Page 28

Twig was in trouble, wasn’t he? At the same time, it was the best kind of trouble.

He’d spent most of his life hiding in the shadows because of his father, and because it had been safer for him and his mother. His father was gone now, though. Killian was king, and he liked Twig. He wanted Twig in his life, and he wanted Twig to be a council member.

Maybe it was time for Twig to step out of the shadows and find out who he could be, without his father’s shadow hanging over him anymore.

Chapter Ten

––––––––

TAYLOR WASN’T QUITE sure this was a date, but he also wasn’t sure what else he’d call it, if it wasn’t. Maybe he should ask Twig, since Twig had been the one to suggest it.

He looked around the garden. He’d spent a few days here with Twig, but it wasn’t anywhere he’d have gone on his own. When he wasn’t working, he was either sleeping or spending time with his brother—and now, with Twig.

But apparently, Twig loved this place. The few times they’d been here together, he’d seemed more at peace than Taylor had ever seen him, and Taylor knew Twig was sharing a piece of himself by asking him to meet here.

That definitely sounded like a date.

If it was, it would be a public one. The gardens were never very crowded, but with the nice weather, there were several families with small dragons and a few couples around. Taylor had already caught the attention of a few people, but thankfully, none of them approached him. He didn’t think they would—mostly because, while most of the dragons here seemed to have accepted his presence, word had gotten around that he’d been involved in what happened with Alatar. People wanted the details, but they also didn’t quite know what to make of him. He was human. He shouldn’t be sticking his nose into dragon business.

Except that was exactly what he was paid to do.

Killian had wanted him there, and Taylor had said yes. He’d wanted to see the people who’d hurt Twig pay, and they had. He didn’t hold any other grudge against them. He did hope Killian would remain king, because he knew things would go sideways if someone else took his place, but thinking about that made him realize he and Killian might end up related someday, and that wasn’t something he was ready to think about just yet.

“Sorry I’m late,” Twig said, appearing suddenly in front of Taylor.

Taylor checked his watch. He’d been so busy thinking about Twig that he hadn’t even noticed the time. “It’s fine. It’s my day off, so I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

“Except here with me, I guess,” Twig said with a smile.

“Except here with you, and I’m more than happy about that.” Taylor gestured at the path leading deeper into the garden. “Should we walk?”

Twig was almost bouncing on his feet as he nodded. He seemed incredibly excited, which Taylor didn’t fully understand, but he didn’t need to. Maybe Twig was just happy. After all, just a few weeks ago, he’d thought he was going to die. He’d been stuck in the infirmary. Now he was walking down the path next to Taylor, their hands brushing together as they walked.

Well, Twig’s hand brushed Taylor’s arm, given the height difference, but it was just as good.

Twig was quieter than usual, which was a little worrying. Taylor had thought this was a date, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe this was Twig working up to telling him they needed to stop seeing each other.

Taylor wouldn’t push, but he wished he knew if there was a reason for them to stop.

Well, there might be one. “How’s your mother?”

Twig blinked. “Why are you asking about my mother?”

“Well, I know how important she is to you, and we had a conversation recently.” Willa seemed to like him, but how could Taylor be sure? Maybe she’d smiled to his face and then turned around and told Twig to stay away from him. Twig was old enough to make his own decisions, but considering how close he was to his mother, Taylor wouldn’t be surprised if he was inclined to do what she wanted. Taylor couldn’t even blame him for it. Twig loved her. Of course he’d want her to be happy.

“Actually, my mother and I talked,” Twig said.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, from your tone,” Taylor told him.

“It’s a good thing.” He slowed down but didn’t stop. “I’m sure you’ve heard the gossip by now. You know who my father was, and how I came to be.”

“I do.” Taylor didn’t say anything else. What could he say, given Twig’s story?

“I don’t know how much you know about dragons. Things are different now that Killian is king, but before, when someone laid an egg, they had to surrender it to the nursery. The eggs were hatched together, then the baby dragons were raised. Once they were old enough, they were assigned to a random family—or rather, most of them were, except the ones my father took a special interest in.”

Taylor had never understood that custom, but he wasn’t a dragon. It wasn’t his place to say anything about how they did things, but he was glad Killian had changed it. “Yet you grew up with your mother,” he pointed out.

“Because as soon as I was old enough to be assigned to a family, she demanded I be given to her. She’d never stopped visiting me from the moment she dropped my egg off at the nursery. I always knew she was my mother, something a lot of other dragons can’t say. I guess she had some leeway, because everyone knew who my father was, and he didn’t care enough to push back against her. That’s why she was allowed to take me home as soon as she could.”