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At least until Samuel had gotten here.

That dragon was trouble. No matter how many times Thorne told him not to leave a mess because he was sharing the castle with a lot of other people, Samuel didn’t seem to hear. Either that, or he ignored Thorne. Thorne wasn’t sure which, and he frankly didn’t care. The only thing he cared about was that Samuel had to stop leaving his stuff all over the castle.

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the training gear. He wasn’t about to leave the mug and the library book here, but he could leave the gear behind. He would if he wasn’t irked by the messiness of it. Yes, the courtyard was where most of the dragons trained, including Samuel. But did that really mean Samuel couldn’t put his things away? Because no one else left their training gear anywhere but where it was supposed to go. They certainly didn’t abandon it in smelly, crumpled piles.

There was no way Thorne was touching that with a ten-foot pole, but he did snatch up the mug and the library book. He marched back inside, ignoring the long shadows moving on the ground of the courtyard. The dragons were flying, both training and having fun, including Samuel. Knowing that the dragon was amused made Thorne want to find him and give him a good shake. He would never do that because he took his job seriously, but he really wished he could.

Actually, why couldn’t he? He couldn’t shake him the way he wanted to, but he could talk to him. Samuel probably wouldn’t listen, but should that stop Thorne? He didn’t think so. Samuel needed someone to talk to him, and while Thorne had already done so a few times, maybe he could use the reminder. It certainly looked like the lesson hadn’t stuck.

Thorne made a few detours. He stopped in the kitchen to leave the mug, placing it in the dishwasher like anyone would do. Once that was done, he headed to the library, found the right spot for the book, and pushed it into place. Samuel would probably complain that he couldn’t find it, but that was none of Thorne’s business. If Samuel had wanted to keep the book, he would have taken it to his bedroom and left it there, where Thorne wouldn’t set foot.

He didn’t care how messy Samuel’s personal space was. He didn’t care about anyone’s personal space, not when it came to keeping it clean. They could keep it as messy or neat as they wanted, but the communal spaces? Those were for everyone to enjoy, so they had to be neat, and it was part of Thorne’s job to make sure they were.

Except that Samuel seemed to find it funny to make a mess for Thorne to pick up. Thorne really needed to talk to him.

He knew where to find Samuel. All the dragons landed on the towers once they were done flying. There were two of them, and Samuel had his favorite. Thorne didn’t know why, but he suspected it had to do with the view or something like that.

He made his way up the stairs, once again relieved that he’d accepted the mages’ offer. He wouldn’t have been able to manage the stairs if he’d been in his sixties like he was supposed to be. Well, he was in his sixties. He just didn’t look it. It didn’t change when he was born, though.

But it did change when he would die. The mages had been honest. They told him that as long as he agreed to have them use their magic on him, he would continue living in the body he had now. It had been appealing, which was why he’d said yes. It still was. He couldn’t imagine life any different from what it was now. Where would he even go if he was to leave the castle?

No. He was never leaving this place. It was his home, and he took pride in his home, which meant that Samuel better start picking up his shit before Thorne made him.

Those were big words coming from a human, especially when he was about to confront a dragon, but Thorne allowed them to sink in. By the time he stepped out onto the highest tower, he was gearing up for a fight.

It just so happened that Samuel was standing there, hovering near Matthias. Thorne nodded at the human, but it wasn’t Matthias who caught his attention. Samuel’s hair was windblown, even though he’d been in his dragon form when he’d flown. The man pushed his hair away when he heard Thorne, turning to look at him, and a flash of annoyance in his gaze irritated Thorne even more than he already was.

If Samuel thought Thorne was going to roll over and offer him his stomach, he was wrong. Thorne was used to dealing with dragons. He didn’t care that Samuel was one, even though Samuel could eat him with just one bite.

Thorne couldn’t wait to see him try.

Chapter Two

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MATTHIAS COULD TELL by Thorne’s expression that whatever was happening, it wouldn’t be good.

He took a step back. He didn’t think he would be involved in this. Thorne had never needed to yell at him because Matthias was conscious of the fact that he lived in a house that didn’t belong to him. He tried to keep his mess to his room, and most of the time, he succeeded.

Samuel, not so much.

In fact, he had a reputation amongst the people who lived in the castle for being messy, and that messiness spilled out of his room. If there was an empty glass of water somewhere, you could bet it was his. If a t-shirt was draped on a chair, again, his.

Matthias understood. They each had their own private rooms, but at the same time, the castle was their home. Sometimes it was nice not to have to worry about taking dirty dishes to the kitchen or dirty t-shirts to the laundry room. They all did it sometimes, but it never caused Thorne to look like he wanted to strangle them.

But Samuel wasn’t like that. He didn’t forget something every so often. It was every day, multiple things, and Matthias knew it annoyed Thorne. It looked like Thorne had just reached the limit of his patience, and unfortunately for Matthias, he was stuck on this roof with him and Samuel.

He eyed the door. Could he escape quickly enough? Would either of the men notice if he did?

He took a step closer to the door, only to be stopped by Samuel’s voice. “Are you done flying?”

Matthias turned to look at him. Samuel was clearly trying to avoid drawing any attention to Thorne. Thorne, on the other hand, looked like he was seething.

Matthias cleared his throat. “I think the two of you need to talk, and I thought I would give you space.”

Samuel arched a brow. “Why should we talk?”

“Because you keep leaving your personal things around the castle,” Thorne snapped. “Even worse, I found a library book on a bench outside. That book doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to the castle, and what would have happened to it if it had rained? It would have destroyed castle property.”