Tauran said, stroking his hands idly across the wall before pointing to the balcony entrance, easily sixteen feet wide and just as tall. “Although the titans had to deliver their reports at the top. They don’t quite fit through holes that small.”
“Titans!” Kalai laughed again, the sound full of real joy. It brought Tauran a sense of pride, made him forget about his own discomfort. He smiled.
Kalai drew a pocket watch from his jacket. “Two minutes to midnight.”
Tauran nodded toward the balcony doors. “Go on.”
Kalai moved through the open arch and onto the balcony, all the way to the balustrade without hesitation. The moonlight turned his hair a shimmering silver as he brought up his hand and whistled a sharp tune. He glanced over his shoulder.
Tauran gave him a nod.
Kalai turned back around, searching the horizon. “I see him!” he exclaimed and leaned against the balustrade.
Tauran held his breath. They’d left the sliding windows open on the first floor of the archive, hoping Arrow would stay put and come to the tower once Kalai whistled. Tauran hadn’t been entirely sure Arrow would obey, but for a semi-wild dragon, the two of them seemed to have a solid understanding of each other.
The familiar sound of rushing wind under wings announced the white dragon’s arrival. Kalai stepped back to give Arrow space to land. The touch-down was silent as swiftwings always were. Arrow rumbled softly and folded in his wings.
Kalai wrapped his arms around Arrow’s neck and spoke to him, too softly for Tauran to hear. Arrow’s scales shone like still water in the moonlight. He was easy to admire. He had a perfect physique, slender but well-muscled. Long, trimmed claws the color of bone. A perfect crest of pointed scales starting between faintly curving horns, trailing down to the base of his neck. The membranes of his wings were elastic and unbroken, shaped perfectly for aerial agility and speed. The fanning membranes at the tip of his tail curled upward with pleasure when Kalai scratched under his chin.
“You take good care of him,” Tauran called.
Kalai turned his head, laughing when Arrow rubbed his nose against his chest hard enough to push him off balance. “He’s everything I have.” Kalai said it so fondly that Tauran’s heart ached anew. For a moment, Tauran couldn’t help but think that Kalai would have fit perfectly in the guard, patrolling Valreus from the sky with Arrow, handsome in the silver and black uniform.
Kalai returned to the balustrade and raised his gaze to the sky, Arrow’s head on his shoulder. “Tauran, you have to come see this view,” he called.
“It’s okay,” Tauran called back. “I’ve seen it.”
“No, really. All the stars are out!” Kalai shifted from under Arrow and jogged toward Tauran. His smile was wide and full of joy when he took both Tauran’s hands.
Tauran’s belly flipped. “I-I’m fine here,” he said, digging in his heels when Kalai tugged him forward.
Pausing, Kalai regarded him. “Are you sure you’re all right? We don’t have to stay here, if—”
Tauran swallowed hard. “It’s not that,” he said, voice tense. He took a deep breath. “It’s just... really high up.” He felt the flush of shame heat his cheeks and was grateful for the darkness.
“You’re afraid of heights,” Kalai said, softly.
“Falling out of the sky will do that to you, I guess.” Tauran’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. He avoided Kalai’s too-intense gaze.
“You were a rider. The Battle of the Broken Wings...”
When Tauran didn’t answer, Kalai moved to sit on the dusty floor beside him, crossing his legs.
Tauran sat, too.
Kalai dipped his head, that wondrous smile a distant memory. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you come back here.”
“It was my own idea,” Tauran said, trying hard not to make the hollowness of his chest color his voice. “And there’s no better place for Arrow than here. People stay away from this place, and it’s still close enough that you can visit him when you like.” He looked at Arrow, curled up near the balcony entrance, content to rest. “Won’t even need to leave the city.”
Kalai made a soft sound, rubbing his forehead. “I should have put two and two together. I knew you were in the Sky Guard and I saw the way you reacted to the egg. And again, downstairs.” He looked up, troubled. “You hurt your leg in the fall?”
Tauran nodded, the words stuck in his throat. He could feel Kalai’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t meet them.
“And your dragon?” Kalai’s words were