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Things had been going well. Matthias had been mostly quiet, but Samuel and Thorne had been talking. It had been awkward initially, but that quickly faded, and it had been fascinating listening to what Samuel told them about his birth clan. It explained a lot about how he behaved, and Matthias thought that Thorne had realized that, too. He didn’t know if that would solve all the problems between Thorne and Samuel, but it didn’t have to. It was clear that they were both softening toward each other, and in the end, that was all that mattered. They were giving each other a chance, which was all Matthias had wanted.
“I think you’re right,” Samuel said with a sigh. “I’ve never decorated anything before. I’m not very artistic.”
Thorne gently patted him on the shoulder. “It’s all right. Not everyone has the same strengths. I can’t shift into a dragon and fly.”
Samuel snorted. “Well, you definitely can’t shift, but you can fly.”
“I can’t. I’ve never taken a plane.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Samuel’s eyes glittered. “But fine. What else do you have for me? Since I can’t decorate for shit.”
“You can help me move this furniture.” Thorne guided Samuel toward the other side of the room. Matthias watched them go, then grabbed more things to create another centerpiece. Apparently, he was good at it, and he wanted to help Thorne.
So did Samuel. It had been a surprise, but a pleasant one. Samuel was working hard to help Thorne, which wasn’t something Matthias or Thorne had expected, but he was there, and he was trying. That was what mattered. Matthias could see how important this was to Thorne, which would explain why he felt more kindly toward Samuel.
Matthias loved that Thorne cared about the mages enough to do this for one of them. He hadn’t realized it before, but then, he hadn’t spent a lot of time with Thorne. To him, Thorne had just been the guy in charge of the castle. He was the one who organized the cleaning teams, who made sure Jillian had everything she wanted in the kitchen, who was always there, cleaning up and helping when someone needed something. Matthias was ashamed to say that he hadn’t paid much attention to Thorne until recently, but now, he did.
He’d been spending some time with Thorne. Not as much time as he was spending with Samuel, but enough. It had helped him with letting go of Parker, at least a little bit. When they’d lived outside of the castle, they’d basically been all the other had. They hadn’t really had other friends or family, and they’d been extremely close. Things had changed since they moved into the castle, and in a good way, especially for Parker. Matthias wanted that for him, but he also wanted that for himself, and maybe he was creating it. He was definitely making more friends, which was a good thing.
He bit his lower lip and looked at the corner, where Thorne was trying to get Samuel to set down a table. Samuel kept putting it in the wrong spot, and Matthias wasn’t sure if he was doing it on purpose. Thorne was irritated, but their bickering stayed just that. They didn’t start actually fighting, which was a relief.
Because Matthias didn’t want them to fight. He wanted them to get along and for both of them to get along with him. He liked this. He liked spending time with both of them, separately and together.
He liked them.
He blinked at the fake flower he was holding. The thought had come suddenly, but he couldn’t deny that was how he felt, or that it was how he’d felt for a little while now. He liked both Samuel and Thorne, and not just as friends. He liked them in different ways, yet at the same time, in the same way. It was a really odd sensation, but also, it wasn’t. Matthias had had crushes before. He knew how they felt, and they felt the same way he was feeling now. Usually, they only involved one other guy.
Not this time.
He looked up again at Samuel and Thorne. They were finally sliding the table into place, and Samuel bumped his shoulder against Thorne’s. He said something that made Thorne laugh, and the sound made Matthias feel all warm inside.
He was in trouble, wasn’t he? He liked both of these men, and while they weren’t at each other’s throats anymore, there was no way for him to know how they felt about each other. It was a complication he hadn’t expected, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
He sighed and looked back down. For now, the best way to deal with it would be to ignore it. He had decorating to do, and he, Thorne, and Samuel were all busy. Matthias could focus on this later, once he was alone in his room. He would have all the time and opportunity he wanted to freak out.
Because he would freak out. He didn’t even care that he liked two guys. It was the two guys in question that he didn’t know what to do about. Was there even anything he should do about it?
He didn’t know, and he wasn’t going to find out anytime soon.
Chapter Seven
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THE DRAGONS DIDN’T usually shift in the courtyard. From what Thorne understood, it was easier for them to push themselves into the air from one of the towers. It made sense, and it also explained why he was startled when he looked out the window as he walked down the hallway and saw a dragon standing there.
He stopped moving, unable to look away. He was starting to recognize the dragons. Most of them had been living at the castle for a little while now, so he could usually tell if he was standing in front of Parker or Bennett. He could also tell that right now, he was looking at Samuel.
He was gorgeous. His wings weren’t spread, probably because of the confined space of the courtyard, but he was still moving lazily, sprawled on the ground like a massive cat, his head tilted toward the sun. Thorne was so fascinated that it took him a second to realize that Samuel wasn’t there on his own.
“I need a ladder,” someone said.
Matthias appeared at Samuel’s side. He had his hands on his hips and was looking up at Samuel’s back.
The window was open, and Thorne leaned closer to get a better look. Were they going to fly? He knew that the mages flew with their dragons regularly, but Matthias wasn’t Samuel’s mage. In fact, he was human, like Thorne.
Samuel was the only dragon at the castle who didn’t have a mage. There were no mages available to him, either. Did that mean that eventually, he would have to leave to find one? Thorne wasn’t quite sure how that worked. From what he could see, mages and their dragons cared a lot for each other. In fact, the mages and their dragons were in love, all the ones who lived here. How different was that from other clans? Would he dare ask Samuel?
He just wanted to know because he liked to plan ahead. Jillian would want to know if one of them left. As far as Thorne knew, Samuel wasn’t planning on doing that, but now that Carlyle the Menace was gone, maybe he would. Maybe he would feel like he could finally leave Winter on his own. It wasn’t dangerous anymore. None of them were in danger anymore.
