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Here at the castle, he was safe from his mother’s plotting. It was one of the reasons he’d decided to stay. The main reason, of course, was Winter.

But Winter was off doing something or other with his mage, and Samuel had been moping around in the library. He was glad for the distraction Matthias had brought.

He looked around the room. The library was empty except for them. He’d been there for a few hours, and it showed in the area around him. There were wrappers on the small table, as well as an empty water bottle. Two napkins had fallen under the table, and Samuel wrinkled his nose as he realized that maybe Thorne wasn’t completely wrong. This was a bit of a mess, wasn’t it?

He straightened in the armchair and started pulling all the trash together. He could feel Matthias watching him, but the man didn’t say anything, for which Samuel was thankful for. He didn’t like to admit when he was wrong.

He wasn’t. Being messy wasn’t the end of the world. No one had ever complained that he was messy back home.

But he wasn’t back home. This was a new home, and if he wanted to be allowed to stay, he needed to be more careful. Besides, he kind of understood where Thorne was coming from. It was his job to keep the house neat, and Samuel was making that job harder.

So maybe Thorne had a small point. A very small one. That didn’t mean he was one hundred percent right, and Samuel also wasn’t about to apologize. He had nothing to apologize for.

But he would make an effort from now on.

Chapter Five

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THORNE WOULDN’T SAY he dreaded the days after movie nights, but he also wasn’t eager for his morning to start. The mages and the dragons were mostly neat, but when they spent a lot of time together in large groups, they started to slip. With Samuel added to the bunch, it had become worse, and he now stared at the living room door, wondering what he would find when he pushed it open.

Well, he might as well start. The cleaning crew wouldn’t be here for another half-hour, but Thorne had always been an early riser. He was here, so there was no reason for him to continue wasting time.

He pushed the door open. Usually, he knew where Samuel had been sitting by the state of the room, but as he looked around, he frowned.

Someone had stacked the bowls of popcorn on the coffee table, where they were neatly waiting for someone to bring to the kitchen. The various glasses had been stacked on a tray, and all the dirty napkins had been stuffed into a bag. It was like someone had made a conscious effort to start cleaning, which wasn’t like the mages or dragons. Usually, they were too distracted by each other to do something like that, especially after an evening having fun.

Now that he thought about it, it had also been a few days since he’d had to clean up one of Samuel’s messes. He’d gotten used to finding empty containers and dirty clothes around the castle, but he hadn’t in several days. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but it made him wonder.

What was Samuel up to?

It didn’t feel innocent. It felt like somehow, Samuel was setting up a trap, and Thorne didn’t like that. At the same time, he was probably being ridiculous thinking something like that. What did he care why Samuel had decided to suddenly be neat? It was less work for him, which he should be happy about, and he was.

He picked up the bowls and headed toward the kitchen, still slightly confused. That confusion didn’t fade as the day went on. Everywhere he went, he expected to find one of Samuel’s messes, but he never did, not even in the courtyard. He did find an abandoned book on one of the benches, but there was no way to tell if it belonged to Samuel or someone else. After all, while Samuel might have been the messiest, he wasn’t the only messy person who lived here.

It felt like he was making an effort, and that confused Thorne. Samuel had been adamant that he wasn’t doing anything wrong, so why would he try to fix it? Usually, he was incredibly messy in the library. Thorne had found out where Samuel liked to hide, and he regularly visited the spot to keep it neat. If he didn’t, no one else would.

Sure he would finally catch Samuel doing something he shouldn’t be doing, Thorne headed to the library. The room was silent when he stepped in, so maybe Samuel wasn’t here, but Thorne still made his way toward the hiding spot behind the shelves.

It wasn’t really a hiding spot, but it was hidden from the entrances, and with the library as quiet as it was, it was a place where a few people liked spending time. That was why Thorne shouldn’t have been surprised to find one of the seats occupied, but he was, because he hadn’t expected Matthias to be here.

Matthias looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. “Hey, Thorne. I promise I’m not making a mess.”

Thorne told himself that he didn’t have a reason to blush. Was that really how he came across? “My life doesn’t revolve around my job, you know,” he told Matthias.

Matthias shrugged one shoulder. “I never said it did, but it’s important to you.”

Thorne looked around. Matthias was right. He wasn’t making a mess. He was just sitting there, reading.

It was clear that Matthias was here to stay. Thorne hadn’t been sure what to think about that when the man had first arrived, but he reminded himself that once upon a time, he’d been like Matthias. He’d been a human overwhelmed by his newfound knowledge of magic and filled with a good amount of curiosity. He wouldn’t have agreed to work for the mages if he hadn’t been curious about them and the magic. Of course, their situations were a little different. Matthias wasn’t here to work. He was here as Parker’s best friend, which was why he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.

Thorne cleared his throat. “I hope you’ve been adjusting to life at the castle. I realize that it can be a lot for humans.”

Matthias blinked. “A lot? If you’re talking about living in a fucking castle, it’s definitely a lot. I didn’t expect any of that to happen to me, ever. Me in a castle? That doesn’t sound right.”

“But it is right. You’re here.”

“Because Parker is. I know it’s not really my place, though.”