We still shared meals together, but there was no more sitting before the fire and no more long, peaceful afternoons spent poring over the mage’s books together, looking for the answers to our problems within the pages. She spent most of her time holed up in her room, avoiding me whenever she could.
I missed her laughter. The way her voice softened when she spoke to me. The way her dark curls caught the firelight, turning them to liquid gold.
It was a small price to pay to keep her safe, even if the dragon within me roared to stay by her side, to cuddle into her warmth, to rub its snout all over her and scent her with himself.
I had to keep Seranni safe. Even from myself.
After every meal, I escaped into the woods. I walked for miles, hunting for game, collecting firewood, and checking on the town, making sure that no one else was ready to make an expedition to the tower. The biting winter cold had taken care of most curiosity seekers, everyone was inside, bundled up against the cold.
Except for me.
Even if my dragon blood wasn’t keeping me warm in the snow, I would still be stalking the woods, drifting through the shadowy woods as I waited until I could be sure that Seranni was asleep before I returned.
If I wanted to keep Seranni safe from the beast within me, I had to stay away.
