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Authors: Michelle Knudsen
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stupid human stuff
through the link before he would relax again. The dragon had learned that Meg sometimes got angry or upset when she wasn’t actually in immediate danger, but he couldn’t always tell on his own when that was the case. There wasn’t anything he could do right now to help her. She just had to calm down.
Knowing exactly how bad everything was getting but not being able to do anything about it was maddening. And it just kept getting worse. Pela, who had suffered through many of Meg’s previous rants on the subject of how she and Jakl weren’t being allowed to help, also insisted that Meg had to be patient. But how could you be patient when your best friend was gods-knew-where doing gods-knew-what, and soldiers were fighting and dying in a ridiculous war over
nothing,
and —
No. This wasn’t going to help her regain control. She was going to
not
think. Just for a little while. She would find a place to sit and be calm and not think about all of those things.
She paused at the outer door, considering, then headed toward the gardens. She hunted down the most isolated corner she could find and fought the urge to pace angrily around on the grass. Instead she made herself settle down under a tree and close her eyes. Right now all she needed was quiet. Just some quiet. Just some time to not think or worry or be upset or scared or angry.
Meg tried to clear her mind and focus on the feel of the tree behind her and the grass beneath her. She concentrated on her breathing, taking long slow breaths in the way Calen had taught her when she had first been struggling to manage the way the link with the dragon amplified her emotions. She breathed and tried not to think about how much she wished Calen were here beside her right now.
A sound very close by broke into her awareness, and her eyes flew open. For one confused moment her heart leaped upward and she thought,
Calen?
But no, of course it wasn’t.
The boy in front of her was older, and taller, with lighter hair and strikingly handsome features. Nearly blindingly handsome. It used to enrage her, how handsome he was. Now it was merely . . . irritating.
“Hello, Wilem,” she said.
“I’m sorry to have disturbed you,” he said. “I didn’t realize you were here.”
She looked around at the secluded corner of the garden. It was a cul-de-sac at the end of a tree-lined passage enclosed by a stone wall — he couldn’t have been passing through on his way to anywhere else.
“Where were you going?” she asked.
He smiled slightly and pointed at where she was sitting. “Right there, actually. I come here to think sometimes. I didn’t realize you did the same.”
She smiled back, despite herself. “It’s my first time.”
“I’ll leave you to your thoughts, then.” He turned to go.
“No,” she said before she could think better of it. She suddenly didn’t want to sit here alone. “It was your spot before it was mine. And I wasn’t succeeding very well at thinking, anyway. Or not-thinking, which was really what I was trying for. You might as well stay.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Very well, if you wish.” He eased himself slowly to the ground. Very slowly. Meg suddenly noticed the bandages on his arm. He was clearly favoring one leg as well.
“What happened?” she asked, sitting up straighter. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” he said, shifting his leg out carefully on the ground. “Just a little roughed up. My company was attacked earlier.”
“Are you in Captain Halse’s company?”
He blinked. “How did you —? Oh, of course you would have heard what happened. Yes.”
“Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary?”
“They patched me up and sent me on my way,” he said. “I’m fine, really. Not like some of the others. We were lucky that the group from Lourin was a small one. And we surprised them more than they surprised us.”
Meg had known that Wilem had joined the Trelian soldiers —
was
a Trelian
stupid human stuff
through the link before he would relax again. The dragon had learned that Meg sometimes got angry or upset when she wasn’t actually in immediate danger, but he couldn’t always tell on his own when that was the case. There wasn’t anything he could do right now to help her. She just had to calm down.
Knowing exactly how bad everything was getting but not being able to do anything about it was maddening. And it just kept getting worse. Pela, who had suffered through many of Meg’s previous rants on the subject of how she and Jakl weren’t being allowed to help, also insisted that Meg had to be patient. But how could you be patient when your best friend was gods-knew-where doing gods-knew-what, and soldiers were fighting and dying in a ridiculous war over
nothing,
and —
No. This wasn’t going to help her regain control. She was going to
not
think. Just for a little while. She would find a place to sit and be calm and not think about all of those things.
She paused at the outer door, considering, then headed toward the gardens. She hunted down the most isolated corner she could find and fought the urge to pace angrily around on the grass. Instead she made herself settle down under a tree and close her eyes. Right now all she needed was quiet. Just some quiet. Just some time to not think or worry or be upset or scared or angry.
Meg tried to clear her mind and focus on the feel of the tree behind her and the grass beneath her. She concentrated on her breathing, taking long slow breaths in the way Calen had taught her when she had first been struggling to manage the way the link with the dragon amplified her emotions. She breathed and tried not to think about how much she wished Calen were here beside her right now.
A sound very close by broke into her awareness, and her eyes flew open. For one confused moment her heart leaped upward and she thought,
Calen?
But no, of course it wasn’t.
The boy in front of her was older, and taller, with lighter hair and strikingly handsome features. Nearly blindingly handsome. It used to enrage her, how handsome he was. Now it was merely . . . irritating.
“Hello, Wilem,” she said.
“I’m sorry to have disturbed you,” he said. “I didn’t realize you were here.”
She looked around at the secluded corner of the garden. It was a cul-de-sac at the end of a tree-lined passage enclosed by a stone wall — he couldn’t have been passing through on his way to anywhere else.
“Where were you going?” she asked.
He smiled slightly and pointed at where she was sitting. “Right there, actually. I come here to think sometimes. I didn’t realize you did the same.”
She smiled back, despite herself. “It’s my first time.”
“I’ll leave you to your thoughts, then.” He turned to go.
“No,” she said before she could think better of it. She suddenly didn’t want to sit here alone. “It was your spot before it was mine. And I wasn’t succeeding very well at thinking, anyway. Or not-thinking, which was really what I was trying for. You might as well stay.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Very well, if you wish.” He eased himself slowly to the ground. Very slowly. Meg suddenly noticed the bandages on his arm. He was clearly favoring one leg as well.
“What happened?” she asked, sitting up straighter. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” he said, shifting his leg out carefully on the ground. “Just a little roughed up. My company was attacked earlier.”
“Are you in Captain Halse’s company?”
He blinked. “How did you —? Oh, of course you would have heard what happened. Yes.”
“Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary?”
“They patched me up and sent me on my way,” he said. “I’m fine, really. Not like some of the others. We were lucky that the group from Lourin was a small one. And we surprised them more than they surprised us.”
Meg had known that Wilem had joined the Trelian soldiers —
was
a Trelian
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