Page 14 of The Silent Mountain
“I’d love to, but first-” I point at his arm.
“Alright,” he says and lets me do as I please. I go to the bathroom, retrieving a towel from there, before returning to clean his wound.
“It’s really not too deep,” I mutter.
Favian looks amused. “I told you. I wasn’t just playing the hero in front of you.”
“I bet you would do that.”
“Play the hero?” he asks. When I nod, he snorts. “Probably.”
After cleaning the cut, I don’t even need to put a patch on it because his dragon is already healing him. For a moment, we just sit together in silence. “Do you want me to show you the tower now?” he asks.
“Yes,” I exclaim.
Favian grabs a thick blanket before opening the door to the staircase. The air here is already a bit chillier. While climbing the stairs, it gets colder and colder, making me realize I’m only in my nightgown. Ros can warm me up slightly, but she can’t do miracles. I am used to the snow and cold, but with the icy wind surrounding us, this is much colder than anywhere in the werewolf kingdom.
The moment we have reached the top, Favian instantly wraps the blanket around me, before letting me look around. For a couple of seconds, I’m just too stunned to say anything. We are far above the rest of his kingdom, at the top of the tower that opens up in all directions. There is still a small roof above us, but no walls anymore. If Favian is in his dragon form, he can take off in any direction. Behind us, there is his kingdom and the mountains, and the front leads to my kingdom. In the distance, I can even see the first packs that are close to the borders, and there is a broad area of wasteland between us and them. Recently, the wasteland started to recover, but it’s going to take a while for it to return to its former beauty.
“Watch out,” Favian warns me when I step closer to the edge.
Gazing down, I notice that right in front of me is a massive cliff that leads downwards. We are so high up the mountains that I can’t even see the bottom. “This is amazing,” I whisper. “The whole castle is.”
“Do you want to see something?” Favian asks, and his eyes glint with mischief. I have never seen this look on him. When he starts to run though, I realize instantly what he is about to do.
“No, you are not-“
Before I can finish my sentence, he has already leaped into the air and jumped off the tower. While he falls, I can see his body changing and shifting to his dragon, stopping his fall and flying upwards again. Even in the moonlight, his dragon shimmers golden, so beautiful.
Okay, that’s kind of cool.
It is,Ros says in awe.Pity we can’t pull off such a trick.
A flying wolf would be funny, wouldn’t it?
I prefer the ground,she chuckles before turning silent again.
Favian returns to us in his dragon form, and I step a little to the side so that he can land safely without pushing me off the platform. Before he can shift back, though, I let Ros come forward to take over my body. She moves towards Favian’s dragon form in fascination, reaching out her hand towards him. The dragon reciprocates and lowers his huge head, snorting when she carefully strokes his scales.
“I never imagined not having a wolf mate,” she says, “but I really like you.”
Favian shifts back to his human form, still wearing his clothes. Very practical that he doesn’t need to undress and dress constantly. He takes Ros’s hand. “We always have our human bodies,” he promises. “And if you want to spend time with me or my dragon, I am sure Alana will let you come forward.” He pauses. “Ros,” he adds.
I can feel Ros’s joy at hearing him say her name. “You know my name,” she beams.
“Of course I do,” he says. “You are my mate, like Alana is my mate.”
“Can I hug you?”
In answer, Favian pulls her into his arms. She feels joyful and happy to feel his touch, and it makes me feel guilty that I take so long to get closer to him. He is our mate; I should be all over him constantly, but instead, my grief and my own complicated mind hold me back.
Ros stays in Favian’s arms for minutes, just enjoying his warmth. “Until next time,” she finally says, looking a bit flustered. Who knew she would be so shy?
Thank you,she says once she has retreated and handed me back control.
Favian and I don’t say anything, and instead just stand next to each other, gazing up at the night sky above us. It’s full of stars, illuminating the sky.
“I wonder what it was that startled me tonight,” I say.
