Page 5 of The Silent Mountain
I’m just not sure if my heart is ready to love someone again.
“So,” Favian breaks the silence, “how are you going to train the horses?”
“First, I need to make sure that they can be ridden,” I explain, happy to talk about my favorite topic. “They range from ages 3-5 and need to be trained properly first. I will start slowly. Two of the five-year-olds have been ridden before, so I think I can work with them soon.”
“Dragon shifters don’t know much about horses,” he admits. “I’m counting fully on you.”
He opens the heavy front door of the castle for me, letting me step in first. The interior of the castle still takes my breath away whenever I see it. It just never loses its novelty. I’m used to living in a beautiful castle, but the castle of the dragon kingdom, with its huge halls, broad corridors and many windows, lacks any comparison. It’s as if it was designed for the dragon shifters to shift anywhere and be able to leap out of a window to fly off.
I feel so tiny and small in these halls, but it’s not an intimidating feeling. It rather makes me feel free. Once inside, Elio greets us. He looks slightly anxious and a bit crestfallen.
“What’s wrong?” Favian asks him, apparently feeling his discomfort too. “Are you unwell?”
“No,” Elio says. “I… I finished my homework.”
“That’s good,” Favian says. “If you manage to take your studies seriously, I am sure Alana will let you help with the horses.”
I remember what he told me about Elio needing time to study because he missed so much growing up. It’s truly a tragedy that only these two brothers remained from the whole royal family. I can’t even imagine what kind of trauma they went through. It makes me feel selfish… Favian is so respectful and understanding towards my issues and my trauma, yet I never ask about his.
I want to, but I don’t know how to. How do you talk about a whole species that faced genocide? How do you ask someone how they are when they’ve lost everyone close to them?
“You are not going to hit me, are you?” Elio asks.
Favian looks surprised at first, before his eyes sadden. “Of course not, Elio.”
Silence stretches around us, as I try to wrap my mind around what just happened, and the conversation the two of them had. Was that why Elio was so nervous when he spotted us? I decide to steer the topic in another direction and continue what Favian suggested. “I am sure I could do with some help,” I muse. “I mean with the horses.”
“Really?” Elio asks hopefully.
“Yes, I just told your brother that two of them might be ready to be ridden soon.” I pause. “But that’s something you need to discuss with him first.”
Elio looks at Favian hopefully. “I promise you I will not neglect my studies!”
Favian smiles at him. “I don’t see why you can’t help Alana. Actually, I find it a very smart idea that one of the first dragon shifters to learn how to ride is Prince Elio.”
“I agree,” I say. “It certainly sets a good example for the others.”
Elio looks delighted, and I promise to set up a good schedule with him so that he can contribute as much as possible. Once he dashes off, I turn to Favian. “What did he mean?” I ask quietly. “With what he said before… about being hit.”
“He wasn’t talking about me,” Favian says evasively. “I never laid a finger on him.”
“I know that,” I say. “But whatdidhe mean?”
“The royal dragons always had a bit of a hands-on approach when… teaching and educating their next generation.”
I don’t pry further, but once more it strikes me how little I know about him, or the dragons in general. They were always a very secluded species, and once they disappeared, everyone thought they went extinct. No one knew much about them in the first place. Favian himself was only a teen when he lost his entire family, was put into a coma, and locked into his mind for his powers. To break him. To take advantage of him and his rare gifts as a blessed dragon.
He didn’t break, though, and that alone is just mind-boggling. I don’t think I could have been that strong.
“I want Elio to feel safe,” Favian says all of a sudden. “I want him to know that he can be himself, and that he can make mistakes, and that I won’t ever hurt him even if I am angry.”
“I am sure he knows that,” I say. “Deep down, he does. I was severely wounded and still recovering when he came to my kingdom, but I remember how highly he spoke of you. All he wanted was for you to return.”
Favian smiles. “He fought well on his own and proved to be really resilient. He is the last sibling I have.” He looks sad, and for a moment, we are silent before he speaks up again. “Say, Alana, I know you are a warrior yourself, but would you mind if I add two of my guards to your… entourage?”
No one has ever used the word entourage in combination with me, and I have to fight hard not to laugh. Sometimes, Favian is so formal. My younger sister, Kilah, would absolutely love this, but I am not so sure if having an entourage really fits me. “To protect me?” I ask.
He tilts his head. “Protecting you is a nice side effect,” he admits. “But I would also like for you to evaluate them. I think they are capable. You know I don’t have any ranked members besides Elio, who is technically still too young. The only other one is my advisor, whom I still am not sure how to feel about.”
