Page 43 of Storm In The Sky

“How’s he doing?” Winter asked as they left the kitchen.

“Not great. He’s putting up a good front, but I know him. He’s hurting and worried.”

Winter grimaced. “We all are, but I can’t imagine how much worse it is for him. We need to find Sol.”

“We will.” Keylon was convinced of that, but he didn’t know what would happen when they did. Would Sol still be alive? What was Carlyle doing to him?

The only way to find out would be to find Carlyle, but so far, that was a no-go. They could only hope that by the time they managed to reach him, Sol would still be alive.

Keylon didn’t want to think about what would happen to Dallin if he wasn’t.

Dallin had said that he could still feel the bond between them, which meant that the dragon was alive, but that was all they knew. Carlyle had been alive when he’d been trapped in the gemstone, and it hadn’t been a walk in the park for him. There were a lot of nasty things he could do to Sol without killing him.

Keylon really fucking hated him.

Carlyle was hurting his family, the people he cared most about, and it made Keylon want to strangle him. He might if he knew where to find the asshole.

Thinking about how he would murder Carlyle distracted Keylon for a bit, but not nearly long enough. His nervousness returned as soon as he and Winter stepped out into the courtyard. Jarvis and Samuel were talking, but they both looked up when they heard them. Jarvis’s smile was sweet and gentle while Samuel beamed.

“Ready?” he asked Keylon.

Keylon had no idea how to answer that question.

* * * *

Winter knew Keylon was nervous. No matter how many times he told him there was no need to be, he understood that for Keylon, this was a big step. He was meeting Samuel’s family, but Samuel’s family was also Winter’s, which was what made him nervous.

The only thing Winter’s family would care about was that Winter wanted to be with Keylon. As long as he treated Winter right, they would welcome him into the family, too.

Thinking of them made Winter wonder about his birth clan. He didn’t remember anything about them, and he’d been too afraid to ask. Eventually, he would, but for now, he felt at peace having Samuel’s clan and Keylon in his life. If he wanted to find out more about Alvin and the man he’d been before, he’d focus on that after Carlyle was gone.

“We can go,” Keylon said as he nodded.

Samuel grinned, probably able to tell that Keylon was nervous. Winter gave him a warning glance, but it only made Samuel’s smile widen. Sometimes, Samuel was a troublemaker.

“Call me once you’re ready to come home,” Jarvis said as he opened a portal in the courtyard. “I’ll open a portal for you.”

With Carlyle trying to burn them and the castle down, the mages had become even more careful. They’d increased the number of protection spells on the castle and had included a spell that would block all portals that weren’t created by Jarvis or one of the mages who lived here. That meant it was harder for Winter and Samuel to go home, but neither of them had protested. The mages needed to keep themselves and the people they loved safe, including Winter and Samuel.

Samuel waved at Jarvis and quickly crossed the portal, but Winter didn’t move as quickly. He offered Keylon his hand, smiling when Keylon took it without hesitation. He didn’t drag Keylon toward the portal. They walked toward it slowly instead, giving Keylon the time to gather his thoughts and take a deep breath.

“They’ll probably be waiting by the portal,” Winter warned. “They know we’re coming, and they’re excited to see me and Samuel and to meet you. I know they’re a lot, but if you’re overwhelmed, you can tell me, and we’ll come home or find a quiet spot.”

Keylon pulled on Winter’s hand to get him to stop walking. Winter faced him, worried, but Keylon didn’t look like he was panicking—yet.

“You called the castle home,” he said. “You said we could come home.”

Winter had to think back to his words. “Yeah, I did.”

“Is that how you feel about this place? Do you feel this is your home?”

“I do. I know we haven’t talked about it, but Jarvis said I could move here permanently. I think he’d be more comfortable if I did, but I didn’t want to make that kind of decision without talking to you first. Besides, you have to know that Samuel and I are a package deal. He’s not going to return to our clan just because I tell him to. Now that he’s here, he wants to stay.”

Which worried Winter. He didn’t want Samuel to have to face Carlyle, but at the same time, maybe if they had more mages on their side, it would be easier for them to defeat the dickhead.

“I’d be happy if both of you moved here permanently,” Keylon said with a smile.

Winter pulled him into his arms. It still felt like a miracle that he was allowed to do this and that Keylon wasn’t running away. They were working things out, getting to know each other, and while it was going a bit slowly, Winter didn’t mind.