Page 20 of The Silent Mountain (Under the Werewolf Crown #2)

twenty

The Birds II

*ALANA*

T he cold wind brushes through my hair, making me shiver slightly and press myself tighter against Favian’s dragon. I have gotten so used to flying on his back that I truly find joy in it, and Ros herself doesn’t mind it one bit anymore.

Why would he do something so silly? Favian links me.

He is grieving, I say.

Yes, I understand that, but following the birds of all things? We know nothing about the dangers they hold, yet he did something like that.

I can’t say for sure, I answer. But maybe he was angry and wanted to lash out at something or someone, and the cursed birds just came at the right moment.

Favian goes quiet again, leaving me to my own thoughts. Elio’s life has been turned upside down more than once. For him, adjusting to safety and a real home must be more difficult than any of us can imagine, and now his own safety blanket, his old nanny, and mother figure, has been taken from him.

Ludwig just linked me, Favian says. There is no sign of him on the shore. You don’t think he would…

I think he would, I mutter.

Favian’s dragon makes a sound I can’t quite pinpoint, but it sounds both upset and annoyed. I can feel him picking up speed, and I duck slightly to not feel the wind so much. Everyone grieves differently. When I lost Ita, I was in a coma at first, only to throw myself into work the moment I woke up again. I needed the feeling of being useful, of being able to help. The thought of avenging her came second.

As for Elio, he is so young, and there is no one to avenge anymore. It must be so hard for him to constantly lose those around him. Maggie gave him stability. Now, he only has Theodor and Favian left. He looks up to Favian and loves him, but he is also scared of losing him, as he already did once.

He is just a lost soul trying to find his footing.

A loud screech pulls me out of my thoughts. That’s not Favian, so it can only be Elio. Favian obviously thinks the same, picking up his pace and dashing forward like a flash. There, right in front of us, on a small island, is Elio. A flock of birds is above him, and something else is lunging at him out of the water. What is that? I squint my eyes to see better, only spotting tentacles.

“Fly close enough to the island that I can jump down,” I tell Favian.

Are you insane? h e asks bluntly.

No, but I am a good warrior. I will fend off that beast while you chase away the birds.

Favian doesn’t reply, and I almost think he will dismiss my idea, but then he suddenly moves downwards, close enough for me to jump down. Ros is ready, and before we make contact with the ground, she has already shifted.

The beast has its tentacles around one of the legs of Elio’s dragon, tugging at it. He has his claws in the icy surface beneath him to fight against it, but I can see his strength leaving. I have no idea what I am going to fight against, but I am certainly not waiting for it to tug Elio into the water to find out. Ros charges forward, baring her fangs and snapping at one of the tentacles. They are slimy and hard to catch, but eventually, she succeeds, biting down on them hard.

The tangy scent of blood fills my nostrils, and with a loud gasp, the sea monster pulls its tentacles away. I rush back to Elio, noticing how he has shifted back to his human form due to exhaustion. Above us, Favian is circling us, flying claws first into the flock of birds. Feathers fly around, and a couple of birds drop.

“It’s coming again,” Elio blurts out, pointing at the sea.

Ros and I are ready, positioning ourself in front of Elio, and when the creature reaches out its tentacles again, Ros jumps forward, biting down on it. This time, she doesn’t let go until a scream of pain can be heard, and the tentacle drops next to us.

The creature pulls back into the ocean, the water gurgling and splashing around it. It’s upset! I don’t need to be an expert in sea creature behavior to know it is preparing for a new attack. I run back to Elio to protect him from the retaliation that is sure to happen. Before the creature can lunge out of the water fully though, Favian comes flying downwards, attacking the creature before it can reach out for us. His golden dragon is shining in the setting sun while he pulls the creature further and further up into the sky. Only a small dot remains on the horizon. In the far distance, Favian drops the creature before I can see him flying back to us.

“Elio!” I shift back to my human form. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

Elio turns to look at me, stumbling backward once he sees me and covering his eyes. “By Aengus, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to look!”

“Look?” I blink, gazing down at my body before it dawns on me. “Oh, right. I apologize. For us werewolves, it’s normal to be naked after shifting.”

Favian’s dragon comes closer, and before he has even reached the ground he has shifted back to his human form, landing on his two feet. Without uttering a word, he takes off his long shirt and hands it to me. He smiles when our gaze meets, but the smile leaves him when he looks at Elio. Not that I can blame him.

“That was really stupid,” Favian says bluntly. His voice sounds controlled, but I can hear the underlying anger in it.

Elio must have heard it too, because he takes a step backward, getting closer to the edge of the tiny island.

Please don’t think I want to intervene, I link Favian. But is this the right place? We are on a tiny island in the wild ocean.

You are right, he sighs. It’s almost comical if I weren’t so annoyed.

“I have linked Theodor and Ludwig. They are going to be here in a minute,” Favian says shortly. “Everything else will have to wait for later.”

Ros chooses this moment to make her urges known to me. He is hot when he looks angry.

Not the right timing, Ros!

I disagree. It’s always the right timing. Just look at him.

I gaze at my mate, taking in his perfectly chiseled chest, his smooth skin and his serious expression. Really bad timing, but Ros is right; I can feel the tug in my stomach, pulling me to him. I really want him so badly.

Fortunately, I can see shadows approaching above us, pulling me out of my thoughts. The island is too small for Ludwig and Theodor to both land, so only the latter does. He looks sincerely relieved. “Is everyone safe?” Theodor asks. “Your Highness, are you or my prince hurt?”

“I am fine,” Favian says. “We will make sure Frederick checks on Elio once we are home. The threat has been dealt with.” Favian gazes into the sky. There is no remainder of the birds. Now that I think of it, it makes me wonder what they were even doing out here.“ For now.”

“We should probably return,” I say into the silence.

“My queen is right,” Favian says, surprising me by the way he just called me His Queen . Sometimes, I forget who I am mated to and what it will make me one day. “Theodor, take Elio and make sure he sees Frederick. I will fly with Alana.” He glances at his brother. “We will talk at home.”

There is not much left to say for now, so we all make our way back home. Favian flies ahead with Theodor and Elio following him. Ludwig makes sure to be the last one so that we can all return safely without being attacked from behind.

Once at home, Theodor takes Elio straight to the doctor. “How is Barbara doing?” I ask Ludwig.

“I don’t know. I would like to check on her.”

“I will come with you,” I say. “Just give me a moment to change.” Part of my reason to see Barbara is to truly check on her, the other is to give Favian some privacy to talk with his brother.

*FAVIAN*

It’s only when we all returned safely and I have a moment to myself that I realize how truly tired I am. I am so tired. I wish I could blink and then be transported to a couple of months into the future, where all my problems are solved.

Shaking my head at my own thoughts, I recall what happened the last time I was transported through time, when I fell asleep and woke up years later, to a grim reality. This reality, as tiring and exhausting as it is, is still better than being stuck in an endless nightmare.

Seeing how Ludwig is accompanying Alana, I decide to link my advisor. Stefan, bring Elio to me. He should be done at Frederick’s.

Of course, Your Highness. For a couple of minutes, silence and calm engulf me, and I decide to relish this moment to regain some of my mental strength. While I am going through some correspondence, I notice the time is ticking by without a sign from either my brother or Stefan. Stefan, what’s going on? Where are you?

Well… I can instantly hear the hesitation in his voice. I am still looking for your brother.

He should be at Frederick’s place.

He was there, Stefan explains. But Fred told me Elio was well, and he’d sent him back to the castle.

I feel a headache approaching. Keep looking for him. I will meanwhile talk to Theodor.

Yes, my king.

It’s easy to find Theodor. He is in the training hall, doing some work with his sparring partner, a promising young dragon shifter, one of our new clan members. I make sure to acknowledge the young man and comment on his training progress, noticing how proud he looks.

“Theodor, a word, please.”

Theo nods, gesturing for one of the warriors to take over his position before stepping outside with me. There, we bump right into Stefan. “I haven’t found him, Your Highness,” Stefan says.

“But he was at Frederick’s right before?” I query.

Stefan nods. “Frederick verified that.”

“Elio?” Theodor asks, his expression turning into one of worry. “I brought him to Frederick and stayed with him for a bit. I should have stayed longer! I apologize, Your Highness.”

“You had your duties to attend to,” I tell him.

“Did he fly off again?” Stefan asks. “He wouldn’t follow any dangerous creature twice, would he?”

“Definitely not,” Theodor answers promptly. “The first time was just a spontaneous reaction, but he is too smart to make the same mistake twice.”

“Then, where is he?” I ask. “I’d hate to call on Favia for such a private issue, and my dragon has over-exhausted himself during the last couple of days. I want him to get some rest.”

“He is not the only one who should get rest,” Stefan mutters.

I feel a twinge of annoyance again. “Pardon me?”

“Nothing,” he says. “I was just talking to myself, Your Highness.”

“I need to talk to Elio,” I say to Theodor. “If you are right, and he isn’t far off, then I assume you have an idea where to look.”

“I indeed have a vague idea,” Theodor says. He looks at me tentatively, as if he is gauging my reaction. It makes the vein on my neck pulsate slightly.

“So,” I say, not hiding how displeased I am. “You also believe I would harm my brother.”

“No, that’s not it,” Theodor stutters. “I… it’s just… as the king, Your Highness is the strongest of us, and one slap could break Elio’s neck.”

“What makes you believe I plan on hitting him?” I ask in return. When Theodor stays quiet, clearly flustered, I nod. “Exactly. So, where is he?”

“When Maggie, Elio and I ran from the war back in the day, we hid a night in a cave close by. It’s on clan grounds, but I know Elio still goes there when he’s thinking about something.” He looks at me. “It’s really just a place for him to recharge,” he hurries to explain.

Again, I feel a twinge of annoyance, but this time also a little hurt. What are they all thinking I am going to do to someone I love, to my brother? I just want to talk to him to see what’s going on with him. He is not reckless, usually. I have no plans to hit him or hurt him in any way. But Aengus forbid, I am a tad upset at him endangering his safety. I think back to my father. I can’t remember much about his reign. His focus was mostly on me as his heir and less so on Elio. He was nice enough but had a short fuse sometimes, not that he constantly beat me.

Judging by Theodor and Stefan’s reactions, I wonder what kind of ruler he was, and if maybe my memories are blurred due to the traumatic experiences.

“I can’t quite remember,” I tell them honestly, deciding to be vulnerable. “What kind of man my father was, and what kind of king, but I am not going to take Elio’s safe place from him, and I am not going to hit or abuse him in any way.”

“You are very different,” Stefan says into the silence. When I gaze at him, he shrugs. “To the former king, I mean.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You, utter a bad word about my father, the former king? I must be hallucinating. I always thought your loyalty lay with him, unshakably.”

“My loyalty has always been with you,” he says, very much to my surprise. It makes me recall what Alana said to me, not even a couple of hours ago, about how weird she found Stefan’s behavior during the war. She encouraged me to talk to him. I am starting to believe she is right, and he is indeed hiding something. “Your beast is more powerful than those of other dragon shifters. He is dominant, and royal dragon beasts are known to have a bad temper.” He turns to Theodor. “That’s what you fear?”

When he nods, I sigh. “It’s unfounded. My beast and I have both learned to control ourselves and be patient in the years in captivity.”

Theodor bows his head in submission. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to insinuate that you have no control over your dragon.”

I might be more patient than former dragon kings, but I certainly have had enough of that talk now. “Take me to my brother.”