“You don’t look glad.”
Tyne hesitated, then decided he might as well say what was on his mind.If he wanted the relationship between him and Meyer to work, he’d need to be honest with him.He’d been hiding for too long.Trusting someone else was terrifying, but his heart was safe with Meyer.“I just don’t know where to go from here.”
“You don’t have to know.”
“But Iwantto know.We mages moved in together because we all lost our dragons and wanted to work as a team to find you, and that’s over now.We have you back.”
Meyer slowly nodded.“And you don’t know where that leaves your family.”
“I don’t want to lose any of them.”
“I don’t think you will.”
* * * *
MEYER TRULY BELIEVEDthat.He understood why Tyne was worried, but he’d seen the mages together.Hell, initially, he’d been jealous of the close relationships they shared.He’d thought he would be the only one who had to leave by the time this was over because Tyne had wanted nothing to do with him.
But he wasn’t going anywhere, and he didn’t think any of the mages or the dragons were, either.The castle was big enough for all of them, and they could open portals to wherever they needed to go.With Carlyle gone and the dragons reunited with the mages, they could travel when they wanted and for however long they wished without having to fear being hurt.They didn’t have to move out, and no one had mentioned doing so.Even the humans who worked here hadn’t said anything about it.
“You know, you’re supposed to watch a movie in silence,” Penley said.
He raised the remote control and paused the movie, and everyone turned toward Meyer and Tyne.Tyne cringed and pressed closer to Meyer, but he was a big man.There was nothing he could do to hide from his family.
“Sorry about that,” he said.“It won’t happen again.”
Penley snorted.“Of course it’ll happen again.With so many of us here, there’s always someone talking during the movie.What’s gotten you all twisted up?”
Tyne slowly breathed out.Meyer had been watching him with the other mages for weeks, so he knew Tyne wasn’t one to talk about feelings, not even with people he considered brothers.He hadn’t even told them about Peyton until after Meyer had arrived at the castle.He’d kept that pain in his heart for decades, never showing it to anyone.
He’d been an idiot, and Meyer was glad he’d finally gotten his head out of his ass.
“I was just thinking about the future,” Tyne admitted.
Penley cocked his head.“I’ll admit that isn’t what I was expecting to hear.What about the future?”
Tyne looked like he wanted to run out of the room, but instead, he waved at the people sitting around.“All of us are free to go now.We moved in together to search for our dragons, and we found them.There’s no reason for us to continue sharing the castle.”
“Why would any of us want to leave?”Keylon asked.He’d finally stopped bouncing his knee, thank God. “You’re my family.I’m not going anywhere, and I hope none of you is thinking about doing so.”
Penley was nodding.“I agree.This is my home.Bennett and I aren’t leaving, and I don’t want any of you to, either.I mean, Bennett and I will probably go on vacation, but we’re not leaving permanently.Where would we go?”
Meyer could tell from Tyne’s expression that he was stunned by those answers.He’d truly expected the others to move out, hadn’t he?What had he thought he and Meyer would do?Haunt the otherwise empty castle?He’d really thought that they’d have the entire castle to themselves.God, that would be hell to clean.
“Jarvis and I are looking into schools for Jason that aren’t too far from here,” Marlow offered.“But Jarvis has already decided he’ll portal us in and out of the castle every day.We want Jason to grow up here.Where else would he have an entire castle to run through, a forest to explore, and a lake to spend summer days swimming in?”
“It’s not like we don’t have privacy,” Dallin said with a smile.“The castle is big enough for all of us.Hell, we could probably add a few dozen people, and we’d still have enough personal space.”He leaned forward.“You weren’t thinking of leaving, were you?Because no one here wants you to.”
Tyne looked dazed.Meyer reached over and linked her fingers together, squeezing to reassure his mage.It was the best kind of surprise, but it was a surprise nonetheless, and Tyne might need a few minutes to wrap his mind around it.Going from believing that he and Meyer would be alone to knowing for sure that they wouldn’t be had to be a complicated feeling.
“This is my home,” Tyne finally said.“It would be even if I had somewhere else to go, but I’m not planning on going back to my birth clan, and starting again on my own feels like the worst thing I could do.”
“Then don’t do it.”
“None of you are leaving?You’re sure about that?”
“There’s a beach calling my name somewhere, but this is my home as much as it is yours,” Penley said.“It wouldn’t feel right to live anywhere else, and Bennett agrees.We’re not going anywhere.”
Everyone around the room nodded in agreement.Meyer was pretty sure that this went for all the other people who lived at the castle, which was a relief because they were a part of their family, too.
