Page 21 of The Silent Mountain (Under the Werewolf Crown #2)

twenty-one

A Safe Space

*FAVIAN*

T heodor was right with his assessment. My brother is hiding in a small cave further up the mountains, but still on clan grounds. It’s a warm, cozy cave, and I decide to feel thankful for its existence. If it weren’t for the cave, who knows what would have happened to Elio when he was on the run?

Elio looks up when he sees me, with a look in his eyes I can’t quite gauge.

“Do you also believe I am going to beat you?” I ask him bluntly.

He looks at me again. He has the same blue eyes I have. In general, we look quite similar, just that his heart and his features are softer. I wonder if I would have been like that too, had I grown up in loving surroundings. “No,” he finally says.

“Thank Aengus, finally someone who doesn’t believe I am violent and abusive,” I say while sitting down next to him, stretching my tired limbs. “This is a nice place.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Elio asks. “It’s so warm and comforting, despite being in the middle of the snowy mountains. You can come here too if you need it.”

“You are sharing your comfort place with me?”

“In return, you promise you won’t yell at me,” he says with puppy eyes.

I snort. Alana is right. I am a total softie when it comes to my little brother. I wonder how much of a puddle of melted snow I would be with my kids. For a second, I see Alana in front of me, holding our baby in her arms. That is clearly a future worth fighting for.

“You are not saying anything,” Elio mutters. “You are angry, aren’t you?”

“I am certainly not happy,” I say.

“I just feel so useless,” he admits quietly. “I just wanted to do something.”

“Heading right into danger and following an unknown threat into the ocean was not the way to go. If Alana and I hadn’t come, worse could have happened.”

“I know,” he says quietly.

“You symbolize hope,” I tell him. “You are the only prince we have in these lands. The dragons are used to a big royal family, and you and I are what remain. No matter how hard and tiring it is sometimes, we have a role to play, responsibilities to follow and a position to consider.”

“But can’t I do it all?” he asks. “Be the sweet prince, a good example and also help? You are the king, yet you go out of your way to make sure everyone is safe, and every problem is attended to.”

I rub the bridge of my nose with my index finger in an attempt to think this through. I would hate if something happened to him, but at the same time, I understand his wish to help. While I think his studying is enough, especially since he went through so much already at a young age, I don’t want to stand in his way when he wants to do something for the clan.

“You get one chance from me,” I finally give in. “Mess it up like today, and I will go back on my word.”

Elio stares at me. “Did you just say yes!?”

“With conditions, and it doesn’t mean you can neglect your studies.”

“Yes!” he blurts out, throwing his arms around me to squeeze me. “I won’t disappoint you. So, what can I do?”

“Seeing how Barbara is currently sick, I need someone to help Cassie and the new witch. You get along well with Cassie, and she isn’t scared of you. It might be a good combination. Also, it might be useful for us to know more about witchcraft ourselves.”

“I will do that,” he says, full of enthusiasm.

“You will need to train more, as well,” I add thoughtfully.

“You will let me join the warrior training?” he asks.

“Yes, Theodor is going way too soft on you.” I shake my head, amused. “Training with him won’t bring you on.”

“He really is,” Elio says with a grin. “I told him the same. When I followed the birds, I noticed how bad my stamina is.”

“I noticed the same. You should have gotten further than you did,” I say bluntly. “Alana is currently training with Ludwig. Her forte is her agility and her stamina. You can learn a lot from her, while Ludwig has practiced his technique with me. He is becoming one of our best. I will add a couple of more promising warriors to that training. We aren’t a lot of warriors, so I will need to handpick my most promising ones. I would like for my brother to prove himself in the same training.”

“You are not joking, are you?” Elio asks.

“No, why would I?”

“I can’t believe it,” he mutters.

“So, what’s your answer?”

“Yes, of course it’s yes,” he exclaims. “Only an idiot would decline such a chance! I will become your strongest warrior. Just watch me!”

I look at him, amused. “I will be curious to see how far you will come. I am hoping for you to become strong enough to not only be an elite warrior but also to be one of my advisors. At the moment, I rely solely on Stefan. It’s too much for one person to carry.”

Elio nods his agreement. For a moment, silence blankets us as we both follow our own trail of thoughts. “I can’t remember them,” he says all of a sudden. “And now, Maggie is gone too. She was my only connection to the past.”

“Do you mean our parents?”

“No, I remember Mother, and I loosely remember our father. He didn’t pay much attention to me anyway. But I mean our siblings. I just can barely remember.”

I feel a lump in my throat, well aware of what he is going to ask next. “You were too young when everything went down,” I say.

“Not that young,” he says.

“Elio, it’s probably a trauma response. Your brain has made you forget as much as possible, and that’s not a bad thing.”

“Can you remember them?”

“Yes,” I admit.

“But you never talk about them!” he exclaims. “I thought you might have forgotten, also. You hardly visit their graves, and you never mention them.

“I do visit their graves in my sleepless nights,” I admit. For a split second, I see it with my inner eye again. My youngest sister died in my arms, her little hand clinging to my shirt as if she were hoping I could save her. None of my siblings reached adulthood, which is probably why I am so protective of Elio. “I saw each of them die,” I admit quietly. “When I was in my endless sleep, I kept thinking about them and reliving their death every day. That’s why I never talk about them.”

“I didn’t know that,” Elio says, sounding shocked. “I am sorry for asking.”

“No, I think you are right. I should talk more about them, to help you remember and to have their memory live on. I haven’t told Alana much about my past, either. Maybe I should do that.”

“Did she never ask?”

“Just once,” I admit. “Then she said I can tell her at my pace.”

“She is so cool!” Elio beams. “When I am old enough, I hope I find such a cool mate too.”

“I am sure you will.” I pat his leg. My dragon has had some rest, and my senses are alert again. They have easily detected a well-known presence. “Come, let’s head back. Theodor was afraid I might beat you unconscious. If we don’t return anytime soon, he might just have a heart attack with worry.” I say the last words loud enough for anyone outside to hear us.

When Elio and I step outside, Stefan and Theodor are awaiting us. The latter looks completely flustered, avoiding looking at me, while Stefan just smirks in his amusement.

Alana wears a dark blue velvet dress for dinner, very much to my surprise. She always looks amazing, and I very much love her in her pants and loose shirts. They are more practical for the work she does outside. But there is something about her in a dress that just makes her look otherworldly. The dark blue goes so well with her red hair. My beast is very much intrigued too.

We are having dinner with Elio, Stefan, and Theodor this time. It has become a custom for us to dine with our closest allies and ranked members. Ludwig and Barbara are always invited, but today, Ludwig is looking after Barbara to make sure she is eating and recovering. Sometimes, Frederick and Cassie join us as well, but today, both of them are awaiting the new witch’s arrival.

Leaving just our small circle.

When Alana walks past me, I grab her by her waist and pull her back. “You look dangerous,” I say, making her laugh and Theodor blush slightly. “Dangerous enough that I’m contemplating removing Stefan’s eyes for even looking at you.”

“Your Highness, I am not the only man at the table,” Stefan says, chuckling slightly.

“That’s true, but the other men are my own brother and a young warrior who is too nervous to look at me, let alone my mate.”

“He is right,” Elio says, turning to Theodor. “Theo, you are being completely awkward.”

“I have insulted His Highness more than once today,” he mutters. “I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“At least for tonight, right?” Stefan asks seriously.

“Yes, exactly, for tonight,” Theodor answers eagerly before frowning. “Wait a moment, I didn’t mean just tonight.”

“He is just teasing you,” Elio says. “Don’t take it too seriously.”

Without being the slightest embarrassed, Alana removes my hands from her waist and takes my head between her hands, kissing me briefly. I don’t know what changed for her, but whatever it was, I hope it stays. I love how boldly she claims me!

At her display of affection, even Stefan remains speechless, a rare sight to behold. You should do that more often, I tell her. I love how it makes the others shut up.

I didn’t know you could be so silly, she grins. But I like that side of you.

What other side do you like? I tease.

She wouldn’t be Alana, though, if she was easily embarrassed. You have a very intriguing behind.

At that, I can barely contain my amusement. “Let’s have dinner,” I say to distract myself.

Dinner is lively, as always, when Elio eats with us. He is just a cheerful, kind person and easily lightens any atmosphere. The clan loves him and, for that reason in particular, cherishes him. I am just glad he is starting to understand his role.

After dinner, Elio retires to bed, leaving the rest of us behind to have one more glass of wine.

“You know”—Alana takes a sip of her wine—“I hope you don’t mind me speaking my mind.”

“No, go ahead,” I encourage her.

“I believe we can all agree that what Elio did today was reckless…“ she starts.

“Indeed,” Stefan mutters.

“I talked to him,” I reassure her. “I am sure he understood.”

“Yes, my king was very stern,” Stefan says, without doubt teasing me.

“We don’t always need to yell to get our point across,” Alana comes to my defense instantly.

“That I can only agree with,” Stefan says.

“I think—“ Theodor starts, eyeing Stefan now.

“I don’t want to hear it,” I interrupt him. “Not just you specifically, Theodor, but both of you. I don’t care about either of your opinions on how I should discipline or not discipline my younger brother. Elio has had a very difficult life, and he is a very good kid and diligent prince.” I look at Stefan. “I don’t want anyone to judge him for the way he dealt with his traumatic loss today, and most importantly, I don’t want to be judged either.” I say before turning towards Theodor. “And I don’t want my ways to be questioned. My and Elio’s relationship is not for debate for anyone, except maybe for my mate.”

“I understand and apologize, my king,” Stefan says smoothly.

Theodor looks flustered again, but nods.

“We are straying from what I originally wanted to say,” Alana speaks up again, skillfully shifting the topic. “Elio acted spontaneously today, but I actually believe he had the right intuition.”

At that, she has all our attention. “You mean following the birds, my princess,” Stefan muses, suddenly all business again. “A dangerous approach, but-”

“But you agree with Alana,” I conclude thoughtfully.

“That I do,” he says, frowning. “The birds have already attacked us. We don’t know where they came from.”

“I don’t like how passive we have been either,” I agree. “These birds usually don’t cross the ocean, but Elio had followed them quite a while over the sea.”

“They have to be coming from somewhere,” Stefan says. “When is the new witch arriving? If I remember correctly, her name was Erin?”

“She should be here by tomorrow,” Theodor says. “The warriors accompanying her sent a note today.”

“Let’s hope she will be more useful than our current witch,” Stefan says.

“Are you serious?” I ask bluntly. “Whose idea again was it to invite Cassie to our clan?”

“Well, my options were limited,” he says. “Very limited.”

“Cassie isn’t that bad,” Alana says. “She just needs to grow into her magic. But Erin is said to be a fantastic witch. I am sure she will be able to help us.”

I can feel my patience wearing thin, again, with every comment I hear from Stefan, so I decide it’s probably best to quit that talk for today. “We will need to come up with a proper plan,” I say.

“Leave that to me,” Stefan says. “Once Erin is here, I will make sure to talk to her and hear her advice.”

“Well then, there is nothing left to discuss for tonight,” I say, turning towards Alana. “I will retire to our chambers for tonight.”

To my relief, she stands up too. I just rest so much better when she is with me. “I will do the same. It’s been a long day.”