speak, but his hands trembled when he crouched beside Arrow and inspected the cuts. His voice was tense and quiet. “They’re shallow, but they’ll need cleaning.”
“I can get some supplies from the Sunrise Tower in the morning,” Tauran offered. Crouching beside Kalai, he removed his jacket, then his shirt, using the latter to wipe the worst of the blood from Arrow’s scales.
“Thanks.” Kalai sank back on the floor and hid his head in his hand.
A soft, purr-like rumble rolled from deep in Arrow’s chest when he laid his head against Kalai’s leg.
“This can’t happen again,” Kalai said. He stroked Arrow’s head. “This could have been so much worse.”
Tauran swallowed and sat beside Kalai, shrugging his jacket back on. He placed a hand on Kalai’s knee, choosing his next words carefully. “We could keep the balcony doors closed.”
Kalai tensed, his expression tortured when he looked at Tauran. “I don’t want to lock him up.”
“I know,” Tauran said. “But until we figure out something better...”
Slowly, Kalai nodded. “It’s a temporary solution.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kalai frowned and faced Tauran, dropping his head against Tauran’s shoulder. “Don’t be. You’ve helped me more than I deserve.” His soft hair tickled Tauran’s neck and the faint scent of voralis root clung to him.
“It’s not more than you deserve.” A flush heated Tauran’s cheeks. He was grateful for the darkness.
“Aside from the pin, Arrow’s all I have left from my family, whoever they were.” Kalai spoke quietly. “It means a lot to me. That you’re here.” He covered Tauran’s hand still resting on his knee. It was cold despite the temperate night.
“I’m sure you’d do fine without me,” Tauran said, softly. He turned his hand under Kalai’s, their palms sliding together, brought his other hand up and heated Kalai’s between his own.
“I wouldn’t.” Kalai sounded defeated. His eyes were so sad and so dark, his rosy lips slightly parted. “I thought I was prepared for this place, for handling things alone, but I wasn’t. I didn’t even know you couldn’t bring dragons into the city and then Arrow killed that guard on the road, and—”
“Wait, what?” Tauran sat up straighter. He felt Kalai stiffen beside him, his hand stilling in Tauran’s hold. “I... It was...”
“Arrow killed someone?” He looked from Kalai to Arrow. “A ground guard?”
“Yes, but,” Kalai let go of Tauran’s hand, “he didn’t mean to!”
Tauran took a deep breath, rolling his bottom lip between his teeth. “Tell me what happened.”
Kalai hesitated, clearly unsure whether or not to trust Tauran, then seemed to decide he’d already incriminated himself plenty. He drew up his legs and wrapped his arms around them. “We were resting off the side of the road,” he began. “It was the first time Arrow was even on the ground during the day. A mounted guard came by. At first, he was alarmed, but I told him Arrow was harmless. That he’d listen to me. Then he started talking about laws and reporting. He wanted to cuff me and bring me to the city. He approached, and Arrow grew defensive. When the guard drew his pistol...” He looked down, swallowing hard. “Arrow just wanted to keep me safe. I ran. Told Arrow to fly far away and keep out of sight.”
“Shit.” Tauran took a deep breath. “How far from the city were you?”
“I don’t know.” Kalai looked positively miserable. “Maybe fifty miles?”
“And you’re sure the guard is dead?”
This time, Kalai only nodded, face twisting as he swallowed again.
“Okay,” Tauran said. Pushing to his feet, he took a few steps in a random direction. How far was he willing to go for Kalai? Farther than this, he realized. He was losing his damn mind. “It’s not a disaster,” he said. “This isn’t the first time wild dragons have attacked Valreus. Anyone’s first instinct would be to blame them, not some random person owning an illegal dragon that nobody has even seen.” He returned to Kalai and crouched before him. “The only person who saw you with Arrow is dead. No one else was on the road, right?”
“I didn’t see anybody,” Kalai whispered, wide-eyed as he stared at Tauran.
“So not a disaster,” Tauran repeated. “But we really should close those balcony doors.”
Kalai sighed and nodded.
They didn’t speak much as they moved to the arch. The sliding doors were heavy, grinding and creaking. They had settled so much that it took both of them to push one door at a time. They slammed together with a final, hollow sound that made Arrow tilt his head.
Kalai looked troubled, and Tauran