“Because I have such a good role model for that,” she retorted.
Talisyn smothered his laugh into a cough quite unconvincingly and I glowered at him.
“You and your sister have a lot in common,” he said, “and you totally deserve her.”
Couldn’t really argue with that. I would have packed my sister off post haste, but my men seem to be willing to humor her, overruling me and taking her on a tour of the academy.
When we reached the library, Talisyn gave me a look. I pointedly ignored him.
“I want to go here so badly. After the Posselbaum Academy,” she added, side-eyeing me because she didn’t want to hear me protest.
I could practically see Jaik swell with her admiration. “You might well be a bear shifter when you reach your first shift and then you could attend.”
“And what if I’m a swan, then I’m not good enough,” she pressed, and for a second, even Jaik seemed lost for words.
Just then, Damyn strode into the room. “Honor, gentlemen. I have a message from King Pend.”
“And what is it that my father wants?”
“An audience with all the dragon royals and Lucien.” He glanced at Hanna. “Tomorrow.”
That would give us enough time to see Hanna off to the Academy, which was good news because I had to wonder what kind of horrible things King Pend had up his sleeve for us.
“Let’s take Hannah to the academy. Now. Tonight.” I couldn’t escape the sense that our doom was racing toward us, and that I needed to get my sister to safety, before it swallowed me up.
She pouted. “But I wanted to go home first, pack my things, and I wanted to spend some more time with you, Honor.”
“You and I have spent the last two weeks together.”
“And it’s been such a special time of sisterly bonding. Don’t tell me you don’t feel the same way.
“Of course I do.”
“But whatever the king has for us is likely urgent and we need to make sure that you are safe, Hanna,” Jaik said.
I shot him a grateful look behind her back. It was nice to have someone on my side.
We left right away. I could feel my men subtly close up around us into formation, Jaik and Arren going ahead. Branok and Lynx falling behind, watching our backs, which left Talisyn walking with Hanna and me. Jaik would always want to take up a defensive position, ready to fight, even more than he’d want to walk alongside me.
But we reached the Posselbaum Academy without any new disaster befalling us. Branok was curious about the academy, craning his head to get a look inside as Hanna was ushered inside, but Headmistress wouldn’t even let him through the doors.
“A wise choice,” Talisyn muttered next to me, “Branok has a lot of professional curiosity about the Posselbaum girls,”
“You know, you could always ask me your questions,” I offered Branok.
“Why wouldn’t I trust you,” Branok began, as if he intended to provide a list. Jaik gave him a hard warning look that made Branok fall instantly silent.
Jaik’s defensive urges were nice, but I needed to work through my issues with Branok and Lynx. I needed to win them over as both Honor and Lucien and the only way to do that was by confronting the truth, and then hopefully moving past it.
Hanna dashed back down the steps of the school and clung to me, hugging me tight.
“I’ll see you soon,” I promised as I hugged her back.
She fixed me with a dour look. “If you were sure you’d be alive to see me soon, you wouldn’t be so eager to pack me off to school.”
She’d seen right through me, but I just made a glib remark and moved on. Once she’d melted into the school, when the doors closed and she was no longer watching me from the window, a sudden rock formed in my throat. My vision blurred with unshed tears.
Talisyn rested his hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be all right, Honor. You can cry if you’re sad though.”
“I’m fine,” I lied. But that didn’t stop Talisyn from putting his arm around my shoulders and hugging me into the broad warmth of his body.
He was always comforting, but nothing could convince me that things were going to be okay.
Chapter
Sixteen
Caldren
I’d caught a glimpse of Honor’s red hair and intent, pretty face at the Academy before I had to leave, but she was with Jaik and the others and never noticed me.
I thought about following her in the shadows to make sure she was safe, but the five of them could protect her just fine without me. I wanted her to be safe, but my desire to watch over her tonight was probably rooted in my desire to reclaim my place in the world—not as a dragon, but as a fighter, a royal, a brother, a friend. I wanted to be worthy of a place in her life.
The six of them seemed like one tight knit force of nature as they headed through the Academy. Jaik and Talisyn flanked Honor and her sister like bodyguards, and they all moved with their usual dangerous energy and power. There certainly didn’t seem to be any missing piece for me to fill.
I was not in the best mood I’d ever been in when I walked into the Twisted Pines.
“Hey, boss!” Nora greeted me.
“Nora, you don’t work for me. Fortunately. I’m pretty sure you piss off my actual paying customers.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” she protested. “I’m one of your best customers!”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “You never pay for anything.”
She scoffed. “Is that what makes a customer to you? Doesn’t my loyalty to your establishment mean anything?”
She was one of my favorite people but I couldn’t deal with her today.
Bryden wandered over to the bar.
The fiddler was playing loudly, and dancers kept bumping into all of us. But Bryden stayed farther away from Nora than he ever would have if he hadn’t had a crush on her, grimly ignoring the dancers who kept reeling into his shoulders, his body rocking forward each time but never touching Nora. She was, as usual, oblivious.
“Hey, boss,” Bryden greeted me.
I groaned. “Why does everyone keep calling me that? You two spend too much time together.”
Even though they apparently spent all that time together without ever discussing anything important.
Bryden looked perplexed, but Nora spoke for me before I could say anything. “He’s in a bad mood tonight. Must be frustrated that his girl is off with the dragon royals.”
Bryden winced. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about that. I thought we’d agreed we were giving Caldren a break.”
“I have!” she insisted. “It’s been two weeks. He’s still brooding.”
“I’m not brooding. I’ve never brooded.” I was not getting drawn into yet another absurd debate. I loved Nora to pieces, but she was nothing but ridiculous conversations and freckles. “Do you have any leads on our brigand friends?”
“Indeed we do,” Bryden said.