Page 8 of Kindred Sky

“You’re his family, too. He loves you.”

“I know. That’s not what we’re talking about, though, is it?” Samuel said. “Parker loves you. That’s who we’re really talking about, right?”

Matthias shrugged. “Yeah. He’s my best friend, and I love that he’s finally found his past, but at the same time, sometimes, I wonder if it erases what we have. It feels like his life has always been here at the castle, and what he had in the human world when we were friends is over.”

“It’s not. You’re still his best friend. I see the two of you together.”

“I know, and I know that’s not going to change. But he’s building himself a new life, as he should, and I’m not sure I have a place here. I’m not a mage or a dragon. I’m just a human, and while I know that no one expects me to leave, I’m just not sure I should stay.”

“Are you planning on leaving, then?”

Matthias sighed. “No. I’m just not quite sure what my place is.”

“I think that’s okay. Sometimes, we don’t know what our place is until we find it.”

“I guess that being able to talk about it helps.”

Samuel smiled at him. “It does, doesn’t it? Usually, I would talk to Winter about all of this, but obviously, that’s out.”

“You can talk to me, then.”

“You can talk to me, too.”

It felt like a pact, and Matthias quite liked that. He had no idea if anything would come of it, but he wouldn’t say no to finding another friend, especially when his best friend was busy with his mage. Hell, maybe having someone would help him find his place in the castle. Even if it didn’t, though, it would be worth having someone to spend time with who wasn’t attached to one of the mages. As much as Matthias loved them all, he just didn’t want to watch them suck face.

Chapter Three

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THE T-SHIRT WAS STARING at Thorne from the coffee table. It wasn’t folded. It had been dumped onto the surface as if abandoned, which was puzzling because how had a t-shirt ended up in the living room? Who was taking their clothes off in shared spaces?

Thorne wrinkled his nose. Actually, he was pretty sure that every single one of the mages and dragons who lived in this castle had taken their clothes off in shared spaces at some point. He just didn’t want to think about it, and as long as they left it clean afterward, he didn’t care.

But this was different. He recognized the shirt, too. He’d seen it on Samuel just yesterday.

And Samuel had left it here, in the living room. Why? Was he planning on picking it up, or did he expect Thorne to do it?

Thorne wasn’t going to leave it there, not when he was cleaning up. He picked it up, then quickly folded it, relieved to find that it didn’t stink. In fact, it smelled like some sort of cologne, which was nice and woody.

That still didn’t explain why it was here. It also didn’t explain why Samuel was leaving his stuff everywhere when Thorne had warned him to stop.

Thorne left the living room, intent on finding Samuel. He reminded himself of what Penley had said when they’d talked, though. To Samuel, this wasn’t a big deal. This was living with his family; of course no one would be offended by a shirt left on the coffee table. He just didn’t understand.

Which, as far as Thorne was concerned, meant he hadn’t been raised right. It didn’t matter that people were family. In shared spaces, they needed to be careful. They needed to take everyone into consideration, not just themselves. Maybe Samuel’s birth clan didn’t care that he left his stuff everywhere, but Thorne did.

He seemed to be the only one. As far as he knew, no one had complained about Samuel’s stuff being strewn around half the castle. It made him wonder if no one had said anything because they truly didn’t care, or because they didn’t want to make Samuel feel like he didn’t belong. That wasn’t what Thorne was trying to do. He just wanted Samuel to be considerate. He didn’t expect him to clean the castle top to bottom, just to pick up after himself. Surely, that wasn’t too much to ask.

But yelling at Samuel hadn’t worked. The t-shirt was proof of that. Thorne would have to find another way to get through Samuel’s thick skull, and he wondered how he could do it. Even though he wasn’t planning on yelling, he already knew that as soon as he saw Samuel and Samuel opened his mouth, he would be annoyed. It was just something between the two of them, something in the way Samuel answered and teased that made Thorne want to explode. It wasn’t good for anyone, though, and Thorne promised himself that this time, he’d be more careful. This time, he wouldn’t yell. Yelling would allow Samuel to win, and that wasn’t what Thorne was looking for.

There was no winner in this, really, except him, because he wouldn’t have to pick up Samuel’s stuff once Samuel finally stopped leaving it around. It would give him less work.

Maybe that was an angle to consider. Surely Samuel understood work and not wanting to do more than he was supposed to. Maybe if Thorne presented things that way, Samuel would finally understand.

The windows were open as he strode down the hallway. He heard laughter, and he thought he recognized Samuel’s voice, so he paused and peered outside. Sure enough, Samuel was there, sitting on the bench where Thorne had found the book the other day. Sitting next to him was Matthias, who was laughing and leaning against Samuel as if he couldn’t keep himself upright.

They seemed happy, and much closer than Thorne had realized they were. It was nice to see, but at the same time, it reminded him that he didn’t have anyone to laugh with in that way. He was friendly with everyone who lived in the castle, and he did consider most of them family, but it wasn’t the same.

He’d dedicated a lot of his life to the castle and its inhabitants. He didn’t regret it, but sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if he’d refused the mages’ offer to use magic on him to make him live longer. He still had his family, and they knew about all of this, but not aging meant that he left the castle as little as he could. He didn’t want to attract people’s attention. That meant that he’d let friendships fade and that the castle had become his world, but he knew there was so much more out there.