Page 13 of Sapphire Seas

“Whatever it is, please don’t be afraid to tell us,” Caspian murmured. “It won’t change anything between us. You’re our mate. We can help you if you’ll let us.”

He didn’t flinch when Caspian touched him, he just shifted closer so Caspian did too, widening his knees, until Kes wiggled between them, though he still kept his head down and wouldn’t allow us to see his face.

“I…” The long breath he blew out was followed by another, lighter one, before he blurted something so jumbled I couldn’t make it out.

“I need you to repeat that,” Caspian said, “because I didn’t catch any of it.”

“Neither did I.”

Another long breath, this one sounded pained.

“I don’t have to be awake to pick up on the energy signatures of other dragons,” Kes finally admitted. “In fact, it’s easier when I’m asleep because my dragon is able to search for them among the snow and frost without me distracting him.”

“You mean like my connection with the water,” I surmised.

“Exactly that.”

“And your nightmares?” Caspian asked.

“Sometimes they aren’t happy about being found,” Kes explained.

“What did you find tonight?”

“A familiar presence, one I’ve connected with before in my travels. A dragon encased in a block of ice thicker than any iceberg I’ve ever encountered,” Kes explained. “He reached out to me through you, Mattias, but not, almost like, like he was using a link he had with you to get to me, only that’s not quite it either. I don’t know. I’m not explaining it right.”

“That’s okay,” I said, gently running my hands up and down his arms to steady him.

We had Caspian pinned between us, with Kes’ head resting against my shoulder, so we were all touching one another. Maybe that was what made his energy flair, because I felt it rush through me, just as he’d described, before it fizzled when Kes moaned and pressed his hand to the side of his head.

“What happened?” Caspian asked as he looked around our dark room like he was seeking signs of an enemy hidden behind the drapes or armoire.

“Are you alright, Kes?” I asked as Quint asked me the very same thing through our link.

I’m not sure.

Is there something I can help with, brother? I felt you both reach out to me.

I’m not entirely sure why that happened but I will explain as soon as I’ve ascertained enough information to explain more.

I’ll be waiting.

Thank you, brother.

“You were communicating with one of your brothers just now, I felt it and so did the dragon in the ice. He’s aware, but so frozen that he’s unable to do anything but wait. There isn’t enough air for him to melt his way out. It’s pressed in all around him, to the point where he has not been able to move in centuries.”

“I was conversing with Quint,” I explained.

“Oh…owe, owe, owe, that fucking hurts,” Kes said, rubbing his temple. “Every time I get too close to the dragon in the ice it’s like there’s someone stabbing an ice pick through the connection until I have to back off.”

“It was when Mattias said Quint’s name,” Caspian said. “It felt like someone was trying to sever the connection between us.”

“I felt it too and that should not happen,” I declared, reaching out to Ionus to explain what had just taken place.

Bring your mates and come to the house, I’ll meet you in the kitchen. We can determine from there who else we need to summon.

On our way.

“Whatever is going on here might be easier to determine if we put our heads together with the rest of the family,” I explained. “We need to get dressed and go to Ionus’ house.”