Prince of Dragons

Chapter Forty-Four

It was quite...tense in that tent after Evander asked about Narvi. I still had no idea where his intentions laid with our moon dragon companion, but at the same time, he had merely ran into us by chance. It hadn't been some elaborate meetup...but would Evander believe that? Narvi was...a literal myth walking amongst us. There was hardly any information about moon dragons, and if there were, the records had long since been lost.

So what was the chance Evander would believe we ran into a myth purely by chance?

I opened my mouth, ready to say just that, when the tent flap opened and Alaban poked his head in—his amber gaze immediately seeking me out.

"Drakell," he nodded towards Evander, "Evander. Sorry for interrupting, but Aerylin is done making our requested breakfast, if you want to eat? If not, I will find some way to keep it warm until you're ready."

Alaban was amazing in the sense he could read the room, and I had no doubt it reeked of tense awkwardness—which is probably why he was trying to subtly get me out of there. And man did I take the bait as I nodded my head immediately and stood up—ignoring the irritated frown that formed on Evander's lips.

"Ah, sorry, any way we can continue this later?" I wondered as I moved closer to Alaban. "I'm starving and...I ah..."

Evander waved his hand dismissively and stood up, giving a nod. "Of course, your Highness. I wouldn't want to keep you any longer than you feel comfortable with."

I gave him an awkward smile and nodded and left the tent with Alaban's arm around my shoulders. "Are you alright?" The man with my heart asked me, amber eyes intense as he stared at me.

I looked towards the ground, not really sure...well, how I felt about all this. The talk about my death did open up a slew of questions for me that I hadn't had the time to really ask myself.

Why had I been given a second chance? I was a mere mortal man, whose status shouldn't have even mattered in the grand scheme of things, so why me? Why did Cryone give me a second chance? Does Death really care about feelings? About regrets, and wishes one could have accomplished while they were alive? Was it Cryone that had greeted me? Why did I have an inkling that Cryone wasn't the one who greeted me?

If Cryone wasn't there...who was? And why did they deem me worthy enough of a second chance?

I felt a phantom pain in the back of my neck—precisely in the spot I had been bitten before my death—and rubbed the sensitive skin there, my mind racing much faster than I could keep up with.

I turned my attention back to Alaban, staring deeply into his eyes in an attempt to find answers to my questions. Which was pretty dumb, considering Alaban hadn't been in that darkness with me, and thus would more than likely have the same questions I had about why I had been brought back.

So I merely sighed and shook my head, causing a look of concern to fall across Alaban's handsome face. "I'm...I'm ok. Talking about my death has made some questions come to mind, and...I don't know..." I dragged a hand through my hair and pecked him on the cheek. "I'll be ok. I promise."

Alaban frowned, but respected my answer and eventually nodded his head, before looking at Aerylin and Narvi munching on a whole plate of food.

And when Narvi saw us, he perked up and made his way over to us, a small smile on his face. "Better," he said, holding up his bowl of food.

I smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Narvi. Is it good?"

Narvi nodded, and I could see those pale cheeks fill with color as he glanced down at his food. "Yes. Good." He glanced back towards Aerylin. "Yummy."

Aerylin grinned and winked at the moon dragon—happy with the compliment. "Damn right it's yummy. Momma Leiah taught me everything I needed to know about how to make a mouth-watering meal. Now, lemme tell you," she pointed a spatula towards me, causing me to blink awkwardly, "my brother, bless his heart, burns anything he gets on the stove. So, while you're here, I'm gonna teach you how to cook—otherwise this dork," she pointed it towards Alaban next, "is gonna live off of leaves, or some berries or something else that is in no way fulfilling."

Alaban pouted adorably. "That is not true, I can cook...some things."

Aerylin smacked him on the arm with the spatula, causing that grin to pop back onto the sun dragon's face. "You once burned rice, dear brother, and if it's possible to burn water, I'm sure you'd be capable of that too."

I laughed, a warmth that hadn't been there just a few moments ago, growing in my chest as I watched the siblings bickering back and forth. Even Narvi seemed entertained by the siblings as he slowly ate his meal with a happy smile on his pale face.

It was then that I made the decision to keep a close eye on Narvi—as I still wasn't sure where Evander's interest lay with him. If his intentions were pure, I would let Narvi do as he pleased...however, there was a feeling within me that felt that that was not the case, and I honestly had no idea why. However, I wasn't one to completely ignore my instincts, and thus why I decided in that moment—as I watched Narvi laugh, his cheeks pinkening—that I was going to make sure he was safe.

Once I made that silent decision to myself, I noticed Evander's tent flap open, and watched as the sun dragon stepped out, his gaze immediately falling onto our little group. His eyes lingered on me, then Alaban, before going to Narvi and finally his fiancée. He then straightened his posture and made his way over to us, the man smiling as he pulled Aerylin to him and gave her a kiss against her head.

I looked away from the pair, my gaze trailing to the tree line where...where something seemed to move. I then frowned upon noticing that, and watched as a small, dark face peeked out from behind one of the trees, right in our direction.

It seemed to be a little girl staring at us, no doubt curious by me as most of the young ones were, and so, thinking I was being charming, gave her a smile and a small wave. Though, that smile slowly faded as the little one seemed to gasp and hid back behind the tree.

Maybe she was shy? I mean, she looked only around five, or six, or so, and I was a new person to her and looked...well, very different than the sun dragons she was used to. Maybe she wanted to gaze at me and got shy when I saw her?

Huh, well, it was probably a normal reaction for someone her age, so I turned my attention back to Aerylin and Evander as they chatted about the food she had made for him.

And even though I was weary about Evander, I decided to let it go for now—whilst keeping a close eye on Narvi—and just live in the simplicity that was this village. For now. As I was about done being stressed about everything all the time, and besides, Alaban was here and I knew he cared about Narvi's wellbeing and wouldn't let Evander do anything to him. So, I just needed to calm these nerves and live the life I was given a second chance for.

A/N: OOOOOOO SHNAPPPP jk, a bit of a filler chapter, but things are gonna start getting interestinnnnnnnggggggg