The Gable Mountains

Leah blinked against the morning light, shouldering her pack. Just a few more days and they'd reach the capital. If only it weren't in the hands of a tyrant. She wanted more than anything to settle in to her new life, but there would be no rest upon their arrival. They had a kingdom to reclaim.

"You can tie that to my harness once I'm in form," Jovari said, striding by. He didn't stop to look at her. She watched him seek out Talon, speaking to the king in low towns. His gaze darted in her direction, then quickly away. She frowned.

Things were better between them, sort of.

Whatever the king said made Jovari huff and stomp off. Was he trying to get out of flying with her? To be fair, she was apprehensive about it too. It meant they'd be closer than ever. She'd be touching him. For days.

"I'm fighting the urge to run back inside." Claire came to a stop beside her, shouldering her own pack. "I'm not ready."

Leah reached for her hand. "Aren't queens supposed to be fearless?"

Claire scoffed. "I'm not. Never have been."

"Well then, let's go back inside. I'm not all that eager to fly with a certain someone, and you're not ready to return to the capital. Might as well slink back into the safety of the cavern."

"Gods, that sounds so tempting."

"Not having second thoughts, are we?" Saffra came up beside them. "Because if so, I vote for more baby dragons."

The three of them laughed. That was definitely a better alternative than facing Kane, not that Claire would face him immediately. They would meet with the operatives in hiding, first.

Around them, the drengr began to transform. She homed in on Jovari's blue form and sighed, her shoulders dropping. Best to just suck it up and accept it. This would be her life for the next few days, then she could get far, far away from him and merely pretend to be friends. She wasn't actually going to survive being real friends. No, better to be amicable acquaintances.

It was summer, and though it was early morning, the sun was well above the horizon. It had taken longer than expected to say goodbye to the baby dragons. Irelia was staying. She'd worked with Claire over the past few days to better control her ability to hear the dragons speaking—because apparently that was a thing, and everyone had all these magical abilities, and she didn't.

She took a deep, steadying breath. She didn't need to be special. She just needed to be herself. She just needed to be strong and get through the next few weeks, then she could start fresh, no strings attached. Plenty of people were normal—plenty of people longed to be normal—she reminded herself.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going," Claire said, giving Leah's hand a final squeeze before walking over to Talon. She nuzzled Talon's forearm with her face before climbing up to secure her pack.

"Talk to you soon," Saffra said, walking off to do the same. Taylynn and Koldis were already settled and waiting.

"Right," she muttered, going over to Jovari. She slung her pack off her shoulder. She'd done this plenty now, though she'd always flown with Talon.

"Let's get this over with, yeah?" she meant to sound teasing but it came out slightly scoffing.

Jovari snorted, narrowing his eyes.

She stopped in front of him to regard him, then went to his proffered foreleg, gripping the strap of her pack. She reached for him and felt the warmth of his scales—

And everything disappeared.

No. That wasn't quite right. She blinked. Suddenly her feet were sinking into soft sand. She frowned. What the...?!

"No."

"Jovari?" She spun at the sound of his voice, finding only waves. The ocean lapped at the shore, vast and unrelenting.

"No. It's not possible. Can't be. This is some kind of joke."

"What's not—?"

Something, some invisible force, pushed her backwards. When she blinked again, she was staggering away from the dragon in front of her. Her foot caught on a root. She dropped her pack, arms cartwheeling, and fell on her rump. There was a growl, and then Jovari crouched and sprang from the forest floor, catapulting into the air. He cleared the treetops, beating his wings in a strong downward sweep that had forest debris swirling around her.

"Wait! What the hell?!" she shouted up at him. "What was that for, asshole?!"

But he had already disappeared.

"Leah?" Claire dismounted and rushed over. "What's going on? Did you say something to him?"

"Why would you think I said something—that it's my fault?"

"Because...he can't exactly form words with his dragon tongue?"

"Oh. Right. No. He just...he just left. I don't...I don't understand. There was a beach and..." She frowned.

"Oh. Oh, gods." Something shifted in Claire's expression. "What exactly happened when you touched him?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you touched Jovari's scales just now, what happened? You said there was a beach."

Leah glanced around, trying to make sense of it herself. Talon was crouched nearby, his keen eyes boring into her. Koldis and Taylynn were patiently waiting. Saffra stood next to Bedelth, her pack secured.

"I..." She rubbed a hand over her hair, pulling a few pine needles free. "I don't know. I touched him and then I was standing on a beach? But that doesn't make sense. I imagined it, obviously. I thought Jovari was there because he kept saying no, or something about it not being possible? I'm not quite sure. Then he pushed me—I think—because I tripped and fell. Why would he do that?"

"Oh, gods," Claire said again, her lips parted in shock.

"I don't get why you're making this a big deal. Obviously he's in a mood. He clearly didn't want to fly with me. I saw him talking to Talon just a few minutes ago. He didn't look happy."

"Do you think...?"

"Do I think what?" she snapped. But Claire was facing Talon, some kind of silent conversation passing between them.

Taylynn dismounted, then strode past them and said, "Well, this will take a while." There was a smug smile on her face before she retreated back into the caves. Like she knew something, whatever that something was.

Claire blew out a breath, turning back to her. Talon sprang into the air.

"Where is he going?" Leah demanded, her confusion and irritation growing by the moment.

"To speak with Jovari—well, to track him down first."

"Can't he just speak with him from right here? Or summon him back? We're wasting time."

"Jovari has closed his mind. Looks like he's taking the revelation harder than I would have expected."

"What revelation?" She glanced around at the others. Her voice was a loud demand as she said, "Can someone please tell me what's going on because you clearly know something I don't!"

A laugh burst from Claire's chest. "Gods, I hate that I'm the one who's going to break this to you. It should be him. The two of you are supposed to navigate this together. But..."

"But what?" She climbed to her feet, leaving her pack behind.

Saffra quickly mounted and said, "We're going flying. Be back in a bit!" They wasted no time in taking off. Koldis sprang into the air after them. Suddenly, she and Claire were the only ones left.

Concern made her stomach squirm. "Okay, now I really want to know what's going on."

"We should probably sit down for this. Come on." Claire dragged her to a boulder near the cave's opening, pulling her down.

"You're starting to scare me. What the hell? Is something wrong with Jovari?"

"Nope. No. Just...well..." Claire blew out a breath. "You're mates."

Leah stared at her. "I'm sorry, but what?"

"You're mates."

This time, a laugh burst from her chest. Once she started, she couldn't stop. She hopped off the boulder, then doubled over, bracing her hands on her knees. She sounded deranged. When she could finally speak, she said. "That's funny. Really funny. Ha ha."

"I'm not joking about this. I wouldn't joke about something like this. That would be cruel."

Leah froze, her arms going slack. The corners of her vision sparked with light, dancing with stars. She doubled over again, taking a deep breath. "I think I'm going to pass out."

Claire hopped off the boulder to rub her back. "You're fine. Just...deep breaths."

She managed a few, then stood. "We can't be mates. I don't even..."

"What do you mean you can't be? Of course you can be. You are—obviously. That's the only reason he reacted like this. Now, tell me exactly what happened. Don't leave anything out."

"Fine. If that's what it takes to make you understand."

Because they weren't mates. Claire would see that soon enough. Why should they be? Things like this didn't happen to her. Never her. Things like this only happened to other people. She always watched from the sidelines.

She sat down again. "I touched his scales. They were warm, like scales always are. That was the last thought I had before I blinked and found myself on a beach? But obviously that's impossible. But I felt my feet sink into the sand. It seemed real. The waves were lapping at the shore. I heard Jovari's voice—"

"What did he say?"

"Uhm. No. He just said no. That was it. So I called for him, because obviously standing on the beach and hearing his voice but not seeing him is weird. Then again, standing on the beach in the middle of nowhere when I'm technically in the forest is already weird."

"What happened next?"

"He started saying that it couldn't be possible, that it was some kind of joke—"

"He was having trouble believing you're mates."

"Well, obviously, because we're not."

Claire huffed. "Oh, you very much are. What came after that?"

"Well, he pushed me, I think. I don't know. I stumbled backwards and was in the forest and tripped. You know the rest."

"You broke contact with his scales," Claire murmured. She stared at her. "That's what happens when you make contact with your mate for the first time. Your minds connect. Your brain makes sense of their mind in the best way it knows how."

"So when you touched Talon's scales, you were transported to the beach?"

"A lava field, actually. And sometimes I still see it, depending on how my mind puts together the pieces."

"A...a lava field? Then why was I at the beach? See, not mates."

"Oh, you very much are. It's different for everyone. I asked Saffra. She saw the rolling hills of her home."

"Okay, then what about for Koldis and Taylynn?"

"The forest."

"Hmm. That seems fitting, actually." She let herself consider the truth of it. "Let's say— hypothetically speaking—that you're right, that we're mates. Why did he fly off like that? Shouldn't he be happy?"

"I ran off when I discovered my mate bond with Talon."

"You didn't!"

"I did. But mostly it was because I was mad at him for hiding it from me. And anyway, he came after me."

Leah scoffed, glancing up at the sky. "Well, I can't exactly go after him. Besides, that doesn't explain why he wanted to run away in the first place."

Claire frowned. "Talon just found him. They're talking."

"And?" A sour taste filled her mouth. "Is it because he...he doesn't want me?"

That had to be it. If he'd wanted her, he wouldn't have run off. Why would he want to risk more heartbreak after what he'd been through? Except, this was different. Before, Ora hadn't been his mate. But apparently, she was.

"It sounds like he's...afraid," Claire said.

"Afraid?" She scoffed. "Of what? I can't exactly run off and marry a rich noble when we're mates." She covered her mouth, realizing she'd accidentally spilled a little of Jovari's secrets, but Claire wasn't even paying attention. Her eyes were unfocused, obviously deep in Talon's mind.

"He thinks you won't want him...permanently, that is."

"That's ridiculous."

...Wasn't it? Did she want him? Like, really want him? Forever? The enormity of it barreled into her. Being mates wasn't a temporary thing. It wasn't courting. This wasn't like trying on a garment for size. This was permanent.

"Well?" Claire studied her. "Since we're talking hypotheticals here, do you want him?"

She hesitated, then said, "Everyone I ever loved died. What's to stop that from happening if I let myself fall in love with him?"

"I'm not dead," Claire pointed out. "Unless you're saying you don't actually love me."

"Don't be absurd. You know I love you."

"Got it. Scared, then. Funny—you're both scared. Well then, I'm sure the two of you will work it out. Talon—" She said the rest of her words silently, switching into conversation with her mate.

"Right, work it out," Leah said sarcastically. "Look, there's no need for our problems to hijack this whole operation. Tell Jovari to come back. Tell him he has nothing to worry about. Since it's clear he doesn't want this thing between us, I'll happily honor his decision."

Claire's eyes came into focus and she snorted. "I'm not even going to dissect all the bullshit you just gave me." Leah's lips parted in mock outrage. "Just know that I'm here for you. Tell me what you need."

"What I need, is to not be the center of drama. We should get going. I don't want to be the one holding everything up."

"Oh, believe me, you're not. Jovari is the one who started this. Anyway, Talon is commanding him to return. They should be here shortly."

"Great..."

Claire exhaled. "Look, if you're not ready to face this, there are ways you can avoid it."

"Really?"

"Gloves, for one. I think Saffra still has a pair. It will allow you to fly with him without touching him. It's the skin to scale contact that creates the connection."

"Good. Excellent. I'll take the gloves—"

"Actually, I have a pair," said a voice behind them. Taylynn strode into view. "Here. I got these for you. They're extras. I don't wear them anymore."

"Thanks," she muttered, taking the proffered gloves and examining them. They were soft, made from some kind of fleece. They'd be warm as hell in the summer, but the sky was much colder, and it was better than being in Jovari's head.

She heard the wing beats before seeing them. Koldis returned, Bedelth and Saffra on his tail. Then Talon. Finally, her eyes locked on Jovari's glittering blue form. None of them transformed, and she felt a pang of frustration over that.

Then again, it was better this way. Otherwise they'd have to talk. And who knew how long that would take.

Jovari watched her out of the corner of his eye, but didn't bother turning his head to acknowledge her existence. So much for mending the bridge between them. Now there was a new chasm of...whatever. Her chest gave a painful squeeze.

Fine. If that's how he was going to be. She marched over to him and climbed up his forearm. She attached her pack, then settled in to the harness on his back.

"Ready?" Claire called, mostly for her benefit since all the others could communicate.

She nodded, but said nothing as Jovari launched them into the sky.

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️

Happy Friday, Bookdragons.

You knew this was coming...didn't you? So...let's dissect Jovari's behavior, shall we? I'm pretty sure he's shocked as hell and definitely didn't see this coming. I'd like to think his reaction was mostly do to that. It's obvious that both he and Leah have feelings for each other, but you know, finding out you're mates is like, a big deal. 

Anyway, I'm sure they'll come around ;)

There's more important things at stake right now anyway. 

Next week's chapter is Claire's POV. Yay!! See you then.

--Mel

PS. Christmas is right around the corner. I have an entire two weeks off. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have two whole weeks to rest and work on my hobbies. I hope you have a happy holiday!!