Page 77 of The Silent Mountain
*FAVIAN*
Ican’tshakeoffthefeeling of worry whenever Alana or Elio, the most important people in my life, are not close to me. She left to visit another realm. It’s only for a couple of hours, but still, I am terrified something might happen to her or that she just won’t want to return.
To distract myself from these thoughts, I throw myself into work for a couple of hours, together with Elio, trying to organize a couple of things the new clan members need. Elio has stuck to his promise and is eager to help, doing every task diligently.
Afterwards, I catch up with Ludwig. “Any news about Barbara?” I ask him.
“Unfortunately, not,” he says sadly. “She… she isn’t too well. Erin only allows Frederick and me to visit her. She told me that whatever Barbara suffers from might be contagious, but I can’t just leave her alone. I can’t.”
“It’s scary that there is an illness that affects shifters,” I mutter. “But I believe that Erin is doing everything to help. If Barbara needs something, anything, tell me and I will see that she receives it.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. I know that your support means a lot to her.”
“If you would rather stay with her, I will relieve you from your duties for today,” I tell him.
“Is that truly possible?”
“Yes, I believe she needs support, and if that’s what you want, I won’t stop you.” I look at him thoughtfully. “Because to you, she means something more.”
His face turns red. “Is it that obvious?”
“Not really, but I had a feeling,” I say. “While chosen mates were frowned upon in the past, I think times have changed. We are not that many dragon shifters anymore, so if you want to pursue Barbara and she agrees, then you have my blessing.”
Ludwig stays silent for a while. “It wasn’t always like that,” he admits. “We were just friends. In fact, when Princess Alana arrived, she teased us about our relationship, but we both claimed there was nothing.”
“But there is,” I add.
“When she got sick, I realized I just…” He swallows thickly.
My heart sinks at the expression on his face. This poor guy; this poor couple. How sad that he realized his feelings only now, and how guilty he must feel. “Go to her,” I say. “Stay with her as long as you want.”
“But the princess…“ he mutters weakly. “Barbara and I were her bodyguards.”
“Alana doesn’t really need a bodyguard,” I say. She is stronger than Barbara and Ludwig, though I don’t tell him that. “And for now, I will ask Theodor and Stefan for help, or one of the other warriors. We have more clan members now that we’ve held the ceremony.”
Ludwig takes a deep breath. “Thank you,” he says. “Thank you, Your Highness. This is just… thank you.” He bows deeply to me before turning around and running back to the woman he fell in love with.
My heart sinks further when I watch his back disappearing in the distance. I might not trust witches, and I might not trust Erin fully yet, but one thing I have already realized is that she is skilled and honest, and she doesn’t beat around the bush. She is very worried about Barbara and not hiding her worry. The fact that she even banned Cassie from entering the room says even more. Erin hinted that we might be running out of time to find an antidote to whatever it is that Barbara has.
I brush through my hair in exasperation before tying it back into a ponytail, then I lunge into the air and shift into my dragon. For a couple of minutes, I circle the clan, taking in all the newly inhabited houses that have smoke now coming from their chimneys, and feeling a deep sense of gratitude that so many of the shifters heard my calling and came back to claim their dragon spirits. We are growing in numbers and finally becoming more stable.
But peace is fragile.
Maybe what’s happening with Barbara is truly just a bad coincidence, but seeing how it happened at the same time the cursed birds appeared, and the mare that harassed Alana, I doubt it’s not all related.
I fly a couple of more circles around my kingdom before making my way down to the shore where some of my warriors are currently stationed. Two men are guarding the shore, keeping an eye on what’s going on, while some more shifters are on a platform on the water.
“Your Highness,” Elmar, the elite warrior who is overseeing the group, steps forward to greet me. He looks genuinely happy—and proud—that I am paying them a visit. “It’s such an honor that you came all this way out here.”
“You and your warriors are working hard,” I tell him. “You deserve my respect.” I look around. “Do you have anything to report?”
“Nothing unusual,” the man says. He gestures towards the ocean to the small platform we built to be able to dive and do research. Sometimes, the land is just not enough. “A small group of warriors is currently there,” he tells me what I already know.
“Is there a reason for that?”
“The last group of birds briefly landed there,” he says.
“That’s certainly enough reason for me,” I agree.
