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"You did well," she says.
"I fell," I respond. "I fell from my dragon. I should be dead."
"Why do you think I sent you up with Thrane and Artax?" Her head tilts ever so slightly to the side.
"You knew I would fall," I accuse her and slowly stand to my shaky feet.
"Every Basilius falls their first time." Her eyes soften. "But we are always there to catch our own when they do."
Words fail me. In Midori, when I failed, I was punished. I had to earn my parents' favor back to make up for my shortcomings and misbehaving. Here, there's not one shred of disappointment in my failure. There's an expectation to fall short in order to learn and grow, and now I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to say. As if on cue to shatter the tension brewing, Thrane slides off his dragon and saunters toward us. I don't miss his quirked eyebrow and smug smirk, but despite his mightier-than-thou cadence, I owe him my gratitude.
"Thank you, Thrane," I say, and seemingly catch him off-guard. "Please pass along my gratitude to Artax as well."
Whatever surprise that flashes across his face is gone in an instant and the self-assuredness is firmly back in place. "Let's hope you return the favor one day, should I be in need." He turns to Sylvane and says, "A successful first day, if you ask me."
"Indeed," she agrees. "A successful first day."
Thirty-Four
Atlas
"You fell!?" Eris croaks, slamming her wine glass down on the dinner table.
"Artax caught me – "
Eris points a finger at Shaye, silencing her, before her eyes dart to find mine. "And you let this happen?"
"You should know by now, Eris, I can't control the woman, even if I wanted to." It's honestly all I can say. Shaye is more than capable of making her own decisions, it doesn't mean I have to like them.
"You could have died," Eris presses, her voice soft and nurturing when she refocuses on Shaye.
"I could have," she agrees without hesitation, "but I didn't."
"You are sounding too much like Nyx for my liking," she huffs and Nyx laughs.
"You should have seen her out there," I say, and everyone swivels to give me their undivided attention. I clear my throat, realizing I blurted that thought out loud, but carry on. "She was made for this world of dragons and frost."
"You weren't scared watching her?" Nyx inserts himself into the conversation. I watched his face as Shaye recounted her first day of dragon training to the group during dinner and he was petrified. I know he's come to care for the princess, their friendship is one I envy at times, but I know he was partially thinking of all the punishments and consequences he would face from our uncle if anything had happened to her.
I meet Shaye's line of sight and bob my head. "Of course, I was terrified watching you, but I was also mesmerized and couldn't look away. I have no doubt in my mind that you and Seraxes will do wondrous things together."
A brief pause hovers over the group as Shaye and I soak one another in. She seems slightly taken aback by my confession, but I'm done hiding my feelings. I want her to know how proud I am of her accomplishments and how much I admire and support her. It doesn't matter if I'm scared. I won't be the one holding her back, when I can lift her up.
"This wine is too fruity for me," Ronan hisses and pushes his half-full glass away from him. "I say we men go out for a real drink."
"I'm in," Nyx agrees without missing a beat.
"And what's wrong with the wine here?" Finn's eyebrow quirks upward and Ronan is quick to respond, "We aren't wine men. We're meant to have a good beer and you can only get that at The Frosted Dagger."
"You just want to see that barmaid you met last year," Finn quips back, rolling his eyes. "She probably doesn't work there anymore."
"Just say you hate fun, Finn," Ronan smacks his cousin's bicep.
"I don't hate fun – "
"Good!" Ronan interrupts, leaping to his feet. "So, you'll come with us. Atlas, are you coming?" Before I can answer, Ronan turns to Eris and Shaye, presses his hand to his chest and laments, "I'm afraid it's just us men tonight, ladies. I hope that is alright."
The corner of my mouth ticks upward when his sarcastic tone is met by Shaye crinkling her nose in disgust.
