Chapter 21
VAELA
After a hasty round of renovations—which consisted of repairing the courtyard, painting a brand new migration-themed mural on the side of the building, and securing enough ale for the reopening celebration—the Wiggly Dragon Tooth welcomed back townsfolk and tourists alike.
Dalton and I crowded through the doors along with what felt like half the town. “Did you see that they added Min to the mural?” he asked.
“I did. Min’s thrilled. But now she’s got an ego the size of the Wretch.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Secure us a table. I’ll handle the bar.”
“Divide and conquer,” he said. “Right.” There was a slightly melancholy note to his voice.
He’d been like that for nearly a week now.
I frowned after him as he made his way across the pub, looking for an unoccupied nook or cranny.
I might not be able to do anything about my current predicament with Eden, but I could at least try to lift Dalton’s spirits.
One of us deserved to be happy.
I cut between people, finding a space at the bar. “Two tankards of your finest ale, please.”
Ilona looked me up and down, her lips pursed in amusement. “Big spender tonight?”
Translation: You usually only drink the cheap stuff.
I flipped a coin onto the counter. “It’s a celebration, isn’t it?”
Ilona tucked the coin into her apron. “Aye, that it is.”
“Then let’s celebrate.”
She poured me two tankards, and I carried them across the rammed pub, doing my best not to slosh any of the dark, amber liquid over my hands as rowdy patrons jostled each other back and forth. It was probably the hardest thing I’d done since wrangler training.
“Stars,” I swore as I reached the tiny patch of windowsill Dalton had claimed. “I should get an award just for making it over here.” I passed him his drink. “Get some of that into you.”
He sniffed the contents of the tankard, eyebrows lifting. “You sprung for the good stuff?”
I reached for his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Tonight you’re only drinking the Drakon Stout. You’re worth every pence.”
“Gahhhh,” he said, waving me off. “I know what you’re trying to do. And you don’t have to.”
I sipped my drink. “What am I trying to do?”
“Cheer me up. Convince me that this isn’t the end of my journey. Try to tell me that all I have to do is spend another year shoveling hay out of the nesting shed and suddenly I’ll be ready.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” I joked. “You’re doing my job for me.”
He downed half of his drink in one go and scowled at the floor. Last week, he’d returned to the wrangler school to attempt to bond another dragon. It hadn’t gone well, and he’d been sent back to Ember Ridge with a second failed attempt on his record.
“Maybe I’m the kind of person that can’t bond a dragon.” He prodded himself in the chest. “Maybe there’s something wrong with me. I’m just not cut out to wrangle.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I mean it. I’m done with chores and being told I’m not ready.” He took another swig of his drink. “I’m going to go home and learn how to mend shoes with my uncle like my parents always wanted.”
I gave him my most serious look. “Dalton. You don’t want to be a cobbler.”
“Yeah, well…” He picked at one of the patches on his tunic. “We don’t always get what we want, do we?”
I opened my mouth and closed it again, a painful ache throbbing in my chest as we sipped our drinks in silence. He was right. But my problem was unsolvable. His wasn’t. He just required more time. More patience.
“I understand that you’re frustrated,” I said after a beat. “You have every right to be. But don’t give up now when you’re so close.”
He grumbled.
I nudged his shoulder. “I mean it. Think of everything you’ve learned in the past year. Think of how you’ve grown.” I poked him in the chest near his heart. “All of those things prepare you to be in the sky. The right dragon will recognize that one day. I promise.”
Dalton’s cheek twitched, his frustration fading to something else. He blinked quickly, like he was fighting off a wave of emotion, then he nodded.
Now we were getting somewhere. “Plus, you know what they say.”
“What?”
“Third time’s the charm.”
Dalton sat up, a grin tugging at his lips. “They do say that.”
As we worked our way through our drinks, we talked about letting him take a few solo flights with Min around the valley. That perked him up even more, and he finally started sounding like himself.
“Another?” he asked. “It’s my round.”
I downed the rest of my drink, handing him my tankard.
As I waited for him to return, my gaze roamed the pub.
On the second pass, I heard a familiar laugh—Matty.
My eyes chased the sound, landing on a circular table in the far corner where the crew from the infirmary was gathered.
Matty’s barking laugh echoed above the din.
But my attention was immediately on Eden and her blond hair shimmering like gold in the lamplight. I studied her smile and the flush in her cheeks and listened to the giggle that slipped past her lips.
My chest clenched.
I wanted to be the one to make her laugh like that.
“You should just go talk to her.”
I almost jumped out of my seat after being caught. Dalton stood there, holding a fresh drink out to me. I chuckled uneasily and took the tankard from him, gulping a few mouthfuls. “What?”
Dalton cocked his head and gave me a flat look. “Eden? That’s who you’re staring at, isn’t it?”
“I—” What use was there in lying? I clearly hadn’t been as subtle as I thought.
“Go chat her up the way you want to.”
“It’s not that simple,” I said.
“Why not?”
“Because…” I exhaled a heavy breath. Because the thought of being with me terrified her. “Sometimes there are things that keep people apart. And no matter how you try to reason with yourself, they just can’t be overcome.”
“So you’re going to give up?” Dalton sank back down beside me. “That doesn’t seem like you. The Vaela I’ve always known wouldn’t sit here pining. She’d try to figure out how to fix things.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, mulling over his words. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was giving up too easily.
When Eden slipped from the table, headed back up to the bar for another round, I got to my feet.
Dalton raised his tankard in support. “Go get ’er,” he said, slurring his words a bit.
I smirked at him over my shoulder. “Why don’t you nurse that one for a while?”
I slipped away, ducking around broad shoulders and fighting my way to the front of the bar. I stopped at the wooden railing next to her, laying my hand down flat, fingers almost close enough to touch.
Eden glanced down at my hand, then her head snapped in my direction. “Oh, Vaela!”
The smile dropped from her face. I felt sick watching that happen.
“Hi,” I said softly.
Her tongue darted out to taste her lips. I grew distracted for a moment, studying her pink rosebud mouth.
“I didn’t realize you’d be here,” she said.
“I came to cheer Dalton up,” I admitted. “He’s had some rough news from the wrangler school.”
“I see,” she said. “Please give him my best. I know rider training is never easy.”
I nodded. “How is the, uh”—I glanced around to make sure no one was paying us any attention—“the you-know-what coming along? Did Nisse have any helpful suggestions?”
Eden’s eyes flickered about, then she nodded.
“She did, actually. I’m trialing rosemary extract with honey this time.
I was just waiting for the… you-know-whats to fully dry.
Then I should be able to start building the new prototype.
I might even have it done within the week, give or take the demands of the infirmary. ”
“That’s amazing,” I said. “As soon as you’re ready, Min and I can come by and help you test it.” I watched her throat work as she stared at the row of dirty tankards across the counter.
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
My heart flip-flopped. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure it was ever a good idea,” she amended quickly. Quietly. “I never should have dragged you into it in the first place. You’re a wrangler. You answer to the kingsguard. I compromised both you and Min.”
“I don’t care.” I reached for her, letting my pinky curl over her hand where it rested on the bartop.
“You should.” She stared down at our hands, looking pained. “If not for yourself, then for your dragon.”
“Let me worry about Min.”
Eden pulled her hand away, looking at me straight on. “I think it’s best if we part ways as far as the you-know-what is concerned.”
But if we didn’t have the armor, what excuse did I have to see her?
“It’s for the best,” she murmured. “Considering who your brother is.”
“Trystan would never—”
“Maybe not,” Eden said. “Maybe he’d look the other way for you. But if something happens, it’ll be both your names that get dragged through the mud. You think he can just return to the capital after that kind of thing?” She shook her head. “It’s too much to risk.”
My teeth pressed together so hard a spark of pain shot down my neck. “Helping you was always worth the risk to me.”
“Then we’ve both been fools,” she murmured.
“Please don’t say that.” I reached for her elbow, squeezing gently. She came to me, slowly, hesitantly, arms curled against her chest like she was afraid to touch me. “Eden?”
She lowered one arm then, her hand seeking mine, letting our fingers tangle briefly. Her skin was warm, soft. A buzz zipped through my veins. It felt as if my entire body was vibrating.
“I don’t think I can stay away from you, Eden.”
“You have to. It’s for the best,” she said again, sounding unsure of herself.
“Is it?”
Her lips pulled into a thin line, her eyebrows knotted together. “It has to be. You and me. It could never work.”
“Why can’t we try anyway?” I asked, voice rough, feeling desperate. She’d once called me reckless, and I truly felt it now, begging for a chance.
She laughed, but the sound was hollow. Aching.
The echo became a flutter of pain inside me.
“It’s a bad idea.” She caught the edge of her bottom lip between her teeth.
“I’d be setting myself up for the same fate as my mother.
The same pain she lived through. If you care about me at all, you can’t ask that of me. ”
I dropped her hand to cup her face, holding her jaw between my palms, tilting her eyes up to meet mine.
“That was a terrible accident. A series of horrible circumstances that aligned in the worst possible way.” Her eyes glazed.
“Eden, you can’t spend your whole life running away from the worst-case scenario. ”
“I have to,” she whispered, taking a trembling step back. “It’s the only way I know how to survive.”