It had hit me like a kick to the gut. It wasn't that I didn't want it, because I did. In my mind, we'd already promised ourselves to each other, but things like an engagement and a wedding were not in our future.
"Kailin," her father said. "That's…"
"I could stay at the lodge," I offered quickly. "I grew up in a different culture, so I didn't realize that what Kailin offered would make you uncomfortable. I have the deepest respect for your daughter and your family, and I will abide by your rules."
Kailin shook her head. "We are together, Alar. If you go, I'm going with you."
Milly and Jayron exchanged one of those wordless conversations that long-married couples perfected. A raised eyebrow from her, a slight shoulder shrug from him, a pursing of lips, a tilted head. An entire discussion in gestures I could only partially decode.
"That's…" Jayron began but stopped when the door opened, and Dylon walked back in.
It took him all of one second to realize that something monumental had shifted in the room. "What happened in the two minutes I was gone?" He looked from one face to the next.
"Your sister has just informed us that her Elurian boyfriend will be sharing her bed," Jaida said with the bluntness of a woman who'd lived too long to bother with euphemisms.
Dylon's eyebrows shot up, and he turned to me with what I could only describe asThe Look,the universal older brother expression that promised bodily harm if I hurt his sister, but there was also humor in his eyes and a warmth that surprised me.
He hadn't witnessed us together as our friends had, he wasn't familiar with the dynamics of our relationship, so he couldn't approve or disapprove of it. Perhaps for him, it was enough that the Dragon Force command seemed to have not only accepted us as a couple but actively encouraged our relationship.
I had a feeling that the shaman was the one behind the initiative, and it had been he who'd convinced the high brass to arrange for our joint vacation.
"I have no problem with that," Dylon said. "But we like things to be official in Elucia, so I suppose we should start planning an engagement party."
There it was again, and my throat suddenly felt so dry that I reached for my glass of water and downed its contents in one go.
"It's too early for that," Kailin said. "We can't have an engagement party without Alar's parents, and they can't travel to Elucia. We'd have to go to Eluria to celebrate with them, which we can't do because we are both in the Dragon Force Academy. We would never get permission to leave for so long." She cast me a sad glance. "Have you given any thought to how you're going to see your family?"
The shift of focus was a sobering one. Unlike other Elurians, my parents—the King and Queen of Catonia—could theoretically secure an invitation for a state visit to Elucia, and I could ask Saphir to arrange a secret meeting with them, but I couldn'tmarry Kailin without my father's permission, which he'd never give for a match with a commoner and a non-Elurian.
We could get married in Elucia without my family attending, but that was not how I imagined my future with Kailin. I would never make her feel like she was a dirty secret that I was hiding from my family.
The future I'd been dreaming of, a life with Kailin that was open and acknowledged, suddenly seemed as distant as the stars.
"You look pale, young man." Jaida's sharp eyes missed nothing. "What's troubling you? Your family won't approve of you marrying an Elucian?" She leaned forward, her gaze penetrating. "You have Elucian blood in you or you wouldn't have been found gifted and accepted into the Dragon Force. Surely they are aware of that."
I struggled for words that weren't lies but wouldn't reveal the truth of who I was. "It's a complicated situation. I'm sorry, but I can't elaborate."
The words tasted foul in my mouth. Here I was, sitting at their table, eating their food, planning to share their daughter's bed, and I couldn't even give them the courtesy of honesty about who I really was.
Kailin's fingers tightened around mine. "We're not in a rush to make things official. Once we bond with dragons, we'll become immortal and have all the time in the world to plan the details." She cast me a small smile. "Besides, Alar hasn't even proposed yet."
"You're the only one for me, and you know it." I meant it from the depths of my soul.
In my mind, Kailin was a queen in all but title. One day, she would emerge as the powerful shaman she was destined to become, and when that happened, all of Aurorys would recognize her true worth, not just her fellow Elucians.
She would no longer be a commoner, and my parents would have to welcome her. They would realize that their youngest son had found an extraordinary partner and forged a powerful alliance with Elucia. After all, they had always wanted my brothers and me to marry princesses of neighboring territories to strengthen the Elurian Federation. With that goal in mind, my marriage to Kailin would be the most beneficial.
Dear Elurion, what if she thought that I was with her because of that?
I'd fallen for Kailin long before I knew she had any powers, and I loved her for who she was, not for what she could do for Eluria or me. She must know that.
Besides, the scenario I'd just created in my mind would never happen. This wasn't a fairy tale, and my parents would never accept an Elucian and a commoner, no matter what her abilities were. It wouldn't even matter if our union were hugely beneficial to Eluria because the council would just use it as a pretext to depose my father.
Kailin could be my paramour, no more, and even that would be frowned upon.
Jaida's snort pulled me out of my gloomy thoughts. "You younglings may have all the time in the world, but I don't. I want to dance at my granddaughter's wedding while these old bones can still manage it."
Pain flickered across Kailin's face.
