Chapter Seven
DALLIN COULD SEE THAT Sol was overwhelmed.
He wanted to help him, but he was pretty sure that adding the mage and shield explanation to the mix would make things worse, no matter how much Dallin wanted to.
There were many things he wanted to do or say, but he kept his distance from Sol, even though Sol kept glancing at him.
He didn’t remember Dallin, but their bond had been complete, so he could probably feel it.
He might not know what it meant or even what it was, but their bond was there.
Dallin found himself jealous of Pippa.
He didn’t want to be, and he liked her, but she could be close to Sol and hug him while Dallin couldn’t.
Technically, he and Sol shared more past than Sol and Pippa ever could, but at the same time, that wasn’t true.
Dallin had known that Sol wouldn’t be Kent since they’d found Parker and had realized that the dragons had lost their memories.
He’d thought he’d be prepared for it, but it was still a shock not to be able to behave the way he and Kent would have.
Dallin couldn’t burrow into Sol’s arms.
He couldn’t tell Sol he loved him and that he’d missed him.
He needed to keep his distance, and it was killing him because the bond was trying to pull them closer.
“Let’s go inside,”
Jarvis suggested again.
Dallin knew he should leave Sol with Jarvis and give him time to wrap his mind around everything, but he couldn’t be away from his dragon after he’d just found him.
He followed Jarvis along with the others, telling himself that Sol just needed time.
Once he’d had it, Dallin could talk to him and explain everything.
He didn’t know what Sol would make of it, but all of his friends except for Tyne had reunited with their dragons.
It hadn’t been easy for some of them, but the difficulties didn’t matter.
The only thing that did was the bonds the mages shared with their dragons, and that bond was still present between Dallin and Sol.
Sol’s feelings—Kent’s feelings—had vanished, but that didn’t mean that new ones couldn’t appear.
The mages and the dragons wanted to stay close to Sol, but Jarvis gestured at them to leave once they were inside the castle.
They eventually did—Penley only after he’d thrown his arms around Sol and had blubbered in his arms until Bennett had gently pulled him away.
Sol appeared completely lost, but he allowed Jarvis to guide him to the closest sitting area.
Graham was still with them, looking around with wide eyes.
He’d have to be locked up, but he wasn’t going anywhere for now, so it wasn’t a problem for him to see the castle.
Dallin didn’t know if he trusted Graham, but Graham didn’t look like he would hurt a fly, so Dallin wasn’t too worried.
Graham was human, and he was surrounded by mages and dragon shifters.
“Is there anything in particular you want to eat?”
Jarvis asked as he sat and took out his phone, no doubt to text Jillian and Thorne.
The two of them had been outside when Dallin had helped Sol through the portal, but they’d left soon after that.
Thorne was probably in one of the bedrooms, getting it ready for Sol, while Jillian had to be cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
She was always happy when she could feed people.
It was probably why she’d taken the job. With all the dragons united under one roof, she’d have fun.
“I’m fine with whatever,” Sol said.
He was bruised and a bit bloody, and he looked ready to drop.
Dallin wanted to reach for him, but Pippa was plastered against Sol’s side while Graham hovered close on his other side.
They felt like they didn’t belong, and once again, Dallin reminded himself that Sol wasn’t Kent.
“What the fuck is this man still doing here?”
Tyne’s voice thundered.
Dallin sighed. Tyne was stubborn and fierce, and sometimes, that wasn’t a good combination.
“I want to talk to him,”
Jarvis said in a calm voice that didn’t betray much.
Dallin knew him, though.
He wouldn’t allow Tyne to hurt Graham.
Jarvis wasn’t officially their leader, but he was the oldest and the one with the most experience, and all the mages had been following his lead since they’d moved in together.
Dallin hoped that Tyne wasn’t about to change that.
They couldn’t afford for Tyne and Jarvis to fight when Carlyle was still out there.
“You can talk to him while he’s locked up in a cell.”
“I wouldn’t be here without Graham,”
Sol interjected.
“I promised him I would protect him if he helped me escape, and I haven’t changed my mind. I don’t care who I have to fight. If you try hurting Graham, I’ll hurt you.”
Tyne narrowed his eyes at Sol. Sol didn’t seem intimidated as he stared back. This would be an even worse fight than between Jarvis and Tyne, dammit.
“He kept you prisoner,”
Tyne pointed out.
“He was forced to by his brother and Carlyle. Look, I don’t want to fight you, but I really don’t think you know what’s happening here.”
Tyne scoffed.
“I’m not the one without memories.”
Dallin sucked in a breath and glared at his brother. Tyne avoided looking at him or anyone else. He was still focused on Sol.
“It’s true,”
Sol said.
“I don’t have many memories.
I have no idea who you guys are, even though I have a feeling that I should know you.
I do have memories of the time I spent in that cell, though. I know what Graham did and didn’t do from personal experience, and I still won’t allow you to hurt him.”
Dallin was still wary of Graham, but it sounded like he’d really helped Sol.
Dallin was grateful.
All of this time, he’d been imagining Sol on his own, and it was good to find out that he hadn’t been. Dallin wished he could have been by Sol’s side, but he hadn’t been.
Dallin was a bit jealous, but that jealousy was easy to ignore.
He had Sol back, and that was all he cared about.
SOL REALLY HOPED HE wouldn’t have to fight Tyne.
Even if the guy wasn’t a mage, Sol was pretty sure he could kick his ass without even sweating.
Tyne was big, and while Sol wasn’t small, he also hadn’t been fed well and had been beaten regularly.
“Enough,”
Jarvis snapped. He looked like he was out of patience, and Sol didn’t think it was with him.
“I already warned Graham that we’ll have to lock him up so you can stop whatever you’re doing.”
Tyne shook his head.
“I’m thinking about our safety. Graham’s the enemy. He and his brother freed Carlyle from the gemstone. They’ve been working for him since then. How can you not see how dangerous he is?”
Graham didn’t give the impression of being dangerous. He was pale and shaky, and he was doing his best not to draw anyone’s attention. It wasn’t that hard because Tyne and Jarvis were focused on each other, not on Graham.
Sol wanted to know what all of this meant. What gemstone? How would Carlyle have been inside a stone? What had Graham and Simon done?
“I know it’s confusing,”
Pippa said as she bumped their shoulders together.
“But you’ll get there. It took me a while, but I know the entire story, so I can help.”
Sol leaned harder against her.
“I think I’ll need it.”
“What you need is to sit down,”
Dallin said as he gently pushed Sol toward the closest couch.
Sol wanted to ask Dallin to sit next to him, but he didn’t dare. Instead, he pulled Pippa along, then thought better of it and grabbed Graham’s hand, too.
Graham squeaked, but he didn’t resist when Sol forced him to sit on his other side. He was probably relieved he wouldn’t have to face these people alone. He’d said they were the good guys, and they seemed to be, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t hurt Graham.
“I’m sure Graham will answer all of our questions,”
Jarvis said.
“My brother lied to me,”
Graham declared.
There weren’t that many people left in the room, but everyone stared at him. Graham’s cheeks flushed, and he glanced down at his feet. Sol’s heart squeezed at the sight. He looked young and vulnerable.
“Both our parents are dead,”
Graham continued.
“Neither of them had siblings, and our grandparents passed away a long time ago. It’s just me and Simon. It feels like it’s always been me and Simon.”
“I’m really sorry about that,”
Jarvis said in a soft voice. He still had his phone in his hand, but he was focused on Graham.
“When Simon came to me and told me that he’d found a gemstone with a guy stuck in it, I didn’t believe him. I didn’t know magic existed. Simon got obsessed with it, though. He said it was our birthright and our legacy to free Carlyle. He worked on it until he was able to do it, and by then, it was too late for me to leave. As long as it was only Simon, I could deal with him, but once Carlyle became part of the picture, I lost my brother, even though Simon is still here.”
“I’ll have questions for you later if that’s okay.”
Graham nodded.
“I can’t really tell you much about Carlyle. Both he and my brother know I’m weak, and they haven’t been telling me anything important. It’s the only reason I managed to sneak Sol out. They never believed I could be a problem to them, so they didn’t monitor me.”
“You were brave.”
“I don’t know if that’s what I’d call myself, but thank you.”
Jarvis nodded and turned his attention to Sol.
“I know you have questions, and me and the others will answer all of them once you’re ready to ask them. You should probably talk to the dragons, though. They’ve been in your place. All of you lost your memories, so they know what you’re going through.”
Sol blinked. He hadn’t expected that. Not only had he found a bunch of dragon shifters, but they didn’t remember their past, either. There was only one logical explanation for that, but it didn’t feel logical.
“How did we lose our memories?”
he asked because he wanted at least that answer.
“It was Carlyle. He cast a spell. He wanted to hurt me and the other mages, and he knew that the best way to do that was to hurt our dragons and take them away from us. We’ve been looking for you for decades.”
Sol frowned.
“Your dragons?”
“Our shields, and most of the time, our romantic partner. Every mage has a dragon shifter shield that protects them when they’re casting spells and helps them with magic. My dragon is Marlow, which I introduced to you earlier. Tyne’s is Meyer.”
Tyne grimaced as if he wasn’t happy about that. There was a story there, but it would have to wait. Sol’s brain felt like it was about to explode from the onslaught of new information and too many questions he had.
“So all of the mages you introduced earlier have a dragon,”
he said slowly.
“Exactly. Ansley and Parker are together. Tyne and Meyer are complicated, but Penley and Bennett are together, too, as are Winter and Keylon.”
Sol had no idea if he’d been good at math before, but even if he hadn’t been, he could count.
“You haven’t mentioned Dallin.”
He didn’t miss the way Jarvis and Dallin looked at each other. He didn’t really have to ask to know what was happening here. He could tell. After all, Dallin was the only mage who didn’t seem to have a dragon, and Sol was a dragon shifter. These people had dragged him to this castle for a reason.
There could be only one explanation.
“I’m Dallin’s dragon, aren’t I?”
Sol asked.
“You are,”
Dallin confirmed.
“But we don’t have to talk about any of that right now. Right now, you need to eat and rest and focus on healing.”
Sol was grateful Dallin wouldn’t push.
He wanted to know more, but at the same time, he was afraid of what that more would be.
He was lost.
He’d landed in a world he didn’t know anything about and hadn’t suspected existed until a few weeks ago. He needed time.
He wasn’t sure he’d have it. Carlyle would come for him, and when he did, Sol would have to fight.
Luckily, it looked like he wouldn’t fight alone.