Chapter 29: Coming to terms

Givontair: 

I still haven't forgiven Nathaniel, for doubting us. I suppose that it was to be expected. He is a dragon slayer.

 They have silly notions about honor, and who gets to live. Yet, for him to have wanted to make a contract with Erik was too much.

That night, after we are done burying the people we found in the ravine, I went, and slept on the floor of Erik's room. Leaving Nathaniel alone in the room we shared. 

I don't care if his feelings are hurt because of that. He needs to realize that just because we are mates, that doesn't mean I will throw away my freedom for him. 

When I wake the next morning, I can see that Erik has already packed everything. My back is a bit stiff, from the sleeping on the floor. Not that this is my first time doing so. When you are in hiding, you have to avoid the towns and villages. 

I do a slight warm up, to get my blood flowing again. Once I am stretched, I head towards the bathroom. I know for a fact, that the slavers weren't among the corpses. All the bodies we buried yesterday had slave tattoos on them. Most of them showed gashes on their skin, much like Erik's mother. 

After the shower, I go, and make my way to the kitchen. Zachary is making pancakes, while Erik and Nathaniel are in a staring match. I go, and sit by Erik. Showing the necromancer just where do my preferences lie. Nathaniel bows his head. 

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" He asks. I nod. Erik shakes his head. 

"I don't want to lose either of you," Erik says. Nathaniel looks hopeful at that, but I fold my arms over my chest. 

"That all depends on Nathaniel. If he can't look pass something that is out of our control, then we are better off without him," I say, and Nathaniel looks at me then.

He looks lost, and a part of me wants to comfort him. Yet, I can't imagine myself leaving a child all by themselves. If I need to choose, then I will choose Erik. He can't defend himself. Summoning animals or no, he is too vulnerable. 

"Hey, if I may?" Zachary asks, from the stove. I look at him. "If you really want to ditch Nate, you should do it already. Giving him ultimatums like that won't help you much." 

"We don't want to leave Nate," Erik says, and then looks at me. "Right, Giv? You do care about Nate. I mean, you are soulmates!" 

I bite my lower lip. Now, I really need to pick my words. The pull I feel towards Nathaniel is as strong as ever. My inner dragon demands that I make my mate happy. Yet, can I? 

"I don't know Nate all that well," I say, and his hands begin to shake. "But if he would just be more accepting..." 

"So, I am not accepting?" Nathaniel snaps. That surprises me. "I looked the other way, when I found out you were a dragon. Should I look away again, when both you and Erik are disasters waiting to happen?" 

"If you cared..." I begin, but he snorts. 

"It is the two of you who don't care. Don't you know what sort of scare it is for me, to learn that you two might destroy the world?" He stands up then, and picks up his bag. 

"Thank you for healing me," Nathaniel says, as he swings the straps over his shoulder. "Thank you for opening my eyes." 

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I blink at him. He won't leave, will he?

"Where are you going?" I ask him. He doesn't answer, or even look at me. Instead, he marches out of the kitchen. "You are still hurt!" 

My shout doesn't make him come back. If anything, it makes him pick up his pace. When he tries to open the door, he fails. 

"Zachary, open the damned door," Nathaniel yells from the other side of the house. 

"I think not. You come back here, or I will zap you with lightning," Zachary commands him. The next thing I know, there is a lightning bolt in his hands. I stand from my chair. 

"You will not harm my soulmate," even if the word leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, I still say it. Zachary snorts, and then the bolt becomes bigger. 

"He doesn't seem to want you. If he did, he wouldn't be so scared of you and the kid," the wizard says. The bolt flies, and I am quick to force it to hit the wall, with a fireball.

The wall blackens, and Nathaniel comes running. His sword is out. He stares at the wall, and then moves towards Zachary. 

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Nate asks, edging ever closer. Zachary just flips a pancake in response. 

"I figured that, seeing as you won't be their safety net, I can just end the threat now," Zachary says, almost as an afterthought. Nathaniel charges at him, but is stopped by a barrier. Still, he positions himself in such a way, that he will take any upcoming fire or lightning bolts. "It seems you care, little necromancer." 

"I never said I didn't," Nathaniel growls. My eyes go wide, as he prepares a ball of necromantic mana. Just how far is he ready to go, to protect Erik and me? 

"And why do you care?" Zachary asks. My eyes widen. I, too, want to hear Nathaniel's answer. 

"We may be three outcasts, but we can belong to each other. If only we would stop arguing," if I was expecting some grant love confession, this was not it. Yet, Nathaniel is not done. "I want to be there, as Givontair heals people. As Erik begins to follow in his footsteps, and does his best, to help others. I want to be the one to protect them." 

I look at Erik, who has a beaming smile. 

"Nate likes us," the boy murmurs, the awe clear in his voice. "He really does." 

"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Zachary says, as he flips another pancake. "Why do I need to play the bad guy every time, when soulmates don't want to compromise?" 

Nate hurls the necromantic mana at the barrier, and it just gets absorbed. 

"What are you?" Nathaniel asks, as Zachary turns towards him. There is something like a miasma around him, and we see his real form, for the first time.  

 

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