Had Onyx told Jagura?
Supposedly, dragons were a gossipy bunch, so it was likely that she knew, but the question was whether she'd shared it with Dylon.
"Enjoy your time off, Little Warrior," Onyx said in my head.
"Thank you. Are you and Jagura heading back to the aviary?"
Someone had to remove the saddles, and it didn't look like Dylon or Ravel was about to do that.
"Yes, we are,"Onyx said.
"Aren't you and Jagura supposed to stay close to keep me safe?"
I held my breath, hoping Onyx would tell me whether I was really in danger or if the bait hypothesis had been born out of paranoia.
"Keep your wits about you, and you will be safe, Little Warrior."Onyx took a few steps forward and launched skyward in a rush of wind that sent my carefully braided hair whipping around my face.
Jagura followed closely behind him, and as I watched them disappear over the mountain peaks, I tried to shake the irrational feeling of abandonment.
I felt safer with them around, but they couldn't stay. It wasn't fair to expect them to always be ready to serve. Dragons and their riders were partners, not each other's bonded servants.
"Why don't you join us for lunch, Commander?" my brother said to Ravel. "I mean, if you don't have any prior obligations. Our parents would be delighted and honored to have you."
Ravel shouldered his pack. "I don't want to impose on your family reunion."
"It's not an imposition," Dylon said. "My grandmother always cooks enough to feed a squadron, and nothing makes her happier than hungry guests."
Something flickered in Ravel's dark eyes, but I wasn't sure whether it was amusement or calculation. "Well, in that case, I accept your invitation." He fell in step with my brother. "I consider it my duty to make Elucian grandmothers happy."
Alar chuckled. "Kailin's grandmother is not your typical older lady. I don't know what post she fulfilled in the Elucian forces back in her day, but I bet she was a commanding officer."
"She was," Dylon said. "She headed a medic unit." He turned to Ravel. "Do you know where you'll be staying tonight, Commander?"
"I have a room reserved at the Pilgrim's Lodge. Why?"
Dylon shrugged. "I wanted to offer you the spare bed in my room."
Alar tripped over his feet, probably shocked by my brother's audacity to offer such a thing to the commander. But that was the thing about the Elucian Forces. Everyone served, and we were all one big family.
We weren't big on protocol.
"Thank you for the offer." Ravel clapped Dylon on his back. "And if I didn't have a room already, I would have gladly accepted. I'll tell you what, though. We can meet up at the bar tonight if you younglings are not too tired."
That was a surprise. Did Ravel actually want to hang out with us, or did he want to dangle me in front of whoever he thought would take the bait?
We made our way through the familiar streets, our dress uniforms drawing attention and salutes from everyone we passed. Old Mr. Hedrick, who was a regular at the apothecary, straightened his arthritic back to salute us, and Mrs. Merriwar paused her sweeping to smile and wave. Children gazed with wide eyes, and adults with approval, and that was without anyone knowing about my part in saving our capital or the medal I'd received. They were just responding to our uniforms and showing their gratitude for our service.
"Feels strange, doesn't it?" Dylon murmured in my ear.
"It does," I admitted. "I'm not the same person who left this town forty-nine days ago. It feels like years have passed, not days."
"I know the feeling," my brother said.
I remembered how different he'd looked the first time he'd come down from the Citadel. Harder, more determined. But he hadn't carried a medal in his pocket proclaiming him a Hero of Elucia. The slight weight of it in my pocket seemed to grow heavier with each step.
"That's our house," Dylon told Commander Ravel, gesturing toward the end of the street.
Our home was a modest one-story stone building, with blue curtains in the windows and Gran's herbs growing in pots by the door.
