Farron
“Breathewithme,Farron.Breathe.”
Blood hammers through my head as Ezryn’s soft voice drifts through me; the tight embrace of his roots hold me still, keeping me safe in their cocoon.
Back,I think to my wolf.You’re not needed here. Stay back.
“That’s it, Farron. Listen to my voice. Stay with me.”
Inhaling deeply, I flutter my eyes open to see the shine of Ez’s helmet, his bare hands holding my shoulders. “H-hey.”
The roots release and I fall against Ezryn’s chest. “Good to have you back, brother,” he says, a firm hand around my back. His armor is cold against my cheek and stinks of goblin blood, but I don’t care. I need a moment of connection.
I hate losing myself to the wolf. Hate that after all these years, it still has such a hold on me. And unlike the others, when the wolf comes out, I have no control. Whatever base instinct the snarling demon inside of me wants, it gets.
I’ve accepted that every night, the wolf is going to win. But during the day or the full moon, I’ve never had an issue losing myself to my anger and to the beast like the others have. I always keep it under wraps. But tonight—
Dayton.
I push away from Ezryn and stagger up to where Dayton leans against the wall, gingerly touching his bruised cheek from where Ez slugged him.
“Stop it,” he growls.
“Stop what?”
“Stop looking at me like a sad puppy.” He turns away. “If you two hadn’t lost your fucking shit, Keldarion would never have been the wiser.”
“So, you were going to hide the fact you have a relationship with Keldarion’s prisoner?” I grit out.
Dayton rolls his eyes. “I don’t have a relationship with her. We were going to fuck.”
Ezryn stands, his armor clattering, and walks stiffly to the mirror.
“And what’s your problem, huh?” Dayton calls after him. “What do you even care what I do with her?”
The glowing light from the mirror paints Ezryn’s armor like a swirling aurora borealis. His voice is too calm as he says, “She’s not one of your playthings, Dayton. You have a responsibility to protect her. As Keldarion’s prisoner—”
“I’m fucking sick of hearing she’s Keldarion’s prisoner,” Dayton roars and I stumble back. “She’s not his fucking property. And she wanted me. So Keldarion can stuff that up his frosty asshole.”
Ezryn gives a deep sigh. “I’m going back out on patrol.”
“Why did you even come, anyway?” Dayton grumbles.
A blanket of silence settles in the room, a heavy breath held within armor and stone. Ezryn says lowly, “I felt a… disturbance. I needed to be here.”
Before anyone can reply, he shimmers through the mirror and disappears.
How strange. After returning from the Autumn Realm, I’d been in the library browsing the top racks of a bookshelf when I’d nearly fallen off my ladder. It was like a heady scent had wafted in front of me, a pull from the deepest recesses of my chest. It hadn’t been unpleasant… until I’d seen Rosalina and Dayton.
Together.
“I’m going to bed.” Dayton shoves past me, heavy steps echoing out of the room and into the hallway.
I stay still. My head feels like a flood of every emotion, all rushing too fast. I can’t make sense of them.
“Well?” Dayton calls. “Are you coming?”
And then one emotion shines out the clearest: anger.