A Court of Stars and Memories

28. Brothers and Friends

Lysander found himself sandwiched between Mikael and Corbin as they walked through Windhaven. They were simply killing time until Estelle joined them, after which he, his sister, and Mikael would leave for the Dawn Court. She had gone to Emerie's shop to say goodbye to their aunts.

Lysander couldn't help but laugh when he recalled the last time Estelle had failed to visit Mor and Emerie. She'd shown him the entire box of letters Mor had sent over the span of two days, each one scolding her for not stopping by. Estelle had taken great care to visit ever since.

"You're sure you can handle the Exchange without me?" Lysander asked, shifting his gaze to Corbin.

His cousin rolled his eyes. "Yes, I've done it dozens of times before. Besides, Nyx will help and I'm sure Devlon and Jorah will involve themselves too."

"And you'll remember to send reports to the Winter Court?"

"I won't be able to forget if Mitsi is also giving me letters to send along every day."

"She usually only sends one every two or three days."

"And I just have to send a report once a week. It'll be fine, Lys. Don't stress yourself." Corbin clapped a hand on his shoulder with a snide grin. "I'll have to make sure Essie knows she's in charge of babysitting you."

"Actually I thought I'd put Calden in charge of that," Mikael remarked. "He's been asking about you, Lys, and I think he might welcome another person sharing his hut for a little while."

"What do you mean by that?" Lysander asked with a grin. "Calden knows he's not my type."

"I'll show you when we get home." Mikael's chestnut eyes glittered with amusement and secrecy. "But speaking of which," his gaze slid back to Corbin, "should I tell him about your interest in Mina Rohese?"

Corbin shrugged. "If you like. We both know he'll just applaud me and offer some of his vast wisdom regarding the female specimen, however outdated it might be."

"Oh I'm telling him you said that," Mikael snickered.

Lysander just smiled and shook his head. It never ceased to amuse him, Corbin and Calden's friendship. They'd originally met the Peregryn male when the training exchange first began. While staying in the Dawn Court, they shared a hut with Calden and Mikael and developed a close friendship.

Calden and Corbin had always gotten along well, and the Peregryn Captain had often flirted with him in a semi-joking manner. Lysander always suspected that Calden's feeling for Corbin ran a little deeper than friendship, but he hadn't been proven right until a few months after the Bloodless Witch Melantha was killed.

During one of Corbin's visits to the Dawn Court, Calden had finally admitted his feelings for him. Corbin had been curious about him too at the time, but was hesitant as a relationship with a male was something he'd never explored before.

Mikael had been the one to tell Lysander that something happened between them, but they'd decided it wouldn't go any further. Lysander hadn't learned any more details until Corbin finally told him about it himself. His cousin and the Peregryn had spent a night together, mostly to sate Corbin's curiosity.

Lysander had been pleased to hear that Calden was nothing but understanding when his cousin admitted afterwards that he'd realized he wasn't interested in a relationship with a male. He had merely encouraged Corbin to pursue a relationship with someone he would feel truly comfortable with.

The two had chosen to remain friends, and were close even now. Lysander often found himself jealously wishing his issues with Celeste could've been resolved just as easily. But then again, the circumstances were entirely different.