Tyne shrugged.“She wanted what was best for the clan.”
“And it was for you to have to live with your shield and your cousin being together?”
“You don’t know my mother.”
Meyer didn’t, and he couldn’t say he was looking forward to meeting her.Every instinct he had was screaming at him to protect Tyne at all costs.He couldn’t understand why Tyne’s mother hadn’t done the same.Hell, he couldn’t understand how Peyton had managed to fall in love with someone else when he’d been with Tyne.
Meyer couldn’t say he was in love with Tyne.He didn’t know him enough since Tyne had kept him at arm’s length since he’d arrived at the castle.They’d been spending more time together lately, though, and even though Meyer was wary, he could admit that he liked Tyne.His mage was stubborn and cared about the people he considered family so much that he was ready to sacrifice himself for them.He was pushing for them to find Carlyle because he wanted everyone else to be able to have a peaceful life, but if Meyer had to guess, he hadn’t even considered what he’d do once Carlyle was gone.
Meyer hated the thought that Tyne had been hurt.
“Anyway, we need to go,” Tyne declared.“They’re waiting for us, and the sooner we get there, the sooner we can head home.I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to getting a nice shower after all the flying we’re doing.”
Tyne didn’t want to talk about what he’d just confessed.Meyer wasn’t surprised, considering how closed off Tyne always was, but he wished they had more time.He wanted to make promises that Tyne wasn’t ready to hear and that maybe Meyer wasn’t ready to say.
He shifted back.He noticed Tyne blink, maybe surprised that Meyer wasn’t pushing harder to talk, but now wasn’t the time.They weren’t safe here.Even though Carlyle was wounded, he might find a way to get to them.Meyer couldn’t risk his mage’s life.
He waited until Tyne climbed onto his back, but before he could spread his wings, Tyne squeezed him with his knees.Meyer waited, wondering what his mage wanted to say.
“As far as I know, Amber still lives with the clan,” Tyne eventually said.“As soon as she finds out that you’re back, she’ll want to see you.I don’t know what she’s done with her life since you vanished, but the two of you were in love.”
Meyer wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to this woman.It was true that people couldn’t help who they fell in love with, but both she and Peyton had hurt someone they were supposed to love.It was a betrayal that didn’t sit right with Meyer.
“She blamed me for what happened to you,” Tyne continued.“She wanted Peyton to stop being my shield right away and become hers, but she was never as powerful as I was.The mages needed me.The clan wanted Carlyle to be dealt with, so they told Amber that I’d break the bond as soon as it was done.When I came back after you vanished, she screamed at me.She said that I did it on purpose.”
Meyer huffed.It was ridiculous.Tyne would never have put himself through all of that willingly, but even if hehaddone it, he wouldn’t have done it to the others.He wouldn’t have taken the dragons away from Jarvis and the others.If Amber had truly believed that he would, it was a sign that she didn’t know her cousin.
“You know everything now,” Tyne murmured.“They’re going to swarm you when they see you.I apologize for that in advance.”
Meyer squared his shoulders and spread his wings.He didn’t care that these people would want answers and to spend time with him.Tyne was his mage, and no matter what Peyton had done or how he’d felt, Tyne had Meyer’s loyalty.As far as Meyer was concerned, that would never change.
Chapter Five
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MEYER WAS STILL REELINGfrom everything Tyne had told him by the time he landed on top of the mansion.It was clear that this place was built for dragons, and everything around had been thought with them in mind.The landing pad was wide enough that Meyer didn’t have trouble landing the way he sometimes did when he had to do so in the courtyards at the castle.
He still hated this place.He hadn’t even seen it, but it held too much pain for Tyne.
Meyer understood that, technically, he was the one who’d hurt Tyne, but at the same time, he wasn’t.He resented Peyton for hurting Tyne and ruining the chances Meyer might have with him.He couldn’t understand how someone could leave someone who was supposed to be the most important person in their life.A bond between a dragon and their mage wasn’t just a relationship.As far as Meyer was concerned and from everything he’d seen, it was sacred, and Peyton had betrayed that.
He’d kick his own ass if he could.
He folded his wings against his body as soon as his feet were on the ground.He waited until Tyne climbed off his back, then shifted, even though he wished he could stay in his dragon form.He had no idea what was waiting for him, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t like it.
“Holy shit,” a man said.“Peyton?”
Meyer took a step back when the man came running toward him.He couldn’t tell if the man was a mage or a dragon, and he didn’t really care.When the man tried to throw his arms around Meyer, Meyer shook his head and raised his hands.
“I’m sorry, but can you please not?”he asked.
The man looked confused.“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know who you are.”
Meyer couldn’t ignore the fact that they were gathering attention.The man had been yelling, and everyone who’d been present on the landing pad was looking at them.Other people were stepping out through the door, probably to see what was happening.Meyer had half a mind to shift back, grab Tyne, and fly away, but unfortunately, they were here for a reason.
“What do you mean, you don’t know who I am?”the man asked.“It’s Mark.I know it’s been decades, but I don’t look that different.”
