Page 13

They stayed in the headmaster”s office for a long time, first with Taveris, then with the headmaster himself, once he”d returned from making sure Goryen and Lord Ebalias had left the school grounds.

He waved off Zaryen”s attempts at apology as he took his seat behind his desk.

”We have all done what we are here to do,” he said. ”Taveris, go home. I will make sure these two stay here for a while longer to avoid the post-dinner crowd, then I will send them off to bed.”

As he watched Taveris say his goodbyes and leave, Zaryen could feel his guilt spiking again for making the man stay at work late, but he pushed the thought away. He couldn”t take on blame for every little thing or he”d never be free of it.

And that wasn”t how he wanted to live his life—at the Academy and beyond.

Once they were finally back in their bedroom, which somehow already felt like home, Zaryen started pulling off his clothes on the way to the bathroom, not caring where they landed.

Meveris slid into the shower behind him a minute later, naked and solid as he pulled him back against his body.

”It”s impossible to describe how happy I am that you escaped those people and came here,” he murmured, barely audible over the running water, as he ran his hand up and down Zaryen”s chest. ”I don”t even want to imagine not meeting you. Not being with you like this.”

Zaryen swallowed hard, but leaned his head back against Meveris”s shoulder, trying to relax into the hold of someone he knew he could trust. Someone who was, and would always be, on his side.

He”d had no idea how much he needed that until he finally had it and understood what he”d been missing throughout his life. A long time ago, he”d thought he was happy and loved—and maybe he”d been that, at one point. But as years passed, and he understood more, he”d realized his family could hurt him more than anyone else if he dared to go against their wishes.

He closed his eyes. If he let the tears fall, it would be easy to pretend they were just water, but Zaryen didn”t want to cry on principle. He didn”t want to give his family even that much.

”I”m so grateful for your strength and your courage.” Meveris reached for the soap, then started rubbing it over Zaryen”s stomach and chest. ”Your determination.”

”My desperation,” Zaryen corrected, but he could feel Meveris shaking his head.

”Desperation is the final push, but it”s never the whole story. You researched your options, you came up with a plan, and you executed it successfully when the opportunity presented itself.” Meveris moved to sliding the soap over Zaryen”s arms and shoulders. ”That”s much more than desperation.”

”It doesn”t feel like it.”

”Truly brave people rarely think they”re all that brave.”

With that, Meveris dug his thumb into a tense muscle of Zaryen”s back, then rubbed the spot until it gave in and relaxed.

Zaryen sighed in relief, his mind floating as his companion washed him from head to toe.

”Come on.” Meveris finally turned the water off when Zaryen could barely keep his eyes open. ”Let”s go to bed.”

Sliding naked under the cool covers felt really good, but nothing topped the feeling of Meveris slotting himself right behind him, pulling him against his body and circling his arms around his waist. The contentment emanating from his companion was almost palpable, and Zaryen let it guide him into sleep.

Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

* * *

It was much harder to remain calm the next morning, and he would probably stay in their rooms for a lot longer, if it weren”t for Meveris, who managed to sweet-talk him into going to the dining hall for breakfast.

”People knew about the situation in general terms last night and it was fine,” he reminded Zaryen, tightening the grip on his hand briefly before relaxing it back into a loose hold. ”Sure, there may be some looks, but, honestly, I”d assume you”re used to those, since you”ve probably always been turning heads all over the place.”

Zaryen snorted. ”You”re biased.”

”Tell me you weren”t turning heads in your family land, I dare you.”

”I wasn”t—” He hesitated. ”Well, how many heads would that require? Because some people did look, just not many.”

Meveris laughed as he led him through another door, and then they were inside the dining hall already.

”Nice distraction tactics,” Zaryen muttered at his companion”s back as he led them towards the same table as last night.

”Nicest I could use in a shared space.” Meveris glanced back to throw him a wink, and Zaryen choked on air as he flushed.

He would not think about sex in public. Especially around dragons, who could sense more than humans ever could.

He swallowed and murmured greetings to everyone at the table—Soryan and Naveen were absent, but the rest of the guys were there. Zaryen tried to read from their faces whether they were judging him or not, but they all seemed nice and welcoming, if a little subdued.

All but Feraan, who once again avoided his gaze and merely nodded in a polite greeting, which was so different from their first interactions, so much more distant, that Zaryen”s stomach ached.

If Feraan thought badly of him for what he”d done, there had never been a chance of a real friendship between them anyway, but somehow that loss still hurt.

”I”ll get us food and be right back,” Meveris told him, which promptly distracted Zaryen.

He turned to his companion, only to see him already walking away. As he watched Meveris move around the room full of people until he disappeared from sight, Zaryen”s whole body grew tense once again.

”He”s good at securing food quickly, so he”ll be right back,” Lanveris said, and, when Zaryen looked at him, offered a small smile. ”We”re the youngest in the family and our parents love to invite even more people in for a meal, so we learned to be strategic about it.”

Despite the tension, Zaryen still smiled fondly at the mental picture of his companion as a little kid.

”What”s your strategy, then?” he asked, leaning closer.

”Nope, I”m not divulging secrets like that so quickly.” Lanveris shook his head. ”But I”m sure Mev will pull you into it at some point, since he”ll want to secure the best food for you, too, now.”

Zaryen stared at him, struck by the idea of attending a party in Meveris”s ancestral home. Of being accepted into the family so easily he”d be welcomed to such things.

And not just any family, either—a family that actually loved and cared about each other, that protected and made fun of each other. The family that was safe.

Dangerously close to losing control of his emotions, Zaryen swallowed hard, but then he saw Meveris in the corner of his eye, and his focus shifted fully to watching him approach.

He didn”t even realize he was holding his breath until he released it quickly once his companion was next to him again, pressing his leg and shoulder against him.

”I didn”t think this through,” Meveris whispered into his ear as he put a hand on Zaryen”s thigh under the table. ”It”s too early for me to lose sight of you.”

”Me, too.” Zaryen covered Meveris”s hand with his as he looked at the plate in front of him, with beans on toast and a heap of vegetables on the side. ”But thank you, anyway.”

”You”re welcome.” Meveris smiled before turning to his brother. ”I need you to be on point for the food operation for a while.”

Lanveris shrugged. ”Sure, no problem. I”ll probably need the same favor when I find my match.”

”From what I”ve been told, it gets easier after the bonding ceremony, so I”ll be ready to return that favor by the next Burning Moon.”

”It happens when it happens,” Lanveris said and, to Zaryen”s surprise, he really seemed at peace with having to wait.

”Aren”t you…” Zaryen started without thinking, then hesitated, unsure how to phrase it without causing unintended offense.

”Eager?” Lanveris offered before nodding. ”I was, right before the searching ceremony, but when my companion wasn”t there, I knew that I simply needed to wait for him a little longer. I definitely hope he”ll get there in the next round, but if he doesn”t… I”ll still wait.”

Zaryen busied himself with his food, because while he appreciated Lanveris”s approach, he couldn”t imagine it for himself. He”d go out of his mind if he had to wait any longer than those first few days while also stuck at the Academy, surrounded by all the happy pairings.

Then again, if he had been forced to wait, he might not have been able to stay at the Academy for the time being, which would mean never getting to that point.

”You were much calmer than me about that possibility from the get-go,” Meveris told his brother. ”I couldn”t even stomach the idea.”

”I”ve always told you you”re the less patient one.” Lanveris grinned. ”Now you should finally admit it.”

As the brothers went back and forth, Zaryen let their voices settle over him as he focused on the food—and on Meveris”s presence by his side.

He needed to remind himself that while things were hard right now, he was also living his dream—the dream he”d had since he”d seen the young and dashing Prince Heir beaming with happiness at his first public event after starting the Academy, with a tall and serious companion always right behind him.

I want that, Zaryen had thought back then, staring at all the pictures he could find.

Now, he finally had it.

And he wouldn”t trade it for anything.