Tyne glanced sideways.Meyer was listening to Graham telling Emory to use modern technology to contact people, nodding slightly as if he agreed.Tyne was pretty sure all of them did.He didn’t know about the others, but he felt like he’d failed Emory, and he wouldn’t do it a second time.No one had protected Emory from Carlyle, and Carlyle had taken his magic and his dragon.Now that he had his dragon back, everyone around the table would ensure that he never lost it again.
“I’d feel more comfortable with that,” Jarvis agreed.“We know what Carlyle was trying to do when he took Sol now.We were lucky that Sol’s bond to Dallin was already in place, but if Carlyle grabbed you, he could force you to bond to him again.It might not be a full-blown bond, but it would be enough for him to be able to steal your magic.I’m not willing to risk that.”
Tyne was relieved to know that all of them were on the same page.Emory didn’t seem to agree, but while Jarvis wouldn’t force him into anything, Tyne wasn’t beyond that.He’d tie Emory to a chair if he so much as tried leaving the castle.
“We need to regroup,” Jarvis continued.“Emory, you call your allies and whoever you think might have news about Carlyle and where he is.Me and the other mages have to check the protective spells around the castle to ensure that Carlyle didn’t do unredeemable damage.We’ll strengthen what needs to be strengthened and maybe add some spells, just in case.I don’t thinkCarlyle will attack us anytime soon, though.He lost our last fight, and he was hurt.Even if he manages to use healing spells on himself, it will take him some time to get his strength back.”
They had a plan, and Tyne liked that.He especially liked that it meant that everyone would be busy.He was sure that Meyer would want to talk to him, but he didn’t know what he could say to the man.He wasn’t ready to tell him what had happened between them in the past, and he wasn’t sure he ever would be.It had been decades, but he was still licking his wounds, and having Meyer there, seeing Peyton every time he looked at him, didn’t help.
He hurried through his breakfast since he had things to do this morning.He wanted to check the protective spells around the castle to ensure that everyone who lived there would be safe from Carlyle, even if the mages had to leave.He wouldn’t put it past Carlyle to attack when he knew they couldn’t defend their home.Once that was done, he wanted to train.He needed to be ready to face Carlyle.Carlyle had escaped this time, but Tyne wouldn’t allow him to do so again.It was time for Carlyle to pay for everything he’d done, and Tyne couldn’t wait.
Tyne kept an eye on Meyer and Meyer’s plate as he quickly ate, but Meyer was distracted by Bennett, who was sitting on his other side.He sometimes glanced at Tyne, but Tyne never reacted.Instead, he continued putting food on Meyer’s plate until Meyer looked like he couldn’t eat anymore.
With Tyne’s plate empty and Meyer distracted, Tyne decided it was the right time for him to leave.It caught Meyer’s attention when he got up, but he quickly shook his head, hoping Meyer would understand.
“I’m going to start checking the spells on the castle,” Tyne told the people around the table.
The mages were all distracted by their dragons, and the few people who didn’t have partners were still eating.None of them would want to start working now, but Tyne didn’t mind.
“You can wait until we’re done eating,” Jarvis said with a frown.
Tyne shook his head.“The sooner someone does it, the better.I know we checked them yesterday, but I need to be sure.”
Meyer opened his mouth, but since Tyne was afraid of what he might say, he hurried out of the dining room without giving Meyer a chance to speak.He couldn’t afford to be distracted.He especially couldn’t afford to be distracted by Meyer.It was too easy to think about when they’d been together when Meyer was standing in front of him.It was even easier to wonder if Meyer would do what Peyton had done.Would he abandon Tyne?Would he tell him that he couldn’t be his shield anymore?Technically, he was because Peyton had still been Tyne’s shield when he’d vanished, but Tyne was still afraid of the answers Meyer might give to those questions.
He was relieved that he could focus on work and started as soon as he reached the anchors the protective spells were in.He lost himself in the magic, adding a few spells here and there and fixing the ones that needed fixing.It wasn’t anything dramatic that would’ve allowed Carlyle in, but it was still a weakness Tyne needed to do something about.
“You ran out of the dining room,” a voice said, startling Tyne.
He turned to glare at Penley.“I had work to do.Istillhave work to do, as you can see.”
Penley wrinkled his nose.“It doesn’t mean you had to leave while everyone else was still eating.”
“Why shouldn’t I have?”
“You had a good reason to stay.Meyer was still at the table when you left.”
Tyne didn’t want anyone to stick their nose into his business, but the other mages had been doing that since they’d realized that Tyne wasn’t happy to have Meyer back.They’d all been poking and prodding at him, asking why and if they could help, but he’d pushed them away every time.It was easier with some, but with Penley, it was almost impossible.
Penley always got that frown when he was worried about one of them.Tyne knew how much Penley and the other mages cared, but there was nothing any of them could do to help him.He didn’t want their pity.He’d never wanted it, which was why he hadn’t told them what Peyton had done.
“I healed him perfectly, you know,” Penley continued as he leaned his shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.“There’s no need for you to take care of him.”
“You said he needed rest.”
“He does, but he got it.He’s as good as new.”Penley hesitated.“Except for his memories, of course.He’ll never be Peyton again.”
Tyne groaned.“Can we not do this now?”
“I’ll just say one thing.I want you to remember that Meyer isn’t Peyton.I know I’ve been telling you that every time we talk about him, but I feel like you don’t realize how important that is.He looks like Peyton, but he’s an entirely different man with different experiences.Whatever Peyton did, Meyer isn’t him.”
“I know.”Tynedidknow all of that.He just wasn’t sure there was a way for him to ignore how much his heart hurt every time he looked at Meyer’s face.
Chapter Three
––––––––
TYNE WAS STILL THINKINGabout Meyer and Peyton a few days later when he really should’ve been focused on Carlyle and how to find him.Carlyle was wounded.He might be able to heal himself, but from what Tyne remembered, he’d never been the best at healing spells.He certainly was no Penley, which meant the mages stood a good chance of killing him if they could find him.
