DragonRider by S. Rodman
away and the sight, sound and smell is making me unbelievably happy. It’s just pasta, because I can’t really cook anything else, but I know it will taste good, and I’m cooking it for my…boyfriends? Lovers? I have no idea what we are and I’m not sure I want to be the one to bring up ‘that’ conversation.
I’m deliriously happy, whatever label fits us best. It really doesn’t matter what we call it. Just as long as it continues. Hopefully forever.
Harlen walks into the apartment and comes up to me. He gives me a soft kiss on the top of my head and I nearly melt.
“Can you finish setting the table?” I ask.
“Sure,” he agrees easily.
It is really hard not to think about how we used the table yesterday, but I’m damn well going to fight it. I’ve given the thing a bloody good scrub down and it’s all fine.
Whilst I’m fighting off that mental image. Another one sneaks up on me. Cai bent over the island, with Harlen still inside him, and Harlen saying, “So do I get the third bedroom?”
Very underhand, if you ask me. But it worked, Cai agreed. So I’m not complaining about the ethics too much. The three of us living together is going to be wonderful.
Cai strolls in just as I’m dishing up. He takes a seat and eyes the food warily. My heart sinks. It can’t look bad, surely? I mean pasta looks like pasta.
“I can’t do this every evening,” he says.
Harlen sighs, “Yeah, yeah. The flight commander should eat in the scoff hall with his flight.”
I hide my sigh of relief. My cooking isn’t the problem, Cai’s sense of duty is.
“Now and then will be fine, Cai. So just enjoy it.”
Cai takes a deep breath and picks up his fork. “You are right. This looks delicious. Thank you, Kirby.”
If I smile any wider, my face is going to split. Who knew I was such a slut for approval? I quickly take my seat and start tucking in. It’s not bad at all. Though, I’m so happy to be having dinner with just the three of us in our new home that anything would taste great.
My phone pings, and I glance at it. The notification flashes across my screen and makes me smile.
“Who was that?” asks Cai and his blue eyes look fierce.
“Just an acquaintance asking how my new job is going.”
Cai frowns at me.
“I haven’t told him anything!” I protest. “I wouldn’t do that.” Does he really have such a low opinion of me? They told me that dragons needed to be kept secret, so I have honoured that.
Cai glares at me for several long heartbeats but then he turns his attention back to his dinner. I glance over at Harlen, who gives me a warm, sympathetic smile.
“Why is it all such a secret anyway? Surely other mages and paranormals could help?” I dare to ask.
We keep the world of magic and non-human’s hidden from mundane society and have done so for hundreds of years. One more secret wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Cai makes a noise of disgust. “Because people are stupid.”
“There is a whole faction of mages who are religiously fanatical about trying to bring the fey back. Who knows what they would think about tylwyth,” adds Harlen.
“They’d think they are angels, like idiots in the middle ages,” says Cai.
I blink in surprise. Angels? I suppose they do have white feathered wings. I can see how people could make that mistake. I wonder if this is where all the falling angel stories come from. It’s an interesting idea. And even if that interpretation is true, the whole angel thing fits Harlen’s assertion that tylwyth are beings from somewhere else.
The possibility that they might be angels, doesn’t change my feelings about them. Whatever they are, and wherever they are from, it’s clear they are a threat. It’s unsettling to realise that not everyone would see that.
“And people would hunt dragons to extinction, like they nearly did before,” adds Cai.
Okay, Cai really has a low opinion of people. Not that he is wrong. People do generally suck. Big time. I know that all too well. And the thought of Ri being hunted and murdered is horrific. I wonder if he was alive in those times? Did he lose family? I know he is old, but I don’t know exactly how old. And asking someone if their family and friends were slaughtered, doesn’t seem like a nice topic of conversation to bring up.
“Okay, I get it. It needs to stay a secret,” I say.
We eat in silence for a while. The gentle clang of forks against plates is the only sound. I like this easy companionship, this simple domesticity. I could get used to this and I really hope I get the chance to.
As the silence stretches, my stomach starts to twist, and no, it’s not my cooking. It’s that I’m alone with Cai and Harlen and they are both fairly relaxed. It’s a good moment to get to the bottom of what the hell is going on and discover why everyone is freaking out over the fact I killed five tylwyth. Moving in with Cai and Harlen and having mind-blowing sex may have distracted me for a while, but I haven’t forgotten the drama my action caused.
But I don’t want to ruin this moment and I’m not sure I want to know. It’s probably not good news or at least nothing pleasant. And don’t they say that ignorance is bliss? That sounds pretty good to me. I’ll take the bliss please, thank you very much. Except my damn curiosity won’t let me.
I take a deep breath. I need to know. I can’t avoid it.
“Um, so what’s the big deal about me killing the tylwyth?” I try to say casually.
Harlen and Cai look at each other, their forks frozen half-way to their mouths. Great. That’s not a good sign. The moment stretches uncomfortably. It’s Harlen who finally speaks.
“Only the Ddewiswyd has ever been able to do that,” he says solemnly.
I stare at him. “The what now?”
“The chosen,” he explains. “The greatest rider who ever lived. Everyone hopes he will be reincarnated one day.”
My shocked gaze flicks between Harlen and Cai but they both look solemn and deadly serious. If this is a prank, it is a damn good one. But this cannot really be happening.
My fork clangs onto my plate. “You seriously think I might be the reincarnation of the chosen one?”
They say nothing. They don’t even move. But their silence says everything. My body feels too hot and too cold. Ri grumbles at me sleepily to calm down. Like that is even remotely possible.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” I say into the deafening silence.
I’m not sure they are even breathing now. They are just staring at me. Well, if they expect me to jump up and walk on water or something, they’ve got a long bloody wait coming.
“Why was your dad so pissy then?” I exclaim. If I’m some chosen one, his reaction doesn’t make any sense.
Cai winces, and it is Harlen that answers.
“Because the senedd is only supposed to rule until the Ddewiswyd returns. Power corrupts and they want to keep it.”
Fuck. That does make a whole heap of sense. It’s actually more believable than everyone falling to their knees and worshipping me. The problem is, I don’t want this to be believable, at all. This whole conversation has to be a hallucination. For some reason I get to my feet. I’ve lost control of my body as well as my grip on reality.
“So this Dewi-whatsit is like some once and future king?” I ask.
They both nod, as if they can’t hear how utterly ridiculous this all sounds. I throw my hands up in exasperation.
“I’m not some bloody Jesus King Arthur!”
Harlen laughs, and the sound makes me feel better. Cai holds my gaze for a heartbeat longer before looking away. I can’t tell what he is thinking. I can’t cope with this. It is all far too much. I storm away towards my bedroom.
“Leave him,” says Harlen behind me.
Cai was going to follow me? That makes me feel all warm and gooey inside, despite all the other overwhelming emotions storming through me. But Harlen is right. Right now, I need to be alone.
I have an awful lot to think about.