Chapter Eight
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RUNE HAD THOUGHT THINGS would go back to normal once Twig, Yorga, and Ash recovered.
They’d all been released from the infirmary within a week, and Palmer had finally gone home to sleep in his own bed.
Life should have returned to its usual rhythm, with Rune watching over Palmer as he researched dragon physiology, Palmer buried in his books and notes, and both of them existing in comfortable silence.
Except things hadn’t gone back to normal. Not really.
Something had shifted between them. Rune couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was, but he felt it every time they were in the same room.
The space between them felt smaller. Palmer smiled more easily now, and Rune found himself smiling back without thinking about it.
They’d started sharing meals more often, not just when Palmer forgot to eat, but because it seemed natural and they both wanted to.
Rune told himself it was just because they’d been through something together. They’d solved a mystery and saved lives. Of course that would bring them closer. It didn’t mean anything more than that.
No matter how big his crush on Palmer was.
He was thinking about it as he sat across from Palmer in the library. He was supposed to be reading a book on dragon metabolism while Palmer took notes from another book. Rune had read the same paragraph three times without absorbing a single word. His attention kept drifting to Palmer instead.
Palmer’s hand moved across the page in smooth, confident strokes, his handwriting surprisingly neat for someone who wrote as quickly as he did.
Rune watched the way Palmer’s fingers were curled around the pen, the slight flexing of his wrist as he formed each letter.
There was something mesmerizing about it, the way Palmer’s entire focus narrowed down to that single contact between pen and paper.
Palmer paused mid-sentence, pen hovering above the page, and Rune realized too late that he’d been caught staring.
“Something interesting?” Palmer asked, one eyebrow raised. A smile played at the corner of his mouth.
Heat crept up Rune’s neck. “I was just—” He gestured vaguely at Palmer’s notebook. “You have nice handwriting for a doctor.”
Palmer’s smile widened, and Rune wanted to sink through the floor. Nice handwriting? That was the best he could come up with?
“Thank you,” Palmer said, his tone suggesting he knew that wasn’t what Rune had been thinking about. “My professors used to complain they couldn’t read my notes, so I had to work on it.”
Rune nodded and dropped his gaze back to his book, actually determined to read this time.
He was aware of Palmer watching him. He could feel the weight of his attention like a physical thing, almost a stroke along his skin.
The silence that had always been comfortable between them suddenly felt charged with something that made Rune’s heart beat faster.
“Rune,” Palmer said quietly.
Rune looked up. Palmer was still watching him, but the teasing smile had faded into something softer and more uncertain.
“Yeah?”
Palmer opened his mouth, then closed it again. He looked down at his notes, then back up at Rune. “Nothing. Never mind.”
But it wasn’t nothing. Rune could see it in the way Palmer’s grip on his pen had tightened and in the slight flush on his cheeks that matched the one that Rune was sure was visible on his own face because he could feel its warmth. Whatever this was between them, Palmer felt it, too.
The realization should have scared Rune.
Getting involved with Palmer would be complicated at best, dangerous at worst. Killian had brought Palmer here to work, not to get tangled up with the king’s half-brother.
And Pearl was still a threat. The last thing either of them needed was more complications.
But when Palmer went back to his notes and Rune caught himself watching those hands again, he couldn’t bring himself to look away. Maybe complications weren’t always bad. Maybe some things were worth the risk.
Palmer glanced up and caught him staring again. This time, neither of them looked away.
* * * *
PALMER HEADED BACK to the infirmary, leaving behind the library. He wanted to stay there with Rune, and not only because they were researching wolfsbane and its effects on dragons. Something had shifted between him and Rune, and Palmer knew exactly what it was.
He just wasn’t sure what to do about it.
But he couldn’t stay. He had an appointment with Curran, who was reaching the end of his pregnancy and needed more frequent checkups.
Palmer was excited to find out what would happen next.
He’d read up on dragon pregnancies and what happened when they gave birth, if he could call it that.
Curran would be laying an egg, and once he did, they’d have to keep the egg warm and safe until the baby was ready to come out.
It wasn’t anything Palmer had ever seen, and he was both touched and excited by the fact that Curran had decided that he would be involved.
It would’ve been much easier for Curran to choose a dragon healer, but that wasn’t what he wanted.
It was a bit confusing because Palmer didn’t understand why it seemed to be so important to Curran, but he wasn’t going to complain. He wanted to learn more about this kind of thing, but even more so, he felt like he and Curran were somewhat friends.
Things were a little different here at the palace.
Normally, Palmer would never become friends with a patient, no matter how much he liked them.
He never had in all these years of being a doctor, but he wasn’t in the human world anymore.
He was in the dragon world, and clearly, here, that kind of thing didn’t matter.
He was glad because he liked Curran, and he was invested in making sure that both he and the baby would be healthy.
He was late when he walked into the infirmary. Curran was already waiting for him, sitting on the bed and swinging his legs. He smiled as Palmer bustled over to his bed, stretching down on the mattress when Palmer gestured at him to.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Palmer said as he started his examination after closing the curtains around them.
“I didn’t wait long, so it’s fine. It’s not like you to be late, though.”
“I was in the library with Rune.”
“Oh, I’m sure.”
Palmer blinked. “I’m sorry?”
Curran gestured at Palmer’s face. “I knew you were with Rune. You have your Rune smile on.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s the way you always smile when Rune’s involved. It’s a little soft and very happy.”
Palmer immediately wiped the smile off his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Curran laughed. “Sure you don’t. You don’t have to hide it from me, Palmer.
I don’t care if you like Rune. Most people don’t.
I know it can feel a little scary considering that Rune is Killian’s brother, and Pearl is involved, too, and of course, he’s a dragon and you’re not, but I’m pretty sure he likes you as much as you like him. ”
How had they gone from Palmer examining Curran to Curran giving Palmer a pep talk about his love life? “There’s nothing between me and Rune,” he insisted.
“But not because you don’t want there to be anything between the two of you.
The way you look at each other is precious, and I know all about your situation.
I kept my feelings for Marlin hidden for many years.
I didn’t think I had a chance, but I was wrong.
If that’s what you’re afraid of, I don’t think you need to be.
He’s definitely as into you as you are into him. He talks about you a lot.”
Palmer hadn’t realized that. It made him wonder if he talked about Rune a lot, but he was afraid to ask. He felt like Curran could see right through him, which probably wasn’t a good thing considering that Curran was right.
This situation was complicated. Not only was Rune a dragon, which wasn’t actually a problem because Palmer didn’t care, but he was also Killian’s brother, and like Curran had said, there was Pearl to consider.
She really hated Palmer. She’d probably try to kill him if she found out he was dating her brother, and not because she cared about Rune.
She wouldn’t want a human dating a dragon.
There was nothing she could do about Hedley and Killian, but Rune and Palmer?
That was an entirely different situation.
They didn’t have Killian’s authority. They didn’t have bodyguards.
But Pearl wouldn’t be a problem forever. Killian would make sure of that. He and his people were working to find a way to stop her, which meant that hopefully, they would.
Even if they didn’t, would Palmer really let her stop him from what might happen with Rune?
He hadn’t expected to fall for a dragon, and he wouldn’t say he was in love with Rune just yet, but he could see it happening easily.
He wanted it to happen. He liked Rune and the way he’d been behaving, especially when it came to Twig.
He could see things changing between them, and he wanted them to.
It was scary, but at the same time, it really wasn’t.
Palmer was pretty sure that if he jumped, Rune would catch him, and in the end, wasn’t that what was most important?
* * * *
PALMER HADN’T BEEN in the dining hall for dinner, which hadn’t been a surprise.
Rune never expected him to be there these days.
Palmer was spending all of his time in the infirmary, which made sense, but it also worried Rune.
Palmer needed to eat before something happened to him, too.
The last thing they needed was for him to exhaust himself, especially when they didn’t know what Pearl’s next move would be.
Rune didn’t want to think that she would outright attack Palmer, but he couldn’t put it past her.