I didn't believe in coincidences. Not when it came to my father and his maneuvering.
But what if it was real? What if he was actually sick and I was being selfish, choosing dragons and prophecies over my family?
I needed Codric's perspective. I'd already told him that my father knew where I was, but I hadn't told him my long-term goals and why I needed to become a rider beyond our shared boyhood fantasies of living forever and ruling the skies from the backs of dragons.
Not yet.
I should, though. It didn't seem right to keep Codric in the dark, and besides, I had a feeling he'd already figured it out. We were close, and I wasn't as guarded with him as I was with everyone other than Kailin. I had let plans slip a number of times, and I had no doubt that Codric had catalogued those slips.
When I returned to the mess hall, though, Kailin and Codric were gone, and so were Shovia and Morek.
I found Codric in the lounge, sitting on one of the old couches and staring at nothing with an odd expression on his face.
"You okay?" I asked.
"No letters for me." He shrugged. "Not that I expected any, but still. Everyone else got something. What does yours say?"
His parents had never been overly attentive, and after he'd sent a letter home informing them where he had really gone, he hadn't received a response and assumed they had disowned him for joining the pilgrimage.
"Let's go somewhere private."
His expression sharpened. "That bad?"
"I don't know. I want your impression."
I considered going back to the landing platform, but an empty classroom beckoned, and I chose that instead. After the explosion and the covert attacks, even finding private spaces required checking for security threats first. I glanced around the classroom, confirming we were alone before closing the door.
I handed Codric the letter. "Read it and tell me what you think."
He read it, frowning. "Do you think it's real?"
"I don't know. It could be manipulation to get me home."
"Why now? Right before bonding?"
"Exactly. The timing is too convenient. My father probably never believed I would get in, and he wants me out of here before I'm bonded to a dragon and cannot leave."
Codric examined the letter again, analyzing every word as if it were a coded message. Which, in a way, it was.
"'Your family needs you.' Plural, not just Father," he muttered. "That suggests a broader issue. Political?"
"Maybe. Or just making it sound more urgent."
"'The business continues to thrive'—that's code for the kingdom being stable."
"Which means this isn't about a crisis that requires my immediate return for governance reasons."
"And 'your eye for detail'..." Codric looked up. "That might be code for intelligence work."
I nodded. I was here to gather information, read situations, understand the undercurrents of Elucian politics, and report it all back to my father. My so-called eye for detail was my ability to see what others missed.
"This is well worded," Codric said. "Do you think your mother came up with it?"
"It's her handwriting, but my father probably dictated it to her. He wants me home for some reason. I hope the illness isn't real."
Codric examined the letter again. "Your mother didn't specify what's wrong with him. No diagnosis, no symptoms. If he were really sick, wouldn't she include those details?"
That was a good point. If it were me writing such a letter to one of my brothers and my father was indeed ill, I would indicate what was wrong with him, or at least what the medics suspected.
