While the Council Elders were having a long discussion about everything Kael did and how to react to it accordingly,
the man in question was flying on top of Igni.
Of course, with Igni’s speed, they should have gotten where they wanted to go a few minutes ago, but the Dragon was purposefully moving at a slower pace and using a longer, rounder route.
Was it because the Dragon wanted to spend more ti with his Father?
No, the Dragon had his fill, especially today, when he spent so much ti with him. The Dragon was actually quite happy. Right now, he was more worried about Lavinia.
The Mage had been silent ever since they took off. His Father too wasn’t... alright right now, especially after everything he did today, so in the end, the Dragon decided to let his Father and the Mage have so personal, alone ti.
Flap
With that thought in his mind, he beat his wings in a steady rhythm through the grey sky, making sure his movents did not disturb the two sitting above him. The wind rushed past their bodies, pulling at cloaks and hair. The world below was white and still. The only sound that could be heard was the wingbeat and the low rush of air around Igni’s scales.
Lavinia sat behind Kael, staring at his wide back with a complicated look on her face. She still couldn’t forget what she saw today...
She had seen the gentle Kael, she had even seen the fierce Kael, but...
She had never seen the Kael she saw today...
Cold, emotionless... cruel even.
For a mont, the look on Kael’s face reminded her of her Father, of the ti when her "kind" Father revealed his true face and enslaved her.
She shivered at how similar the two things were, the man she trusted the most in her life... turning into a monster she couldn’t recognize...
The Mage gulped, feeling goosebumps all over her body. The mory of Draksis’s scream still rang in her ears, the sll of burnt flesh clung to her nose, and the sight of Kael tearing off Draksis’s arm with that cruel look on his face...
It was all in her head, still fresh.
"Where’s Nyrri?"
Suddenly, Kael asked a question in a flat voice, finally breaking the long silence.
Of course, he already knew the answer to the question. He had left Nyrri behind because of the intense fear of losing Igni he felt before, but the mont he ca to his senses, he asked Imperia about him, and the ever-so-responsible Ant already had more than a few Ants tailing the Laviatharid, who was being taken care of by Lavinia.
"I left him at the Elders’ block,"
Lavinia answered softly.
"The Elders’ block?"
Kael frowned.
"Why?"
He asked.
"I went there after everything that happened and took Nyrri with . They asked if I ca to give them rations. I denied, saying that you were a little busy and would return soon.
I could sense that so of them were a little restless, so I left Nyrri there before I returned to the Council. His presence seed to calm them."
The Mage explained.
Then, with an uncertain look on her face, she added another point.
"And... I wanted him away from the Council."
The woman then turned silent, not saying anything else, but Kael knew what she ant.
Despite everything they had done, in the end, they were still outsiders here, especially in the Council, the place that feels threatened by the power they bring.
After what Igni did to Draksis, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the Council, in a mont of anger, attacked Lavinia. And while Lavinia was strong enough to take care of herself, Nyrri wasn’t the sa.
Leaving him with the Elderlies, the people who had blind faith in them and would not turn against him any ti soon, was a much safer option.
"Good."
Kael nodded.
"Mm."
Lavinia nodded back and—
"..."
"..."
Silence crept back between them.
Igni’s wings spread, gliding for a stretch. Snow fell in slow, lazy sheets. The world looked soft from up here, like nothing bad had ever touched it.
Lavinia watched Kael’s neck, the line of his jaw just visible when he turned a little to the left. She could not see his face from where she sat.
For the first ti in a long while...
Being with Kael felt... distant.
The Mage gulped in hesitation. Soon, however, a determined look appeared on her face and—
"Kael,"
She called in a soft voice.
"Are you alright?"
She asked.
And Kael...
He didn’t answer.
Not at first.
His right hand flexed on the ridge of Igni’s scales, then stilled.
Flap
Another long beat of wings.
Another gust of wind.
Then finally, Kael turned, twisting at the waist so he could look back at her.
And the mont he did, Lavinia’s eyes widened.
"Kael..."
She called out.
Noticing his trembling mouth, the shine on his lashes, his usually calm, steady face seed shaken. His cheeks were wet, his eyes were filled with guilt and... fear.
Lavinia froze at that sight.
From behind, she couldn’t see anything. Kael’s cape had hidden his trembling shoulders, but now, when she was seeing him as he was...
She finally realized what was happening.
The cold, cruel man she saw in the courtyard, the man that reminded her of her Father...
Now stared at her with such a... weak look on his face, his body trembling without stop. He tried to speak, but his throat closed. No words ca out.
He swallowed, tried again, but again—
Nothing.
He seed... ashad—no, guilty.
And Lavinia...
She didn’t say or ask anything, she just leaned forward, moved her arms through his cape, and wrapped her arms around him, placing her cheek on his back as she tightened her hug even further.
And finally,
Kael broke down.
His body now trembled even more strongly as tears rolled out from his eyes.
"I had to,"
He forced out the words in a rough voice.
"I had to do sothing."
Lavinia gently moved her hands inside his shirt and patted his chest, tightening their hug even further.
"I know,"
She nodded.
"He... he kept pushing.
I was able to take it, I would have been able to take it in the future too, b-but my Igni cannot.
Igni is a Dragon, a being born with inherent pride, a-and I do not want to constantly crush that pride by being a weak father who is constantly being pushed back by others.
That will break my Igni.
Even today, my Igni ran away just because he retaliated against a man who constantly pressed his Father. What child would possibly need to run after doing what he believed was right...?
He ran not because he was wrong, but because his Father was too weak to stand up for him.
I... I actually shouted and glared at my child instead of understanding why he did what he did...
I... I failed as a Father..."
Kael let out his true feelings. More tears stread down as he said these words. Igni, who was hearing everything, stayed silent.
Because of their bond, he already knew what his Father had been holding back all this while. He also knew his Father wasn’t actually blaming him, he was just blaming himself.
Sothing that pained the Dragon as well, but sowhere in his heart, the Dragon too understood how important this mont—these emotions his Father was going through—was.
Igni knew he would protect his Father every single ti but... his Father needed to protect himself too.
And he could not do it by being excessively kind.
Igni had been observing his Father for a long ti. The Dragon had seen how he hesitates every ti he moves, how killing a few humans gives him constant nightmares, and how this world... affects his mind.
To avoid all that, his Father needed to grow.
He was a perfect Father, but now, it was ti for him to beco a perfect Warrior and Leader as well.
This was half the reason Igni acted like he did today.
"You did not."
As Kael let out his feelings, Lavinia caught them all and answered in a light, gentle tone.
"You did not fail as a Father.
You did not fail as anything.
You noticed a weakness, you noticed how your actions weren’t just affecting you, but the people you care for, and you decided to change.
You decided to grow.
This only makes you better,
More perfect than you already are."
The Mage spoke in a soft voice, words that Igni wholeheartedly agreed with. Of course, the Dragon still only nodded in his head and stayed silent. It wasn’t his mont, it was his Father’s and Lavinia’s.
He just needed to continue what he had been doing and circle the Heights for the fourth ti.
"I am not perfect."
Kael answered quickly, and at those words, Lavinia just chuckled as she rubbed her cheek on his back and—
"You are.
You are more than perfect.
You just do not realize it."
She answered with a beautiful smile on her face, a smile that Kael could not see.
Her face flushed red, thinking about thoughts she shouldn’t be thinking, especially not at a ti like this.
But at the sa ti, she also trembled. Now, her eyes reflected self-bla.
To think...
To think she compared this man with that Father of hers...
Just how little faith did she have in him...?
In a man who did everything he could for her sake and completely changed her life, making her feel emotions she had never felt in her long life.
"...I am sorry."
She apologized out of nowhere, gulping as she cursed herself for doing what she did.
"Hmm? What?"
Kael frowned, not knowing where this ca from.
"Nothing."
Lavinia shook her head.
"I am just saying you are perfect.
You shouldn’t regret what you did.
You did what you did for your Family—
For us."
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