Page 7 of Kindred Sky

“I never said that. I agree that he shouldn’t have left the library book outside, and that he should pick up his training gear. I’m just saying that maybe you should try seeing things from his point of view. He’s never had a problem leaving his things wherever he wanted. When he lived with his kind, he knew that no one would touch them or protest. Maybe it’s wrong, but it is what it is. When he moved here, he found a lot of the same, but not completely the same. We’re not a dragon clan.” Penley paused and frowned. “Actually, I think we might be. What makes a clan? It’s a bunch of dragons and mages living together as a family, getting married, bonding, and having children.” His eyes widened, and he grinned. “I need to talk to Jarvis. I think we might be a proper dragon clan already.”

Thorne wasn’t sure what was going on. “I’m happy for you if that’s something good.”

“It is. Although I guess it also doesn’t really matter. Like I was saying, we’re family. In the end, that matters more than us being a clan. It means we’re comfortable with each other in a way that a lot of people aren’t. All I’m saying is that yes, talk to Samuel, but maybe try to see things from his point of view, too.”

Penley bounced on his feet. “I have to find Jarvis. Maybe we can come up with a name for our clan. I need to think about it.”

He was gone before Thorne could say anything else, which was a good thing because Thorne wasn’t sure what to say.

Yes, he realized that what Winter and Samuel were used to was very different from what they’d found when they’d arrived at the castle. But did that mean Samuel could leave his stuff everywhere?

Well, Winter was different from Samuel. He hadn’t grown up with Samuel’s birth clan. In fact, he’d appeared one day, and no one had known where he came from. He hadn’t had any memories, and he still didn’t, which was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking for all the dragons and their mages. Thorne had seen the mages work tirelessly over decades to find their dragons, and he’d been there when they’d realized that the dragons wouldn’t have any memories. He’d also been there to see the dragons fall in love with the mages all over again. Winter was happy with Keylon. They were all happy with their shield.

Samuel didn’t have a mage. Had he left one behind? Thorne didn’t know, and it was none of his business. Maybe he should keep in mind what Samuel was leaving behind, though. Part of him knew that Samuel was just a messy person, but yelling at him clearly wasn’t working. Thorne had just been frustrated, but he already regretted it. He wasn’t someone who yelled. He wasn’t confrontational at all. He would probably need to apologize, and he wasn’t looking forward to it, but making that decision made him feel better.

He had a plan. He wasn’t sure how good a plan it was, but it was a plan, and he could work things out. He’d apologize to Samuel when he next saw him, and hopefully, Samuel had realized that he’d made mistakes, too, and would finally start picking up his stuff.

Thorne nodded to himself as he started walking again. He had work to do, which meant no time to worry over whether or not Samuel actually understood that he was wrong.

* * * *

MATTHIAS HADN’T GONE back to his room right away. He was still too keyed up after flying and the fight, and he wanted to take a walk. The dragons and their mages had disappeared inside the castle now, so the sky was empty. That meant he’d been able to take a walk around the lake without anyone bothering him, and he held that feeling close as he slid back into the castle.

He’d never lived with so many people before, obviously. He’d had his family growing up, and a few roommates in college, but he now lived with more than twenty people, counting the staff, and it was a lot, even though the castle was massive. It was why he’d started taking walks, but sometimes, he wasn’t on his own even out there.

He wouldn’t change it even if he could, though. Everyone was nice and understanding, and even though it was weird, he’d found a home here. He wasn’t planning on going anywhere, especially not without Parker, and Parker wouldn’t be moving because Ansley was here. Those two were so much in love that sometimes, it pissed Matthias off to see.

It made him wonder if he could ever have that. Where was he supposed to find a boyfriend or partner when he was stuck in this castle? He wasn’t a prisoner, far from it, but he felt odd leaving, even when it was just to go to the small town close by. Most people there knew where he lived, and they thought it was odd. Matthias couldn’t even blame them for that. It was odd.

He left his shoes in the entrance—making sure to put them away so that Thorne didn’t have an aneurysm—and padded in his socks into the hallway. He noticed Samuel striding down towards him right away, and he paused, wondering if the dragon was angry. If he was, it was clearly not at Matthias, though, because as soon as he saw him, he grinned. “You go for a walk?” he asked.

Apparently, everyone in the castle knew that Matthias enjoyed going on walks. It didn’t bother Matthias. He wasn’t trying to hide it or anything like that. “I did. I had too much energy after the fight.”

Samuel nodded. “I get that. Sometimes, I fly again after a fight.”

“Seems counterproductive.”

“Maybe it is a little, but there’s not much else to do here.”

Matthias hesitated. He and Samuel weren’t in the exact same positions, but they shared similar ones. The main difference was that Samuel was a dragon and had a completely different upbringing from Matthias, who hadn’t even known dragons existed for most of his life. They were both here because they were best friends to one of the dragons who’d found their mages, though. They could understand each other in some ways.

“You’re right, there’s not much to do here. Maybe we could sit down and talk?”

Samuel hesitated, and Matthias braced for rejection. Instead, Samuel looked around and tilted his chin towards the window seat.

They were downstairs, so the window there looked directly onto the courtyard. It was empty, though, which gave them privacy.

Matthias didn’t hesitate to slide onto the seat and settle down. There were pillows and blankets, but he wasn’t cold, so he just crossed his legs and waited for Samuel to settle down, too.

For a moment, they were both silent. Matthias knew that he was probably going to have to be the one to take the first step, and he was okay with that. He just needed to decide where he was going to start.

“Do you sometimes feel like you’re losing your best friend?” he eventually asked.

Samuel frowned. “Not quite losing. I know that Winter isn’t going anywhere.”

“No, but he’s different, right?”

“Yes. It’s not just that we’re not spending as much time together anymore, either. He might not have his memories of who he was before he was Winter, but he knows they’re there now. He knows that these people are his family.”