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He scrambled to reach Samuel before the man changed his mind. He’d watched the mages and the dragons often enough that he more or less knew what to do. Actually doing it was slightly different, but not enough that he had trouble. He almost slipped once, but Samuel raised his wing, allowing him to catch himself on it.

Matthias swung his leg over and straddled Samuel’s back. He’d never ridden a horse, but he wondered if it might feel similar. Of course, Samuel was much bigger than a horse.

Samuel huffed, then opened his wings. Matthias knew it was a warning, so he clung on, ready for whatever the universe threw at him.

He knew Samuel wouldn’t let him drop, and if he did, one of the many dragons flying would save him. He wasn’t afraid of what might happen if he fell. In fact, he wasn’t afraid of anything right now.

Especially not when Samuel pushed himself over the side of the tower, and they fell.

* * * *

SAMUEL WASN’T SURE why he’d invited Matthias to fly with him, but he suspected it had a lot to do with how alone Matthias had looked standing on top of the tower.

Samuel could understand that. In many ways, he and Matthias were in the same position. They’d both left their lives to follow their best friends, and they’d both ended up living in the castle, surrounded by people they barely knew, with no intention of leaving. Even though sometimes Samuel missed his home, he wasn’t going anywhere without Winter. The man was more than his best friend. He was his brother, and he mattered more than anyone to Samuel. As much as Samuel loved his birth family and his clan, they’d always expected things from him. Winter never had, and neither had the mages or the other dragons. Here at the castle, Samuel could be himself and find his own way. He wouldn’t have to become anyone’s shield, unlike what was expected of him back in his clan.

Here, he was free.

But sometimes, that freedom came with loneliness. Samuel could see a lot of that in Matthias, too, and he’d thought several times before that maybe they could find common ground there. If he was going to stick around—and he had every intention of doing so—then he should get to know the people who lived here, and not only the mages and the dragons. The castle was full of humans who seemed happy to work there and who knew about the dragons, the magic, and all of that, something that still surprised Samuel when he thought about it.

There were no humans in his clan. There were only mages and dragons, as it should be. He wouldn’t say that his birth clan was extremely traditional, but a lot of them would probably have heart attacks if anyone there suggested letting humans in. Here, though, humans lived alongside dragons and mages as if it was completely normal, and maybe it was. Maybe what wasn’t normal was the life Samuel had lived until now.

He straightened his wings and suddenly, instead of falling, they were hovering. Samuel heard Matthias laugh and felt him cling to him, and it made him smile. He might not know Matthias well, but he was sure he’d made the right decision.

He lifted himself into the air, following the currents of the wind and the pockets of air. All around him, dragons were flying, and it felt like home, but at the same time, better. It didn’t have anything to do with Matthias, even though the human seemed to be having the time of his life. It had to do with being surrounded by people who didn’t expect anything from him. Here, Samuel would be free to be whoever he wanted, to not follow traditions, to find his own way in life. He hadn’t started yet, but he would. He had every opportunity in the world.

Of course, his family wouldn’t be happy. They still expected him to go home, with or without Winter. Samuel hadn’t yet told them that he was staying here, but he would have to eventually, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. His mother’s head would probably explode. His father would wear that disappointed expression he always had when Samuel did something he disagreed with.

But Samuel didn’t care about any of that, not anymore. He wouldn’t be alone even if they left. He wouldn’t be homeless. He had a place here, even though sometimes, it was hard to believe.

A dragon suddenly cut across Samuel’s trajectory, causing Matthias to screech. He clung harder onto Samuel, but Samuel wasn’t bothered. This was nothing compared to some of the training he’d had to go through when he was with his birth clan. He wouldn’t let Matthias fall. In fact, he was about to show him just how good he was at flying.

He shot up through the air, grinning like an idiot. Once he was up—not too high, because he didn’t want Matthias to feel sick—he tucked his wings along his sides and allowed himself to drop. Matthias screamed, but he didn’t ask Samuel to stop. Samuel made sure he could feel Matthias cling to him, using his wings to stabilize him as they plummeted toward the ground.

Until Winter cut across his path again.

Samuel easily corrected their downward fall. He opened his wings again, slowing down, growling softly at Winter when he came closer. Winter’s mage, Keylon, was on Winter’s back, and he was also smiling. His cheeks were flushed and he looked happy, something that hadn’t happened often until Winter had finally gotten his head out of his ass. Samuel was glad that he had. Keylon deserved a good dragon.

“You okay there?” Keylon asked Matthias.

“I’m perfect,” Matthias said, sounding breathless. “This is incredible.”

“It is. I’m glad you’re up here with us.”

“I’m glad I’m up here with you, too. It’s nothing I expected, but it’s magical.”

It wasn’t to Samuel. In fact, to Samuel, it was perfectly normal. He’d always known how to fly. He’d been a child when he’d first done it, and he’d never stopped. But he could recognize that he was giving Matthias something no one else had given him. Matthias was human. He didn’t have a dragon, and he never would.

That was okay. Samuel would be happy to take him flying anytime he wanted. They were in similar situations, so he felt he understood Matthias, and that Matthias might understand him. They were both here because of their best friends, and they were both happy that those friends had found love, but it wasn’t easy to go from being the center of their attention to being sidelined as secondary characters.

Maybe it meant that Samuel needed to find his place as a main character again. Winter was living his life, and so should Samuel. He had far more opportunities now than he ever had with his birth clan. He didn’t know where to start, but maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe he just had to start somewhere, wherever he was.

* * * *

THORNE STARED AT THE dirty training gear abandoned in a corner of the courtyard. It wasn’t the only thing that bothered him. One of the library books was sitting on the bench closest to the gear, along with an empty mug of coffee—or at least, he hoped it was empty.

He didn’t have to ask to know who’d left this mess. There was only one person who did, and it wasn’t one of the mages Thorne had been working for for decades. It wasn’t even one of their shields. No, because it was the stray dragon, Samuel.

He didn’t belong here, although Thorne would never say that out loud. After all, he didn’t quite belong here, either. He was human. He didn’t even have a place in a castle full of mages and dragons, but he’d still made it his home, and he wasn’t leaving anytime soon. It was why he’d accepted when the mages had offered to use a spell to keep him young. This was the best job he’d ever had. He was paid handsomely, worked with people he liked, and had a lot of perks.