Chapter Six
DALLIN HADN’T BEEN lying when he’d promised Tyne that he’d try.
He hoped Tyne hadn’t, either, but he was keeping an eye on his brother and Meyer.
He wanted to be the first to know when the two of them finally figured their shit out.
So far, he hadn’t seen any differences, but he wasn’t giving up hope.
What he was giving up was his quiet time.
Now that he was coming out of his office and bedroom more often, it felt like he was always surrounded by his brothers.
Penley was the one who spent the most time with him, but the others weren’t far behind.
Even Jarvis had become a bit clingy, which was unlike him.
Thankfully, he was distracted by his boyfriend and their son, but still.
It was a lot.
Dallin was grateful because he loved his brothers and didn’t want them to worry about him, but he did wish he could have a bit more privacy sometimes.
Moping wouldn’t help, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do it every so often.
He glanced around the living room.
Would someone stop him if he tried sneaking out while they were watching this movie? When he’d agreed to watch it, he hadn’t realized it would be a marathon, but apparently, that was the only way to watch this series.
Penley hadn’t been pushy, and Dallin couldn’t say that watching cars race on the screen was his thing, but at least no one was bothering him for not being here.
It wasn’t fair, though.
Ansley was nowhere to be seen. Tyne had taken one look at the screen and left. Why was Dallin expected to be present when everyone else could leave?
At least the eye candy on the screen wasn’t bad.
Dallin tried to distract himself by staring at the pretty people, but it still wasn’t enough.
Like always, his thoughts drifted to Sol, and he wondered what might be happening to him right now.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
A door slamming made him jump. Penley glared at the ceiling, but apart from that, no one did anything. That didn’t last long because when footsteps came running down the stairs, Dallin and everyone else in the room knew something had happened.
“I found him! I found him!”
Dallin exchanged a glance with Bennett, who was sitting next to him. Bennett took his job as a shield very seriously, always including Dallin even though Dallin wasn’t his mage. It was sweet, and Dallin was grateful.
He didn’t miss the way Bennett placed himself closer to both him and Penley as they faced the living room door. It was closed, but it banged open, making Dallin jump.
Thorne wouldn’t be happy if he had to have work done on the wall because Ansley had slammed the door open, but no one cared about that right now. Ansley looked a bit wild. His hair was all over the place, and his eyes were wide as he looked around the room. His gaze stopped on Dallin, and he rushed forward.
Dallin wasn’t afraid of him. He knew his brother, and Ansley would never do anything to hurt him. That was why he didn’t react even when Ansley grabbed him by the shoulders.
“I found him,”
Ansley repeated.
This time, the words sank in. Dallin gaped at Ansley, trying to find the right words for what he needed to ask.
“You found Sol?”
Bennett asked.
Dallin could have kissed him, but he squeezed his shoulder instead.
Ansley nodded.
“I did. I cast the spell, and this time, I found him. We need to go before he moves again.”
Everyone exploded in a flurry of movement that made Dallin feel dizzy. He needed to do the same, but he felt lost.
Were they really about to get Sol back? It was what Dallin had wanted all along, and he still did, but he was also terrified.
He shook himself. He had no idea what was about to happen, but if it led to a chance of finally freeing Sol from Carlyle’s clutches, they had to take it. Ansley was right. They had to be fast before Sol was moved again. Or maybe Sol had managed to escape, but even if he had, it would still be dangerous. Carlyle would go after him. No matter the reason Carlyle had taken him, if Sol was free and Ansley was able to find him, it probably meant that Carlyle hadn’t gotten what he wanted.
They all ran out of the living room and toward the courtyard. Dallin briefly wondered if anyone had warned Jarvis, but he didn’t have to wonder long. Jarvis rushed into the entrance, frowning and visibly confused.
“What’s going on?”
“I found Sol, and we’re going to get him back,”
Ansley declared.
“You have to open a portal.”
“I will, but we need to think about this.”
“We don’t,”
Dallin snapped.
“We have to get to Sol before Carlyle. If he escaped, he doesn’t have a lot of time.”
“It could be a trap.”
Dallin blinked because he hadn’t thought about that. His only thought had been to get to Sol.
“Jarvis is right,”
Tyne said as he strode forward.
Dallin had no idea where he’d come from, and he didn’t care. He wanted to shake both Tyne and Jarvis and tell them they didn’t have time to think about traps. He was willing to risk it if it meant getting Sol back.
“It’s weird that Ansley was suddenly able to find Sol. Carlyle made sure it wouldn’t be possible, so what changed?”
Tyne asked.
“He probably escaped. Do you really want to leave him there?”
Dallin said.
“No one wants to leave him there.”
It wasn’t enough for Dallin.
“Then let’s go. We’ll face whatever we find on the other side of the portal, but in the meantime, we’ll finally be doing something to help Sol.”
“You don’t have a shield. If this is a trap, Carlyle will know that, and he’ll act accordingly.”
“I don’t care about my safety. I don’t care what happens to me. I do have a shield, and I’m going to rescue him, no matter what you say.”
The problem was that Dallin needed Jarvis to be okay with this. Dallin could open a portal, but he’d need ingredients, time, and magic. Portals weren’t his specialty. They were Jarvis’s, and it would be best if he opened one instead of forcing Dallin to do it.
“What about everyone else? What about their safety?”
Jarvis asked softly.
His words made Dallin feel guilty. He didn’t care about his own well-being, but he did care about everyone else’s. He would never forgive himself if something were to happen to Bennett or Penley or any of the others. He didn’t want to sacrifice Sol, but Jarvis and Tyne were right. They needed to be cautious. It wasn’t like they were saying they couldn’t rescue Sol at all. They just needed to plan before throwing themselves through a portal.
Dallin sucked in a breath and squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t cry. He was so close, yet at the same time, still so far. “Fine,”
he said, opening his eyes again.
“What do you need us to do?”
EVERY TREE LOOKED THE same as the tree next to it. Sol didn’t recognize them, and it was clear that Graham didn’t, either.
“We’ve been going in circles, haven’t we?”
Sol asked.
They’d been walking for what felt like hours, but Sol was pretty sure it had only been half an hour at most.
Still, his entire body ached, and he felt like if he continued walking, he’d eventually drop down from exhaustion.
It wouldn’t be good because Graham couldn’t carry him.
He’d have to abandon Sol, and Sol would be in trouble all over again.
They’d almost been found once.
They’d heard Simon calling for Graham, and for a moment, Sol had expected Graham to change his mind and answer.
He’d thought that Graham would hand him over to Simon, but he hadn’t.
Instead, Graham had set his jaw and continued walking.
They both had, but it hadn’t taken them anywhere.
Maybe Carlyle had used magic to ensure they wouldn’t be able to leave.
Maybe they were just unlucky and had gotten lost, and now, they couldn’t find their way back.
Sol didn’t even know where they were going.
He just knew they had to get away from the house, but what was out there? Where were they? Where were they going?
“He cast a lot of spells,”
Graham murmured.
“He said he was going to. He wanted to make sure that no one could find the house.”
“How do you get food, then?”
“Simon goes into town. I was never allowed to.”
Sol wasn’t surprised.
It had been obvious from the beginning that neither Carlyle nor Simon trusted Graham.
They were happy to let him do the stuff they didn’t want to do, like feeding Sol, but they never gave him important tasks.
They’d probably been afraid he’d escape and would take Sol with him.
They’d been right.
“So we’re stuck here?”
Sol asked.
“I don’t know. Carlyle used spells, but I’m not a mage. I have no idea what to do.”
“Are we going to continue walking in circles until Carlyle finds us?”
“Maybe.”
There was nothing else to say, and both of them fell silent again as they continued moving.
Sol wanted to beg to take a break, but it wouldn’t help either of them.
They had to get away from the house as soon as they could.
He wasn’t sure they could get any further than they already had.
His legs felt like jelly, and he wouldn’t be surprised if they gave out soon.
It also felt like no matter how much they walked, they would never get away from the house.
He wondered if that was because of a spell, but the answer didn’t matter. The only thing that did was that he and Graham were stuck.
Graham was leading the way, and when he suddenly stopped moving, so did Sol.
He glanced at Graham, who looked like he’d seen a ghost, then in the direction Graham was staring at.
Sol frowned.
There was a spark of something in the air, something that wasn’t supposed to be there.
Was it the spell that was keeping them in the forest?
Sol watched as the spark grew bigger and bigger until it turned into something similar to a door.
There was nothing separating him from what was happening on the other side, though, and from where he was, he could see a bunch of people staring back at him.
“Who are they?” he asked.
Graham shook his head.
“Good news for you, bad news for me.”
He turned to Sol.
“I need to leave.”
“You’re not going back to Carlyle and Simon.”
“I’m not, but I also can’t stay. They’re going to kill me.”
Graham stumbled back as the first person crossed through the door. He was quickly followed by others, but that wasn’t what Sol was focused on. When Graham almost fell on his face, Sol grabbed his arm and kept him where he was.
“I’ll protect you,”
he promised.
“I don’t think even you can do anything about this.”
Graham sounded resigned, but Sol wasn’t.
He had no idea who these people were, but it sounded like they might be enemies of Carlyle.
That was a good thing as long as he managed to keep Graham safe.
Another man came through the door.
Sol had dismissed the others, but he couldn’t in this case.
He couldn’t look away.
The man was tall but shorter than Sol.
His long brown hair was messy as if he’d run his fingers through it, and it framed a face that should’ve been smiling instead of looking around, clearly worried.
There was a smattering of freckles on the man’s nose, and Sol found himself wanting to count every single one of them.
That wasn’t like him.
For a moment, he wondered if these people had cast a spell on him.
What if they wanted to make it easier to take him away? Maybe this was their way of doing that.
“Sol,”
one of the first men who’d crossed the portal said.
“My name is Jarvis. I’m a mage.”
Sol had a hard time looking away from the man with the freckles, but he forced himself to.
“How do you know my name?”
“Pippa told us.”
Jarvis gestured at the portal.
It seemed that all the people who were going to come through had, but there were more people standing on the other side in what looked like a courtyard. For a moment, Sol didn’t recognize anyone. Then, his best friend waved, and Sol couldn’t look away.
“Did you hurt her?”
he asked Jarvis.
“We didn’t. When we arrived at the apartment you shared with her, you and Carlyle were already gone. We couldn’t leave her there because we were afraid Carlyle would come back if he didn’t get what he wanted from you, and she agreed to come to the castle. She’s been living there since then.”
“You need to go with them,”
Graham said, getting everyone’s attention.
“They’re the good guys.”
“What is he doing here?”
one of the men asked.
He looked like he wanted to grab Graham and give him a good shake.
He was taller than Sol, with broad shoulders and dark hair and eyes that promised that whatever he’d do to Graham wouldn’t be good.
Sol would still protect Graham, but he wasn’t sure he’d win.
He felt shakier than ever, and his vision was starting to swim.
“He helped me escape,”
he explained.
“So if you’re here to take me away, he’s coming with me.”
“Like hell he will,”
the tall guy said with a growl.
“He can come,”
Jarvis quickly said, glaring at the tall guy.
“Tyne won’t hurt him.”
Tyne looked like he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything.
He turned and stomped his way back to the portal, quickly disappearing through it.
What he thought of Jarvis’s decision was clear, but Sol didn’t care.
He wasn’t abandoning the one man who had helped him when he’d been a prisoner.
“Ignore Tyne,”
Jarvis said.
Graham snorted loudly.
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
Jarvis arched a brow, causing Graham to snap his mouth shut.
Sol disliked whatever was happening, but now wasn’t the time to ask for details.
He needed to decide whether or not he would follow Jarvis and all of these people through the portal.
Could he trust them? Even if he didn’t, did he have a choice?
DALLIN WANTED TO RUN to Sol, but he knew better.
Sol didn’t know him.
They’d never met, had never talked, and had never been close.
What happened between Dallin and Kent didn’t matter in this situation.
Kent didn’t matter. He was the past, and Sol was the present, and Dallin was doing his best not to freak him out.
Sol had been through enough already.
He’d been taken by Carlyle, and from the state of him, it hadn’t been pleasant.
There was no way to know what Carlyle had been trying to do without asking Sol questions, but no spell called for the bruises on Sol’s skin.
Magic wasn’t about violence.
It could become violent, but it was seldom used to hurt people. Of course, Carlyle had already done so before, so maybe Dallin shouldn’t be surprised.
Carlyle had shown the kind of person he was a long time ago, and it was clear that spending so much time trapped in the gemstone hadn’t changed him.
Dallin wouldn’t be surprised to find out it had made him worse.
Carlyle seemed to be even more bitter and angry than he’d been before.
But Sol had managed to escape anyway.
Graham had helped, and even though he was technically the enemy, Dallin couldn’t find it in himself to blame him for being on Carlyle’s side.
The few times Dallin and the other mages had stumbled onto Graham and his brother, it had been obvious that only one of them actually wanted to help Carlyle, and it wasn’t Graham.
Dallin had been curious about Graham’s story and how he and his brother had ended up with Carlyle, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions.
It also wasn’t the time to start arguing about whether or not Graham should come with them.
Dallin understood why Tyne was wary, and he was, too, but Graham didn’t seem like a bad guy, no matter what he’d been involved in.
More importantly, they couldn’t afford for Carlyle to find them before they managed to get everyone through the portal.
That meant going with the flow and with what Sol wanted, and that was clearly for Graham to follow them.
Movement on the other side of the portal caught Dallin’s attention.
Pippa was talking to Tyne, who was shaking his head and gesturing at the portal.
She moved toward it, but Tyne grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
Dallin heard Sol sucking a breath.
He was worried about his friend, which was sweet but unnecessary. Sol didn’t know that, though. He didn’t know any of them, not even Dallin.
Pippa turned back to the portal and gestured at Sol.
It was clear she was telling him that he needed to cross, and Dallin hoped that would convince him.
He was ready to push Sol through himself if it didn’t.
He wasn’t leaving his dragon behind, no matter what happened.
Dallin hadn’t allowed himself to think about what n.
He’d see how hard it had been for some of the mages to deal with their dragons.
It had to be terrifying not to remember anything, and Dallin was glad that Sol would have the dragons to talk to.
Apart from Tyne and Meyer, though, all the couples were back together.
Dallin needed to have faith that, eventually, he and Sol would be, too. It didn’t matter how much time it took. As long as they were both safe, everything would be fine.
“We really need to go,”
Jarvis said.
“I understand that you don’t know us and that you don’t trust us, but Pippa has been living with us since you were taken, and she’s fine. We won’t force you to do anything. We just want you to be safe.”
“Listen to them,”
Graham gently pushed.
“They really are the good guys. They’ve been trying to counteract what Carlyle’s been doing since he was freed, and they’re going to stop him eventually.”
Sol was still clutching Graham’s arm as if he was afraid that the man would disappear if he let go. He pulled Graham closer, and Dallin told himself that it didn’t mean anything. Sol and Graham had probably grown close because of the way Carlyle treated both of them. Sol’s bruises were more obvious, but Dallin could see the remnants of some of them on Graham’s skin.
Besides, it wasn’t his place to be jealous. He and Sol had never been together. He’d been in love with Kent, and Kent was dead. He was never coming back, no matter how much Sol looked like him.
Dallin swallowed and kept his focus on the forests around them, or at least, he tried. It was impossible for him to look away from Sol for more than a handful of seconds at a time, even though it made him want to cry.
“Fine,”
Sol said.
“We’re both coming with you.”
Jarvis’s shoulders slumped, probably in relief. It was what Dallin was feeling.
“Good. Let’s go.”
“We should go fast because Carlyle and my brother are looking for us,”
Graham said as he lifted his chin and moved forward.
From the way his hands shook and how pale his face was, Dallin was ready to bet that he was terrified. He would be if he was in Graham’s place, too. He was about to enter the enemy’s home.
Sol made to follow Graham, but he stumbled, and Dallin had enough. He’d stayed away from Sol to give him space, but Sol needed help, and Dallin was right there. Was he supposed to stay away for much longer? He couldn’t.
Dallin loved Kent, but Kent wasn’t here, and he was never coming back, no matter how much Sol looked like him. Sol was there, though, and he needed Dallin.
“Let me help you,”
Dallin said, forcing himself to smile at Sol.
Sol stared at him for a moment before nodding.
“Thank you.”
“You have nothing to thank me for,”
Dallin murmured as he wrapped an arm around Sol’s waist and helped him move forward.
He was slightly shorter, but he didn’t care.
He had Sol close, and he could feel that his dragon was safe.
They finally walked through the portal.
Dallin knew that as soon as they were on the other side, he’d have to let go of Sol, so he took these few seconds to send this moment to memory.
He didn’t know if he’d ever have the opportunity to be so close to Sol ever again.
As soon as they were on the other side of the portal, Pippa was on them.
She threw her arms around Sol’s neck with a sob, and Dallin had to let go.
He took a step back, forcing himself to look away.
Pippa and Sol deserved privacy.
Dallin was tempted to run back to his office or his room, but he stuck around, just in case.
As soon as Jarvis was through the portal, Tyne was on him.
“We should attack Carlyle now. He won’t expect us.”
Jarvis frowned.
“He’ll know that Sol is gone soon if he doesn’t already.”
“I think he already does,”
Graham murmured.
“We heard my brother looking for us earlier. I’m still not sure how he didn’t find us.”
Jarvis nodded as if he’d expected that answer.
“I noticed spells in the forest.”
“There are a lot of those. Carlyle wanted the house to be protected and unable to be found.”
“For the first time, we know where he is,”
Tyne argued.
“We can take him by surprise. We can finally end this.”
“Not right now,”
Jarvis said in an uncompromising tone.
“We’re not prepared, and I’m sure that you can remember what happened to the people who tried fighting Carlyle while not being prepared.”
They were dead. They all remembered what had happened back then, and Dallin would rather not have to live through it again. Tyne didn’t seem to agree with that, though.
Jarvis might be about to have a fight on his hands, and not with Carlyle as he’d expect.
SOL HAD NO IDEA WHAT was going on or who all these people were, but he had Pippa in his arms, and as far as he was concerned, that meant that everything was right in his world.
He and Pippa had been best friends for years. She was the only one who knew that Sol was a dragon shifter. She was the only one he’d ever trusted with that information.
Sol supposed that she wasn’t the only one anymore.
It was clear that these people had been looking for him, and they had to have a good reason.
He hoped they’d known him before he lost his memories, but at the same time, he was afraid to ask.
Did everything he’d lost so many years ago really matter? He didn’t remember it, and he didn’t think he ever would.
He wanted to satisfy his curiosity, but he was also afraid to get hurt by the information he might find.
None of that mattered right now. The only thing that did was that attacking Carlyle was a stupid idea.
“Graham’s right, and he’s been living with Carlyle for a while, so we should listen to him,” Sol said.
The big man’s eyes narrowed.
“You just arrived. Who are you to agree or disagree with this?”
“He’s one of us, and he has as much right to an opinion as any of us,”
Jarvis pointed out.
His words gave Sol a thrill. He’d never been part of anything. He’d only ever had Pippa, and while he loved her, sometimes, he wished he had someone to fly with. He wished he didn’t have to hide his dragon for so long and so often. He wished he knew other dragon shifters so they could talk about what being one meant and what it was like.
Pippa hadn’t let go of Sol, but she stepped to the side so he could see the mages who’d rescued him better. Sol’s attention kept slipping to the pretty man who’d helped him cross the portal. He wanted to ask for his name and if they’d known each other in Sol’s previous life, but he was pretty sure that the big guy would strangle him if he distracted him from Carlyle and the problem at hand.
“This could be the only chance we have,”
the big guy said.
“It won’t be a chance you have if Carlyle kills you,”
Sol argued. He needed to get everyone’s names, dammit. He was already done thinking about pretty man and big man.
“Carlyle has spells everywhere. Graham and I walked around the forest for hours, and we were never able to find the exit. We would probably have continued walking until Carlyle or Simon had found us. From what Graham said, he also has spells that hide the house, so I doubt that you’ll be able to reach it.”
Big guy scowled.
“We don’t have to reach it. We just have to wait for Carlyle to find us.”
“And we can do that from here, where we’re protected,”
Jarvis interjected.
“You won’t be able to take him by surprise if you have to wait for him to reach you. I know you’re eager to get rid of Carlyle, Tyne, but you have to think.”
Someone in the crowd scoffed, causing Tyne’s scowl to deepen. He didn’t look at whomever it had been. Instead, he glanced at Jarvis, then turned and left without adding anything else. Jarvis sighed, sounding like a parent dealing with an unruly teenager. Sol was ready to bet that it was how he felt, too.
“Everyone crossed back?”
Jarvis asked the small crowd gathered around them.
“We have,”
another man said.
“You can close the portal.”
To Sol’s surprise, the portal through which they’d crossed petered out. A few seconds later, it was all but gone, and there were no signs left that it had been there.
Now that Sol was free and safe, he allowed himself to look around. Jarvis had mentioned Pippa being in a castle a few times, but Sol hadn’t realized he was being literal. They were in a freaking castle.
They stood in a courtyard, surrounded by thick stone walls. The place had been decorated with flowers and wooden benches, so it didn’t look cold or harsh, but it was undeniably a castle.
“Where the fuck are we?”
Sol asked no one in particular.
“That’s how I reacted when I first got here,”
Pippa said.
“This place is massive and looks like it should be in a fairytale.”
Sol felt like he was. He’d been a prisoner, and he’d been rescued. He’d started the rescue himself, but he and Graham would still be walking around the forest if it wasn’t for these people. Sol still wasn’t sure if he could trust them, but so far, they hadn’t done anything that would point to them wanting to hurt him. Graham was clearly a different story, but Sol hadn’t lied when he’d told the man that he would protect him. He was planning on doing just that.
“How are you feeling?”
Jarvis asked as he moved closer to Sol.
“I’ve been better, but I’m not about to die.”
Jarvis nodded.
“Once we take you inside, one of us can look you over and help with your wounds. We can do the same for you, Graham.”
Jarvis hesitated.
“I hope you understand, but we’ll have to lock you up initially.”
Sol opened his mouth to say no and that it was unfair, but Graham was already nodding.
“I expected it.”
“He helped me escape,”
Sol said, pointedly looking at Jarvis.
“I realize that, but until we can be sure he won’t feed Carlyle information about us and the castle, we have to be careful. I’m not saying we’ll keep him locked up forever, but until Carlyle isn’t a problem anymore, we’re going to have to.”
“I’m fine with it,”
Graham insisted.
“I know they won’t hurt me the way Carlyle did. Don’t worry about me. Worry about your mage.”
The pretty man who’d helped Sol cross through the portal made a strangled sound. Graham’s cheeks flushed, and he stepped away. Sol had no idea what the fuck was happening.
“I’m sorry, but I still don’t know who you guys are or why you came to rescue me.”
Jarvis had said that they’d found Pippa back at the apartment, which meant they’d been there for a reason, and Sol doubted that reason was Pippa. That meant they’d been looking for him, and he really hoped he wouldn’t have to fight them. He didn’t have the energy.
“It would be more comfortable for us to take this inside. I doubt Carlyle fed you, so we can have food and drinks brought to you,”
Jarvis said with a smile.
“But to start, my name is Jarvis, and I’m a mage.”
He started pointing at people as he introduced them.
“These are Ansley, Penley, Keylon, and Dallin. You already had the pleasure of bickering with Tyne. We’re all mages.”
Sol’s head spun.
“What about the others?”
he asked in a whisper. There were more people here, more men staring at him.
“These are Parker, Bennett, Meyer, Marlow, and Winter.”
Jarvis paused and smiled.
“They’re dragon shifters, like you.”
Sol pressed his lips together.
He wasn’t going to cry, dammit.
He wasn’t going to get emotional, even though he’d believed he was the only dragon shifter around and that he’d never meet another one.
The fact that these men were dragon shifters didn’t mean that Sol was safe, so he still needed to be careful.
But he desperately wanted to believe they were safe. He desperately wanted to believe he’d finally found his place in the world and, maybe, a family.