Chapter Four
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RUNE WAS ALMOST DONE with his coffee when he felt the dining room still around him.
Initially, he didn’t think much of it. He always took his time in the morning, but most people didn’t.
They were in a rush, flitting in and out of the room to get coffee and breakfast before getting to work.
Rune got up early on purpose so he didn’t have to rush.
But the sudden stillness was odd. He looked up, wondering if something had happened, only to find himself looking into his sister’s eyes. She stood next to his table, watching him in a way that made his skin prickle with unease.
Rune sucked in a breath. “Pearl,” he said.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t his favorite sister. She wasn’t even a sister he liked. He had no idea what Pearl wanted, but he suspected he was about to find out, and that he probably wouldn’t like it.
When Pearl smiled, Rune blinked. He had no idea if he’d ever seen her smile before.
Maybe he had, but definitely not at him.
She didn’t have a reason to smile at him.
She didn’t have a reason to talk to him.
Killian might be trying to fix their relationship, but Pearl had never been interested in Rune or any of their siblings who didn’t follow her blindly.
“How are you doing, Rune?” she asked.
Rune resisted the urge to look around to make sure she was talking to him and not to someone behind him.
“I’m fine, thank you. Did you need anything?
” He knew to be careful. She had to want something from him.
She wouldn’t have a reason to be talking to him otherwise.
That something probably had to do with Killian, which didn’t bode well.
“I just wanted to check in on you,” she said pleasantly. “And to make sure you were all right.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, I know that Killian is forcing you to work with that human. I’d stay away from him if I were you, but I understand you don’t have a choice.”
Rune had no idea how to answer that. He didn’t think that Killian would have tried to change his mind if he’d decided he didn’t want to work with Palmer.
He might have wanted an explanation, but he would’ve accepted it, even if he’d probably been disappointed.
Rune didn’t mind working with Palmer, though. In fact, he quite enjoyed it.
They didn’t talk a lot while they worked.
Palmer was always quite focused, and usually, Rune’s contribution was limited to finding books on the subjects Palmer was researching.
He spent a lot of time going back and forth between their table and the shelves, and of course, watching Palmer.
That was the biggest perk of the job, and Rune quite liked it.
He wasn’t about to tell Pearl of all people about his crush on Palmer, though. If he could get away with it, he wouldn’t be telling her anything at all, but she was still standing there, watching him.
He resisted the urge to look around. He knew the people around them were listening, and he didn’t want to cause drama. He couldn’t stand up to her and ask her what she was insinuating, but he also had to say something.
“I don’t have a problem working with Palmer,” he said. “He’s a good doctor.”
Pearl wrinkled her nose. “He’s human. He shouldn’t be here.”
“No one is asking you to spend any length of time with him,” Rune pointed out. He was starting to get irritated. “But he’s a good person, and he’s working to help the clan.”
Pearl snorted delicately. “No human can help the clan. The only thing they can do is make the clan weak, and I think that you know that.” She took a step closer.
She hadn’t been talking loudly, so Rune wasn’t sure that the people around them could hear what she was saying.
He also wasn’t sure that she cared whether or not they could.
Everyone knew how she felt about Killian and his policies regarding humans.
It wasn’t a secret. No one was probably surprised by what she was saying, and she didn’t feel ashamed of it.
“I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that,” Rune said as nicely as he could, considering the circumstances.
“This isn’t going to end well for anyone involved, be it you or the clan. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
That was bullshit, and they both knew it. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine.”
“For now. You really should be careful, though. You and I are family. If you were on my side, I’d do anything in my power to protect you.”
Rune straightened his back and squared his shoulders. “On your side? I thought we all had one side, which is what’s best for the clan.”
Pearl smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant gesture. “I do want what’s best for the clan.”
“Then you should let Killian do his job.”
She stared at him for a moment. He had to resist the urge to squirm and run. It was tempting, though. He felt a bit like he was a bug and she was wondering if she should squash him or if he wasn’t worth it. He hoped he wasn’t.
“I see,” she eventually said.
“Well, I’m not sure what you see, but I’m afraid to say that I’m not on your side in this, Pearl. I don’t know what you have against humans, but I don’t think you’ve given them a fair chance, and it’s a pity. We really can learn a lot from each other.”
“What I have against humans is that they killed and hunted us for hundreds of years. They decimated our clans. They pushed us into hiding.”
Rune’s stomach churned. “They did, but Palmer had nothing to do with any of that.”
“He’s a human. That’s enough for me.”
“It’s not for me. I’ll give him a chance because he’s never hurt anyone, and I don’t think he ever will.”
The smile was back on Pearl’s lips. “We’ll see about that, I suppose.”
She turned, and Rune watched her go. That had been odd, hadn’t it?
It definitely hadn’t been pleasant, and it left Rune confused, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it.
He couldn’t exactly go after Pearl and demand an explanation, but he felt like she’d been threatening him, even though he wasn’t sure how.
Nothing she’d said should have been threatening.
But Rune knew that he was on her shit-list now.
When she came for Killian—and she would, Rune was sure of that—she would come for Rune, too.
He didn’t regret standing up for his brother, but he couldn’t be sure he never would.
Pearl was dangerous, and he didn’t have two bodyguards like Killian did.
Whatever Pearl was planning, it wasn’t going to be fun for anyone involved.
Rune finished his now-cold coffee in one gulp and stood. He should probably warn someone about their conversation. Killian, maybe. Or Marlin and Birch.
He wasn’t sure yet, but he knew he couldn’t just sit on it and pretend it hadn’t happened.
* * * *
“HEY, DOC,” SOMEONE said, causing Palmer to look up from his phone. He’d been texting his mother, but he quickly put down the phone when he saw that Twig was standing there. It had been a few days since he’d come to the infirmary, and Palmer had hoped it meant that he was feeling better.
From the way he looked, the opposite was true.
Palmer got up from his chair and walked around the desk, already frowning.
Twig was pale and shivering. He was wearing a heavy cardigan, something that was odd because the dragons usually didn’t wear clothes.
It had taken Palmer a little while to get used to that, but he was now, and seeing a dragon wearing clothes was strange. It told Palmer just how sick Twig was.
“What’s going on?” he asked, reaching for Twig.
“I don’t know. I thought I was supposed to feel better,” Twig said as he shivered.
“Have you been getting enough rest?”
“Maybe? I went flying a few days ago, but not since, I swear. I’ve mostly been staying in my nest or on the couch. I’ve been taking that stuff you gave me, too.”
“That’s good,” Palmer murmured. He gently touched Twig’s forehead, frowning when he found him hot. It was clear he had a fever. “Why don’t you come and sit on one of these beds? I’ll examine you,” he suggested.
Twig nodded and almost lost his balance. “Yeah, okay. I trust you.”
Palmer’s stomach churned. He hoped that Twig was right to put his trust in him. He was feeling out of his depth, though, even though he tried his best not to show it. “I can call another healer if you’d be more comfortable with that,” he offered.
“No, you’re fine. If Rune trusts you, I do, too. He’s always saying how good you are.”
Palmer blinked. “Is he?”
“Yeah. It’s sweet, really.”
Palmer didn’t have time to focus on what Twig was saying.
He helped him onto the bed, ready to run the first tests.
It would take a little while to get the answers he was looking for, and in the meantime, Twig wouldn’t be going anywhere, not with his fever.
“Can you tell me how you’re feeling, what your symptoms are? ” he asked.
“Well, I feel like shit.”
Palmer chuckled. “I can see that.”
“I guess that I’m really cold and shivering a lot. I haven’t been able to eat a lot these past few days because I feel like I’m going to throw up every time I try. I also haven’t been sleeping well. I try, and I fall asleep easily, but I keep waking up.”
“I see.” Palmer really didn’t, though. The symptoms Twig was giving him could be anything.
It sounded like the flu, but Palmer wasn’t sure the dragons could get the flu.
Maybe it was a similar virus? He should probably ask a healer with more experience, but Twig had said he was fine with Palmer treating him, and for now, Palmer knew that the only thing the healers would do was run some tests, just like he was planning to.
“Why don’t you relax for a bit?” he said, already reaching for his phone. “I’m going to call Rune.”
“Are you tattling on me?”
“I just think that we work well together, and he might have an idea of what’s going on. Since you don’t want me to involve another healer, that’s probably the best thing we can do. Unless you don’t want your brother to know what’s going on.”