Wind and Stone

Chapter 9: Lochlann

Chapter 9: Lochlann

“Just eat,” said Arvi, pushing aside their empty bowl and pulling a paper closer. “I thought I was slow.”

Lochlann poked at his oatmeal, not very hungry. He hadn’t been this disappointed in a while, which wasn’t particularly surprising considering usually it was difficult for him to get anyone to flirt with him. But discovering that both the men who had been were unavailable—and seeing each other—well, that was a bigger blow than usual.

“What is it?”

When Lochlann glanced up it was to see Arvi’s concerned face. They got like that often enough—the little sibling trying to fix everything for the older brother. It wasn’t that Lochlann couldn’t stand on his own, but he tended to let Arvi look out for him. They liked doing it, and Lochlann liked the indication that someone cared.

“Is it your job? When we return to Lethrin, I can have a word with Bella—”

“No,” said Lochlann, looking away. “I can get my job back on my own, Arvi, thanks. I got it to begin with.”

“I know,” said Arvi, frowning down at their rough sketches of Teorg. “Which is why I’m confused. What’s going on?”

Lochlann hesitated. He normally didn’t let Arvi in on most of his relationships—generally only if they got serious—and almost never on anyone he was lusting after unless he wanted advice on how to talk to them. But things seemed a little different now. He’d agreed to go off on some kind of mission that could get him killed, and he figured Arvi ought to know he was only being glum in a ridiculous sense before he left them. He didn’t want the idea of some big secret that didn’t exist to weigh on them if he never came back.

“I didn’t realize Akton and Talfryn were a couple.”

Arvi grinned.

“Which one are you interested in?” When Lochlann sat back in his chair, Arvi’s grin widened. “Both?”

“It’s pointless—”

“That’s why you were in a great mood yesterday until they left. Ouch—but eat your breakfast anyway. Can’t trek well on an empty stomach.”

Lochlann glared at his sibling, but they were already back at work on their map. He felt like s**t. Arvi never made mistakes like this. Maybe he spent too much time alone decorating cakes. He stirred at his cold oats forcefully, not looking up as Wren came inside.

“Are they not here yet?” she asked, adding some herbs she’d picked to her pack. Arvi began to gather up their work and store it away.

“No,” they said.

“We should go without them,” said Lochlann. “They don’t want to be here anyway.”

“You and I can’t do this alone,” said Wren. “We need them.”

“I’d rather not travel with them.”

Wren stared at him, then glanced over at Arvi.

“He’s heartbroken they’re together,” they said.

“Arvi,” said Lochlann, the word coming out in a snarl.

Arvi shrugged. “Wren has a right to know why her people won’t get along.”

“And I have a right to some privacy.”

Wren pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes briefly.

“Quiet,” she said, and Lochlann shut up. “Siblings. Glad all mine flew off in separate directions.”

“Glad mine’s leaving today,” said Lochlann in a mumble.

“I heard that, and I’m not.” Arvi flipped the top of their pack shut and grinned at the frown on Wren’s face. “Really, do you expect me to go happily running off back to Lethrin?”

“There’s a war brewing,” said Wren. “It’s safer.”

“I’m safer alone on the roads to Lethrin?”

“You travel all the time,” said Lochlann.

“Which is why you won’t have to worry about me keeping up.” Arvi confidently listed off their reasoning to an unimpressed Wren. “I’m very good with directions; I won’t get lost. I won’t slow you down. I may not be a shifter, but trust me when I say I have my uses.”

“How much does this have to do with your desire for maps of the Dragon Realm?” asked Wren.

“There’s some desire there, yes,” said Arvi, shrugging. “I suspect they would sell well. Beyond that, I’m beginning to run out of nearby places to travel.”

Lochlann stared at Arvi. He knew Wren had been using them somewhat—luring Lochlann along with his sibling, who’d been drawn in by the promise of a new map or two—but he was sure she never meant to take them along into the Dragon Realm. For all she said she was a good judge of people, she must have miscalculated somewhat when it came to Arvi.

“You’ll likely die,” she said, blunt, straightforward. Arvi shrugged.

“Please,” said Lochlann. “Go home.”

“I’d rather not,” said Arvi. “And I’ll take the chance. You don’t have to take me with, but I’ll follow you if you won’t let me walk with you. I think that increases my odds of being injured.” They paused. “I brought my knives. I’m pretty accurate with them.”

Wren breathed in.

“If you’re with us you follow my lead,” she said, and Arvi nodded. Lochlann gaped.

“Wait,” he said, “you can’t—”

The door to the front of the newly-founded library opened and Talfryn entered, followed by a scowling Akton. They were dressed for travel and carried packs and bedrolls—Akton had a sword, too, that was so fine Lochlann had to assume the queen herself had given it to him. He switched his gape to them.

Neither Talfryn nor Akton looked happy. The latter remained just inside the building while the former crossed to the now-empty kitchen table and pulled out Queen Ylenia’s official letter. Talfryn then pulled out a piece of paper, unfolded it, and glanced around.

“You packed up your ink,” he said, and Arvi made a face but retrieved some for him. As he wrote, Lochlann looked from him to Akton and back.

“Does this mean you’re choosing to reply to Ylenia’s summons?” he asked. Everything would be much easier to handle if he didn’t have to also deal with frustrating desires around learning how to use his shifter powers to kill a dragon.

“I’m replying, yes,” said Talfryn.

“But apparently we’re going with you,” said Akton. He sounded downright pissed. Lochlann could see it—Talfryn decided, Akton felt he had to go along with it. But he’d threatened to leave Talfryn if he went with Wren. If that was the case, maybe Lochlann still had a chance with one of them.

It was a selfish thought. But Lochlann realized he wasn’t the only one who was thinking such things—Wren’s face brightened into a small yet supremely smug smile. She’d won. She’d gotten all her shifters, and now she was about to get her dragon, too. Lochlann should be concerned, he knew, but all he felt was a whirlwind of confusion and excitement. He wasn’t sure what was happening to his life any longer. A month ago he would have assured anyone asking that he fully intended to bake cakes his entire life, maybe open his own shop one day. And now…

“There,” said Talfryn, passing ink and pen back to Arvi. “I’ve explained the situation to Ylenia. I think…She would agree with you, if she had the time to talk it over with you, Wren.”

Wren burst into laughter, unexpected and unsettling. It occurred to Lochlann that she might be relieved that no one had backed out.

“You presume to know what Queen Ylenia thinks?” she asked.

“Just a hunch. I’ve met her and recently she seems keen on disrupting norms. Maybe when this is over you ought to speak with her. You might find you like her as much as you once did.”

“I doubt that,” said Wren, her amusement gone in an instant and replaced with distance. When the ink dried Talfryn folded the paper back up and tucked it away.

“I have one request,” he said. “Wherever we’re headed, we pass through Ivels on the way.”

“The only person we trust to see to it this gets to Ylenia is there,” said Akton from across the building. “We have to give the message to her.”

Wren agreed immediately.

“I can work with that,” she said. “Ivels is on the way to where we’re going and it should only cost us a day, maybe less if we can make good time and you don’t mind losing a little sleep.” She motioned with a hand and crossed to where Akton was standing. “I’m afraid you’ll have to leave your horses. Apart from none of us having any, once we cross into the Dragon Realm they’ll be targets for meat.”

Arvi hefted their packs and Lochlann swung his up onto his shoulders, too. It took him a little longer to adjust everything around his smaller, less mobile left arm, but he preferred to do it himself.

“Dragon Realm,” said Akton, shaking his head. He still looked pissed. “We’re all going to die, aren’t we?”

“I’d love to see that map,” said Arvi, eyes lighting up. “How detailed is it?”

“I don’t have a map of it,” said Wren. “I have my memories, and I have my ways. You’ll likely be able to find a map if you want one, but my priority is to talk to someone else who knows, if she’s still alive. After that we should have enough information to get us where we need to be.”

“And just where are we going to find this person?” asked Akton.

“Yskorr,” said Wren, and pulled open the door to lead the way out of Teorg.