Page 80 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

I woke some hours later to the birds chirping and the air cooler than it was in the capital. It smelled like home. There was a smile on my lips before I even opened my eyes. I knew I’d only slept a few hours, but I already felt better. Whatever magic Gran slipped into the mattress topper had done wonders. I’d known I’d done right in coming here, but being around Gran for her help and support was just what I needed.

A soft snore jarred me more awake. I sat up, glancing around, to find Jaxus sleeping on the floor next to the bed.

Arsehole. But I smiled to myself.

I climbed out of the pile of blankets, carefully draping one over him, and snuck down to make tea. I picked up the kettle, finding it full and warm, and spun. Gran was sitting in her chair, a mug in her hands.

“Do you even sleep?”

“I had to check on you. Didn’t know if you could actually tell me if you’d been kidnapped by that dragon last night with him there.”

I gave her a flat look.

“He’s sleeping in your room?” she said, in more of a statementthan a question, bringing her mug to her lips. But it wasn’t judgmental.

“He’s on the floor. I think he fell asleep there after he put me in bed. We were both exhausted.”

“Mmmhmm.”

I opened the cupboard to get tea, but Gran made a clicking sound. I glanced back at her, and she pointed to a dish of little bags. “This better not taste bad,” I warned, heading over to take one of her concoctions.

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes,” I grumbled, putting one of the bags in the cup before filling it with the hot water. “How did you know?”

“Your father sent word, Firefly.”

“I should have known.” I took my seat across from her, folding my legs criss-cross. “But that’s not the only reason I’m here.”

“I didn’t think so. You wouldn’t take time off unless someone forced you.”

“Pot-kettle.” I shot back.

Gran grinned. “I didn’t say it didn’t run in the blood. Look at your father.”

I nodded. Both my parents were that way. “Nyx isn’t doing well.”

She narrowed her eyes. “The Asra child?”

“He’s not a child, Gran.”

“All of you will always be children to me. At two and a half centuries, you all are barely out of swaddling.”

I sipped the tea, finding it more pleasant than I expected. “He’s—I think he had a soul-bond with his twin.” I just came out with it. Gran didn’t do sugarcoating, and I didn’t really need to tell her all the theories that led me to that conclusion. She knew that if I thought such a thing, then I had good reason. She trusted my logic.

Gran stared at me. “Isn’t he the first soul-bonded dragonwe’ve had in ages? I’d heard he’d been blessed with a mate. Surely they didn’t mean to his own twin?” She made a face. “I’ve been around a long time, and I know there are some into such things but?—”

I barely stifled a laugh, cutting in. “No, not like that. He is soul-bonded to his ryder, but I think he also had a similar bond with his brother. I suspect they could speak to each other mind to mind, something he has never admitted to, but when Kol was killed, Nyx somehow knew he was in trouble and where to find him. It was the only logical conclusion to draw. And now he’s acting like—” I didn’t have a word for the behavior. I cursed the Dragon’s Bane poisoning again! I knew there was a term for it, but I couldn’t recall it because my mind, like the rest of my body, was slower than usual. “Like he’s suffering the loss of a soul-bond.”

“Surely it can’t be.”

“Before we left, I went to see him and offered to do a healing meditation as he’s had trouble sleeping.” I paused, hating what I did without his permission. “I used the chance while we were holding hands to study the threads of his magic. They fork, Gran. He has a pathway strongly bonded to his mate’s magic. But he also has a pathway that is cut. It leads nowhere, like it’s been severed. I’ve never seen a forked soul-bond before, but it explains everything.” I went over how he’d been acting and the things Zaria and Jaxus had told me about his behavior.

“It’s been ages since soul-bonds were common. They are rare now, but a fae having two different soul-bonds?” She shook her head. “We’ve never seen this before.”

“I know, but it’s the only thing that makes sense, and you know the gravity of it if he’s going mad.”

“The treatment for a severed bond isn’t much better than the madness itself,” she mused. “It’s basically replacing one vice with another. It only lasts so long and is all-consuming in the end.” She frowned. “But we have been doing anything we can totry and keep dragons alive over the years, and it’s all we had. I’ve only seen it used once myself, and the end wasn’t good.” A great sadness overwhelmed her features. It was never easy to lose a patient as a healer, but this was more to her.