as Tauran would have loved to spend the following morning nursing his headache in bed getting pampered by Kalai, the Sky Guard rarely had time to rest, and since that now included him, they were forced to cut breakfast short. Kalai kissed him by the door which completely evaporated Tauran’s annoyance at the strange looks he received for his gait as he made his way to the guard grounds on foot. His limp was worse than usual. He hadn’t exactly gone easy on his leg the night before.
The grounds were busy as ever. A cheerful recruit with stars in his eyes let Tauran through the gates. By the front of the tower, a group of people unloaded fresh sides of cattle, sheep and silverhorn from a delivery wagon, carrying it into the cellar.
Tauran was content to wait in the shade of the Ground Guard buildings, watching. The sight of people going about their daily lives put his mind at ease. But at the edge of the training grounds, one young man sat alone, head low and shoulders slumped. He glanced up, the silver of his sky recruit uniform catching the sun.
Tauran frowned and made his way over, recognizing Jasper as he approached. “Hey, kid.”
Jasper looked up, surprising Tauran with red-rimmed, watery eyes. “Sir!”
“What’s going on?” Tauran sat on the bench beside him.
Jasper sniffed and looked back down. “It’s Flora.”
“Is she hurt?”
Jasper shook his head. “All the other fledglings are flying. Even Casseria, who was slower than everyone. Flora wants to fly, but she keeps refusing the control harness. I fed her treats and praised her like you said, but she won’t fly with it on. I don’t know what to do.” He clearly struggled to hold back tears. “If we don’t make progress, I’ll be kicked out. I don’t want to lose her.” His bottom lip wobbled.
“Hey, now,” Tauran soothed, and wrapped an arm around Jasper’s shoulders. “She’ll get there.”
“But what if she won’t? She’s sensitive! I don’t like pushing her!”
Tauran hesitated, rolled his jaw. “All right, forget the wing straps for a bit.”
Jasper’s eyes widened. “What?”
Tauran knew he wasn’t meant to give this sort of advice, but if anyone had complaints, it’d be his responsibility, not Jasper’s. “Why don’t you take Flora out for some flight training without the straps? No straps, no saddle, no nothing. That’s how the Sharoani do it, you know. She can’t fly so much that she can get herself into trouble where you can’t follow. Let her have some successes. Once she feels confident, you can introduce the straps again.”
Jasper wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Really? That’d be okay?”
Tauran nodded. “If anybody asks, just tell them to come to me. Even if it’s Falka.”
“Thank you!” Jasper wrapped his arms around Tauran in a hug, then seemed to remember protocol and flinched back. “Sir! Sorry, sir! Thanks!”
Tauran smiled. “Good kid.” He ruffled Jasper’s dark hair. “Have you eaten?”
Jasper shook his head.
“Go grab some breakfast before it’s all gone.”
Jasper thanked him again, then took off with a new hope in his eyes.
Tauran smiled. Jasper reminded him of Emilian. Gentle and kind. Flora was in good hands.
The click of an opened window made him turn. The sound came from Emilian’s office.
Tauran thought about their night out. He had thought they had a good time, but Emilian had looked miserable from start to finish. Tauran didn’t think he had heard Emilian laugh even once since returning to Valreus, and the only time he’d seen Emilian even slightly content was when Catria was around.
Without really meaning to, Tauran headed for Emilian’s office.
He knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Emilian called from inside.
Tauran pushed the handle down and stepped in.
Emilian was alone in his office, leaning against a low bookshelf by the far wall. “Tauran. What can I help you with?” He looked so formal in his Ground General uniform, tone polite and civil, and Tauran suddenly faltered. Why had he come here? They’d been friends once, but things had obviously changed.
“Uh.” Tauran shrugged, wandering a few steps inside. “I was just wondering...” He sighed. “Emilian, are you all right?”
Emilian blinked at him. It clearly wasn’t the question he expected. “I’m fine,” he said slowly. It sounded somewhere between a statement and a question.
Before he could stop himself, Tauran continued. “Look... I know it’s not my place to say, but... after the battle, Doctor Erica mentioned this counselor to me. It turned out to not really be my kind of thing, but I was thinking, maybe it’s