DragonRider by S. Rodman
in the apartment when I get out of the shower. Damn it, I wanted to make Harlen breakfast before he left. The poor man looks exhausted and frazzled at being acting flight commander.
Oh well, I can still make Cai breakfast. Last night was his first night of sleeping alone, Harlen and I both hated leaving him, but he insisted it was what he wanted. Well, he has had his night alone in his room. Now I can bring him breakfast in bed.
Maybe I can convince him to go and visit Je again. Though I’m pretty sure he only went yesterday because Ri told me Je hadn’t been eating. Je flew out with the other dragons to fish last night, which is great, but leaves me without a reason to coax Cai down to the burrows.
I sigh heavily. Watching Cai tenderly stroke Je’s emerald scales while the dragon gently snuffled Cai’s hair, had nearly broken me. I had stood there sobbing like a baby and had been incapable of stopping.
The bond between Cai and Je had been strong. The affection between them had always been unmistakable. They truly did seem as one when they were soaring through the sky.
Now I’m thinking about how the only times I’ve ever seen Cai truly smile have been when he was flying. A wave of utter misery consumes me. Making bacon and eggs feels pointless. They are no compensation for all that he has lost.
Glumly, I finish dressing and make my way to the kitchenette. Breakfast is the only offering I have, so it will have to do. Cai’s own resilience and time, are the only things that can heal this. And there is going to be a heck of a scar.
And then it will become obvious that I’m not the chosen one and he will hate me forever.
My breath hitches and I blink back even more stupid tears. I can’t fry bacon while crying.
Somehow, I manage to cook a decent breakfast, as well as make a decent cup of coffee. Well, it smells decent. Personally, I think coffee tastes like it has come out of Satan’s cock. But each to their own.
I put everything on a tray and walk down the hallway to Cai’s room, I shoulder the door open and plaster a bright smile on my face. Then I drop the tray and gasp in horror.
Sunlight is streaming in through the tall windows, catching dancing dust motes. The room is empty. The bed is stripped bare. The shelves and bedside table top are devoid of anything. All the drawers and cupboard doors are neatly shut but I just know they are barren.
I’m running and running. Twisting down stairs, sprinting down hallways. I don’t know where my body is taking me, until I fling open the door of Cai’s office, Harlen’s office now. I’ve run straight to Harlen, and it is the right thing to do.
Harlen looks up at me and pales before I even open my mouth to speak.
“Cai has…left. He has packed his room up.”
Phew, I nearly said that Cai was gone. I’m glad I managed to correct myself before giving Harlen the fright of his life. Though the thought is still clear in Harlen’s eyes, as it is probably in mine. Cai could be planning to leave more than the castle.
“We need to find him!” says Harlen as he jumps to his feet.
He is right. But how? Cai wouldn’t have gone anywhere that Harlen would suspect. He left without saying a word. He clearly doesn’t want to be found.
“He doesn’t have magic anymore,” says Ri.
“I know that!” I snap.
“So you will be able to track him.”
I’m great at tracking spells. It was one of the services I listed when I was a freelance mage. Hurriedly, I pull my phone out of my pocket.
“What are you doing?” asks Harlen.
“Tracking spell,” I mutter as I open up a map app.
Normally I need something of the missing person. Something special to them, something that belongs to them. I don’t need an object for this. I belong to Cai.
His essence is as familiar to me as my own. More so, probably.
The spell works quickly and my fingers fly over the map before dropping a pin on a small road only a few miles from here. He must have left on foot. I look up at Harlen and nod. Together we race out to his car and jump in. I pop my phone onto the holder on the dash and switch the directions on.
We drive in silence. I don’t think I’m even breathing. It takes minutes, but it feels like all eternity. The road weaves around the corner and there he is. Striding along with a large rucksack on his back. He freezes. He has heard the engine, and he knows it is us.
Harlen pulls up behind him. It’s a tiny road in the middle of Wales, nothing is going to be driving along it for hours and if they do, well fuck them.
I dive out of the car and run to Cai. He turns around to face us and I have a split second to see tears rolling down his face, before I smoosh myself into his chest and wrap my arms around him as best I can with the bag on his back.
“Where you going, Brat?” says Harlen softly.
I feel Cai’s shrug. “Anywhere,”
Harlen sighs. “I think you should come back with us.”
“I…I can’t. It hurts too much.”
Being in a rider fortress, surrounded by riders and the unmistakable spicy scent of dragons? I can understand that. What about the next time the siren sounds, and he has to watch us all go without him? I squeeze him tighter.
“Here’s what is going to happen,” says Harlen. “You are getting in the car and we are taking you to the cottage. We won’t tell anyone where you are, but you better fucking be prepared for Kirby and me to visit you whenever we can.”
A long silence stretches. Eventually Cai draws in a shaky breath. “Okay,” he says quietly.
Then finally, finally he wraps his arms around me and returns my embrace.
After a long moment, we silently get into the car. I sit in the back and hold Cai’s hand while Harlen drives. It doesn’t take long. The car turns onto a road that is barely more than a track. Another ten minutes and we are in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. A tiny lone grey stone cottage stands by a small river. It’s beautiful.
“Is this yours?” I ask.
Cai nods.
“Benefits of being stinking rich,” drawls Harlen.
The faintest of smiles curls the edges of Cai’s lips. This is an old thing between them. Harlen teasing him for being from a wealthy family. The familiarity must be comforting. A sign that some things will never change.
I climb out of the car. It is lovely here. I wonder if they used to sneak off here for dirty weekends. It’s not far from the castle. I wait for a wave of jealousy to hit me, but it never comes. I’m glad they had each other. Even though it didn’t truly work until I came along.
Harlen types in a code into a small metal box screwed into the wall next to the door. The box opens, revealing the key. He unlocks the door and we step inside.
It’s a little damp and a little dusty. I start opening windows and Harlen gets to work starting a fire in the hearth. I see out of the corner of my eye the moment he reflexively starts to use his magic, then stops and reaches for the matches instead. I wonder if Cai saw it.
Cai is sitting at the table. His rucksack by his feet and a dazed look on his face.
I check the bedroom. The bed looks good and there is clean bedding in the wardrobe, so I quickly make the bed up. As I return to the front room, Harlen walks in with an armful of chopped wood. He sets it by the fireplace and dusts his hands off.
“You got food in there?” he asks, pointing to the rucksack.
Cai nods.
I suspect he has everything he needs in that bag to survive for at least a week. And the tools to survive off the land forever. The idea of Cai being unprepared is unfathomable.
“You have everything you need?”
Cai nods again.
Harlen walks up to him and softly kisses the top of his head.
“Promise me you’ll be here when I come back?” Harlen whispers softly.
Cai winces, closes his eyes and nods.
“Words, Brat.” rumbles Harlen.
“I’ll be here,” says Cai.
Harlen turns and walks away swiftly. I see tears in his eyes as he passes me. I run up to Cai and give him another hug.
“We’ll be back soon!” I promise.
And then I leave, and it feels like the worst thing in the world.