Kalai prepared two cups of tea, voralis root for himself and ginger root for Tauran, since he didn’t think Tauran could handle much more of an energy boost.
He tried to control the elation tugging on the corners of his lips. This could be the solution. Maybe the egg wasn’t sick at all, maybe it just longed for touch. Statera and swiftwing dragons nested in groups, their eggs keeping each other company, but as far as he knew, titans nested alone. What if all the egg needed was a mother to hold it close?
But Kalai knew it could still go wrong. It could still die. Getting his hopes up would only leave him heartbroken.
There was something else, too, contributing to the giddiness inside him. Something just as dangerous. It had been impossible not to notice the muscular planes of Tauran’s bare torso. The strength of his arms. He looked like a man who could knock someone out with a slap, yet he cradled the egg so gently it made Kalai’s heart ache to think about. Whatever had happened to Tauran must be something truly awful to render such a powerful man so full of fear. He had an inkling, but the last thing he wanted was to push when he’d only just convinced Tauran to sit with the source of his anxiety.
“Are you all right?” Tauran asked when Kalai returned with the tea, placing the cups on the floor beside the bed.
“What?” Kalai looked up, keeping his eyes carefully on Tauran’s face instead of the freckles dusting his collarbones. He looked better. Less scared. Tauran had positioned the egg in his lap, all the blankets wrapped around himself in imitation of a real dragon’s nest. It was incredibly endearing, especially considering Tauran had fled at the sight of the egg only days ago. He was resilient.
“Your, uh...” Tauran waved a hand in the air between them. “Fainting thing. Whatever it is.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah.” Kalai kicked off his shoes and sank onto the bed, sitting cross-legged beside Tauran. “It’s been happening since I was a child,” he said. “I saw a lot of physicians, growing up. None of them have been able to tell me exactly what it is. Just that it’s some type of fainting disorder.” He frowned. “It happens when I get stressed, tired, or when I’m too high above sea level where the air is thinner.” He looked down, hiding an awkward flush. “I guess I haven’t been getting enough sleep, recently.”
“Does it hurt?” Tauran asked, the softness of his voice sending tickles along the back of Kalai’s neck.
Kalai shook his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked to someone about his condition so openly, at least without meeting expressions of pity or fear. But Tauran was different. He knew what it felt like to have one’s body disobey, and in his eyes, Kalai saw only understanding. It made it easier to talk about. “I just get this weird tunnel vision all of a sudden. Then I get dizzy and everything goes black. I usually have enough time before I black out to sit down, but... I was distracted earlier. I’m sorry. I get so exhausted afterward. It’s frustrating. How long did I sleep?” Tauran was a physical powerhouse, a stark contrast to Kalai fainting in his arms like in a bad romance novel. To salvage a bit of his dignity, he added, “It really doesn’t happen often. Last time was months ago.” Despite this new feeling of comfort, a vain part of him wanted Tauran to think well of him.
“It’s fine,” Tauran said, stroking a hand slowly over the egg. Did he realize he was doing it? “It’s hardly the scariest thing I’ve witnessed.” Tauran rubbed the back of his neck and Kalai tracked the motion. Tauran really was rather handsome in the light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the loose strands of his hair shine like spun gold. “You were out for an hour. I wanted to wake you, but I didn’t want to leave the egg.”
“You made the right choice.” Kalai reached for their cups of tea and handed Tauran his. “Besides, I could probably use the extra rest.”
Tauran took his cup with a quiet thanks and drank. A wide golden ring in his left ear caught the light, the kind sea pirates and street performers wore. Kalai hadn’t noticed it before.
“Maybe,” Tauran said, “I could talk to Falka about your condition. Maybe there’s something Valrean medicine