CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Taveris didn't think. He pulled Caleen backwards and behind him, throwing his arm up to block in case Dorrat was able to reach them with his senseless attack.
But there was more than a cell door between them. The guard pushed himself in front of Taveris, shielding him as well.
Neither of them needed to do anything, though, because less than a second later Dorrat dropped where he stood, with an arrow sticking out from his neck.
Taveris glanced towards the door to see the Elder Brother lowering his crossbow, then looked back at the man in the cell, a pool of blood spreading quickly around him.
Caleen swore and gripped his arm hard, which pushed Taveris into action. He pulled his mate against his chest, hearing both their hearts hammering loud and fast in the quiet that fell.
It took a while before anyone spoke and it was Caleen who broke the silence.
"You okay?" he asked with his face still pressed against Taveris's chest.
Not really, no. But Taveris figured it wasn't what Caleen meant.
"I'm fine, he didn't touch me. You?"
He rubbed his hands up and down Caleen's back, inhaling deeply. His senses told him his mate was unharmed, but the threat had thrown Taveris into high alert and he needed a confirmation.
He needed Caleen safe.
And yet he had still come here with him, as if it was ever going to do anything but hurt his bonded, one way or another.
"He didn't touch me, either," Caleen muttered, squeezing his waist.
"I'm not sure he was going to, Your Highness," the guard spoke up, opening the door to the cell without looking away from Dorrat's body.
Dorrat's body.
The man was dead.
Taveris was still struggling to let that sink in.
Caleen pulled away from him and turned to the guard. "What do you mean?"
"He certainly made us believe so." The guard circled the body. "But he had to know there was no way to reach any of you before we intervened."
"Why attack at all, then?" Caleen asked as the realization hit Taveris in the chest.
Hook. Hook it all to the last grain of sand.
Suicide was unheard of among the dragons. It wasn't even rare, it simply didn't happen. But getting oneself killed…
He wasn't going to say it out loud, though. No way.
Thankfully, Caleen suddenly seemed to get it, too.
"Oh."
It was a quiet, empty sound, and Taveris tugged at Caleen's wrist before pulling him against his body again.
"He knew the best he could've hoped for was the inside of a cell for the rest of his life," he whispered right above Caleen's ear.
"So he chose this?" Caleen's question was more like a plea, and Taveris closed his eyes for a second, wishing the world would just give them a break for once.
"Looks like it, yeah."
A shudder went over Caleen, but a few seconds later he stepped away from Taveris, with a familiar mask slotted into place—blank and hiding every emotion behind several walls.
The same mask that often made Taveris want to either shake him or hold him close until the mask disappeared again.
Usually both.
He couldn't do that now, though. Not yet.
So Taveris watched as Caleen faced the Elder Brother, who stood in the entrance with the crossbow still in his hand.
"Whatever his intentions just now, he was dead the moment he stepped into the Dracon House and put in danger what we have built here," he stated calmly. Then, his voice gentled. "Your Highness, we have both trusted the wrong person, but if I may be so bold, there is nothing wrong with loyalty. The actions of one man cannot make us forsake it altogether."
"No, they cannot," Caleen agreed. "The royal family will not forget your assistance in this matter. I will not forget."
There was a shadow of a smile on the Elder Brother's face as he half-turned in the doorway.
"Just send Garyan back home and the matter will be settled."
"As you wish," Caleen said, a promise clear in his voice, before following him out without a backward glance.
* * *
Nobody wanted to linger in the Dracon House for long after that. They did, however, sit down for a late lunch.
Since they'd already agreed that both bodies would be dealt with here, the conversation at the table was kept strictly away from the issue that brought them to the Dracon House and the events that followed. They talked about the history of the place and the process of building and expanding it over the years.
Caleen did his best to engage in the conversation and he appeared to be genuinely interested in it, but as soon as they were back in the air and their bond connection was once again wide open, Taveris could feel his sorrow almost as if it was his own.
He tried to offer comfort as best as he could, given the circumstances, but… There wasn't anything he could do, was it? There was no way to make any of this better.
By the time they arrived back at the palace, they were all exhausted and fell straight to bed, which offered a temporary relief. Yet Taveris still woke up unsettled, aching to fix what seemed unfixable right now.
He went through the motions as they talked first to the king and then to Garyan, who managed to get a dry smile from Caleen as he thanked him for the hospitality.
That was the first show of emotion from his bonded Taveris had seen since last night, though. Caleen had kept up his mask throughout the entire morning, only allowing himself to finally drop it when they talked with Soryan and Naveen afterwards.
"He had planned it all along, then?" Naveen whispered, clinging to his companion's hand as if that would help him to make sense of it all.
Taveris knew that feeling.
"Most of it, yes." Caleen leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Despite everything life had thrown at him, he rarely seemed defeated, but now, he looked tired. Tired of fighting, of pushing through, of trying to do it all.
And Taveris wanted to gather him in his arms and allow him to just be—without any expectations or demands, for as long as possible.
For as long as Caleen would let him.
"What I still don't get is, how does your return fit into his plan?" Soryan asked Taveris. "He decided he needed you gone for his plan to work, but he didn't— He didn't need you back."
He didn't need you alive. The message was clear to all of them, judging from the barely audible sound Caleen made before cutting himself off and from the way Naveen's eyes widened as he stared at his companion.
Taveris just shrugged. He'd wondered as well why Dorrat hadn't simply killed him, and the only answer he could come up with was one he didn't want to say out loud.
Luckily, he was once again saved from doing so.
"But Caleen did," Naveen said, voice louder than before. "Caleen needed you and Master Dorrat knew that. It didn't hinder his plans to give you back once he got what he wanted," he added, quieter again and seemingly self-conscious now that they all stared at him.
For all that both brothers had been thrust into the spotlight since birth, Naveen usually preferred to keep in the background and sometimes got shy over the smallest things. But he was also good at catching the emotional nuance of a situation—and even better at understanding devotion towards his brother.
While Dorrat might have started working with Caleen for his own agenda, he'd grown to care about him over time. Even Taveris, who had so often butted heads with the man, would never dispute the bond that had built between Caleen and Dorrat. It was why the betrayal had been such a shock, after all.
Taveris was watching his bonded, so he saw when the realization hit him. Caleen was a great strategic thinker, and he didn't need more to get to the truth of it all.
And the truth was that Dorrat had sacrificed himself in the end, and for no other reason but to lessen Caleen's pain. He'd still hurt him—hurt them—and there was no erasing that, but Taveris also felt a guilty sort of gratitude that when push came to shove, Dorrat had made it a little easier for Caleen and—
A little easier. No, it wasn't right. Dorrat might have let Taveris live, but he'd still hurt Caleen like no one deserved to be hurting. And Dorrat should have known that, since he suffered like that, too, a long time ago. He should have never put Caleen through this, not even for two months.
Two days would have been too much for Taveris.
Two hours, even.
He saw Caleen's ashen face, hidden quickly as he covered it with his hands. Taveris moved closer, pressing against his back and resting a hand on the bonding mark.
I'm here. I'm here. We're safe.
He barely noticed Soryan and Naveen leaving, focused on his bonded, who started to shake under his touch once they were alone in the room.
Taveris pulled him onto his lap and whispered reassurances, over and over, as Caleen broke apart in his arms.
* * *
At some point, they'd moved to the bed and fallen asleep like that, tangled in each other, not even caring about taking off their clothes.
When Taveris registered his bonded pulling back, he stirred awake.
"Shh, it's okay," Caleen whispered, caressing Taveris's cheek. "I just want to take a shower."
"Want company?" Taveris murmured without opening his eyes and got a chuckle in response.
"Maybe some other time. Go back to sleep."
Taveris did, and so he had no idea how much time had passed, but when he stirred again, Caleen's side of the bed was still empty.
He opened his eyes then, immediately wide awake, and pulled himself onto his elbows. He barely had time to wonder if he should check on Caleen, when the bathroom door opened and his bonded walked out of there, the mist following after him in a cloud.
Caleen loved his showers hot and he'd converted Taveris to them, but the Academy didn't have the bathrooms up to the palace's standards, so they usually indulged more while they were here.
Now, Caleen had a towel tucked around his waist and nothing else on, and the look he sent Taveris was almost as hot as the water still clinging to his naked skin had to be, making Taveris regret not following him to the bathroom after all.
Before he could open his mouth—or do anything else other than staring, really—Caleen crossed the room and dropped the towel next to the bed right before climbing on top of him. His skin was warm and damp, and Taveris sighed into the kiss as Caleen attacked his mouth.
Because it was a full-on attack. Caleen dragged his teeth along Taveris's bottom lip and then licked into his mouth, demanding and so, so hot.
Taveris clasped his hands on Caleen's hips and rolled them until he had his bonded under him. Caleen pulled Taveris down into another kiss and arched his back so that he could press even closer.
Having his bonded naked when he was fully dressed was a definite turn-on, but it didn't fit into his current plan. Taveris got up to undress quickly and then covered Caleen with his body again, skin to skin, clinging to each other as if they were back in those first few days after he'd come out of the coma.
You're here. I'm here. I got you.
He'd thought they were past that desperation now, but maybe they weren't. Maybe it was still too early, too raw, especially after yesterday.
Caleen rubbed against him as if he wanted to mold them into one. He ran his hands down Taveris's body, petting his back scales, nipping at his neck, and quickly reducing him to a panting mess of want and need.
It almost hurt to look into his eyes, the fire behind them ready to scorch anything on its path.
"I need you inside me," Caleen mouthed the words against Taveris's lips.
Yes. Yes.
Sometimes he liked to drag it out, to tease Caleen until his bonded was out of his mind with it, but it wasn't one of those times. Now, the prep was quick and sloppy, but it was as if Caleen couldn't wait, as if he needed him right then and there.
And wasn't that heady, to be needed in such a way?
Taveris loved it beyond belief.
He slammed into Caleen and watched him throw his head back with a loud moan.
"Yes, like that." Caleen's voice was breathless. "Like that."
Taveris moved hard and fast, spurred on by Caleen's encouragements, filthy words whispered in his ear and moans muffled against the skin of his neck and shoulder. Their bodies were slick with water and sweat now, moving against each other with certainty they had built over the years. They'd learned each other better than any other person, they anticipated each other's next move and responded right away, creating the hottest back and forth Taveris had ever experienced.
Caleen was rarely so demanding, but it happened sometimes, especially when he was stuck in his own head for too long and needed to escape.
"More, come on," he breathed out now, tossing his head back again, and Taveris shifted a bit to leverage better and pulled back only to push into him harder.
He let himself fall into it completely—the rhythm of their bodies, the pleasure climbing higher and higher, and the sight of Caleen spread beneath him, wanting him, loving him. Needing him.
The climax, when it came, was a shattering blast of pleasure and heat, making Taveris's muscles give up as he fell onto Caleen, who was shaking and coming as well. Taveris caught his breath with his face pressed into Caleen's shoulder, and the sound of his mate's rapid heartbeat made him grin stupidly.
"I can feel you smiling, you know," Caleen told him, slurring words in a way he did whenever he was about to fall asleep.
Taveris made an effort and lifted his head to catch sight of Caleen's own soft smile.
Finally. No mask, no overwhelming sorrow. Just this.
"That was an excellent reason to smile, don't you think?" he whispered as he brushed his fingers over the side of Caleen's face and pulled back a few locks of hair.
Caleen's smile grew, but his eyes were already closing. "Not bad."
Taveris chuckled as he watched him drift off for good. The lines on Caleen's face cleared out and his body relaxed, releasing the rest of the lingering tension. Taveris dropped a soft kiss against his jaw and settled next to him, watching him for a while as he slept.
They were good, now. Battered and a little broken, but safe. Together.
Everything else would sort itself out.