"What's wrong?"

  Breakfast had been delicious. At least, Aytin was pretty sure it had been. The rabbit was picked clean, with nothing but bones left. He couldn't actually remember eating any, though. His attention was elsewhere.

  "Tin?"

  "Huh?" He blinked and focused on his girlfriend. They were sitting at a small fire, a little apart from the rest of the camp.

  "You've been staring off at nothing. And, you only said a handful of words all morning. Did I do something wrong?"

  "No, no." He forced himself to smile, reassuringly. "I'm just... thinking."

  Rina cocked her head in mock confusion. "No, really? I couldn't tell."

  That drew a small snort and a flick of his ears. "Were you always like this? Or did I teach you?"

  "Ask Attalee. She's been around since I was a hatchling and knows all the stories. She is talking to you again, yes?"

  "Yeah." The senior huntress wasn't avoiding him anymore. Not since she made her priorities clear. It wasn't exactly a friendly relationship, but they understood one another. "I'll ask her later."

  "Good." She gave a firm nod. "Now, what's wrong?"

  Aytin let a breath hiss through his teeth. "It's Faelon."

  Her expression sobered. "We've noticed that the two of you..." she trailed off, looking uncomfortable as she hunted for the right way to put it. "I mean, it was hard not to see that something might be wrong. Did... did we offend him?"

  "No. No, it's nothing your tribe did." He could put an end to that rumor at least.

  Rina relaxed at that. "We thought he might be angry that there were so few volunteers."

  "Don't worry. He understands that the tribe can't send everyone."

  "Okay. Then what is Dragon Faelon upset about?"

  As much as Aytin's grasp of the wildling tongue had improved in recent days, he still struggled with complex subjects. Rather than try, he just answered, "Me. Mostly."

  Her eyes widened and ears stiffened. "But you are his Companion!"

  "Yeah, and don't I know it." Aytin had to struggle to keep the bitterness from coloring his words. "We disagree on something. Very strongly."

  "I just thought that you and him... that a Companion had to do as their Dragon said."

  "He is not my..." Aytin wanted to say master, but the word wasn't coming to him and he didn't feel like dealing with the back and forth. Or the theological implications it might come with. "Do you always agree with the Matriarchs?"

  Rina shook her head. "No. But I do what I'm ordered, even if I'm not happy."

  "No matter what?"

  She opened her mouth, closed it, and then narrowed her eyes. "What did Faelon tell you to do?"

  The fire cracked and popped and nearby the camp was full of the sound of wildlings finishing morning chores. They would be expecting instructions soon. Aytin wasn't sure what he would tell them. For that, he would need to talk to Faelon. And before that...

  "He wants me to keep away from you."

  Rina looked blank for a moment, and then her mouth dropped open like he had just slapped her across the face. "Dragon Faelon... hates me?"

  "No! No, not exactly. But he thinks you're trying to... to make me do things that you want."

  "I'm not!"

  "Of course I know that! But Faelon wouldn't listen! He seemed to think that you were only getting close to me because I was his Companion. And because we had so many things for gifts."

  "That's... no."

  But this time her protest wasn't quite as forceful, and Aytin narrowed his eyes. "Faelon is wrong, isn't he?"

  "He is. He is wrong now."

  Aytin felt his stomach congealing into a frozen lump, like he had just swallowed a mouthful of frost powder. "And before now?"

  Right then, Rina looked like a rat caught in a trap. She twisted and her eyes darted to look at anything except Aytin. But an invisible force held her rooted to the spot.

  Finally, in a small voice, she answered, "It's not far from how it started."

  "It's not." In contrast, Aytin's voice was level. Calm. Emotionless.

  "We didn't want you to leave! And... and I thought you were... you were cute." She offered a weak smile. It died when he didn't return it.

  "Please, believe me. It's all real! I didn't expect it... You don't think I'd... that I'd go this far just because I was ordered?"

  "You said you'd do what you were told."

  "Not that. Never that!" She shook her head frantically. "You're more than that to me! Much, much more!"

  "Fuck." The curse wasn't in wildling, but Aytin had no doubt that Rina could understand him. "Just... fuck it all."

  "Aytin." She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. And when he didn't stop her, she stood and hugged him. Aytin didn't fight, but he didn't join in, either. He just sat there, staring into the distance like some sort of fleshy statue.

  Slowly, he extracted himself from the embrace. Rina looked on the verge of tears, but he just shook his head.

  "I... I can't right now."

  She just looked at him in confusion, and he realized that he was still speaking in his native language. He repeated himself, and Rina cringed.

  "Please! They just wanted me to be your friend! Is that wrong? And... and..." Her voice caught before she whispered, "I think I love you."

  It wasn't a familiar word, but he could figure out what she meant. And the huntress looked utterly miserable. Her ears drooped and her eyes were downcast with tears at their corners.

  But Aytin couldn't bring himself to go on. "No. Maybe, but... not now."

  He turned around and stomped away into the woods.

  "Aytin!"

  But her call went ignored. And, thankfully, she didn't follow. He didn't know what he would have done if she had.

  'Probably broken down crying,' he thought, numbly. 'And wouldn't that have been perfect?'

  The forest around him was incongruously cheerful. A bright sun shone around a scattering of high clouds, casting dappled patterns through the trees. Birds chirped and a few animals rustled in the brush, hunting for fallen nuts.

  No one bothered him. One wildling - a sentry or just someone out doing camp chores - waved as he passed, but she didn't challenge him. 'Being the Companion has its advantages after all.'

  Despite everything, his path wasn't random. He managed to keep enough sense to not wander off into the forest alone. Instead, he made a wide arc, and eventually ended up on the far side of the camp.

  Faelon was watching as the dragonette emerged from the brush and walked right up to stare him in the face.

  "Fuck you," Aytin said, his casual tone a wall straining against the emotions inside of him. "Fuck you, but... but you were right. About Rina."

  The wall broke, and Aytin hid his face to keep the tears from showing. With teeth clenched, he wiped his eyes roughly against his shirt before looking up.

  He expected self-satisfaction. An "I told you so." But there wasn't a hint of smugness on the dragon's expression as he eased down to the dragonette's level. Only sympathy.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "What happened?"

  There wasn't much to explain. It still took several minutes of starts and stops for Aytin to tell the whole story. Every so often, the mess of feelings inside of him would boil over and he would have to stop, looking away in shame.

  Faelon was silent throughout the entire story. Not judging, just listening. That made it easier. A bit, at least. It wasn't until the end that he finally spoke. "I am sorry for you."

  "Are you?" There weren't any tears left in the dragonette's eyes. He felt numb. Like he was gliding on a breeze.

  "I am." The massive face worked in a moment. "I have seen many go through this over the years. It is never easy."

  "Yeah?"

  "You are young. You will learn."

  "We'll see." Aytin sighed, long and deep. "I think she really does care for me."

  Faelon fluttered his remaining wing in a draconic shrug. "What if she does?"

  "I think I still care for her."

  They were both silent for a long time after that. Not far away, a handful of wildlings watched the exchange. But there was no way they could understand the conversation.

  Eventually, Faelon blew a snort of air from his nostrils. "I would advise you to move on. But I think you have guessed that already."

  "It wasn't hard."

  "I will not stop you if you decide otherwise. That did not work well last time."

  Aytin winced. "Faelon, I'm sorry. I should have-"

  "No," the dragon insisted. "The mistake was mine. I did not realize how much you cared for the wildling. I should have seen it, and been less blunt."

  "And I should have listened."

  "That would have helped." There was a hint of gentle teasing in the words, and the edges of Aytin's lips twitched in response. "Nonetheless, it sounds as if she may be sincere in her feelings for you. And it may be that she is not as self-serving as I thought."

  "Maybe." He wasn't sure. Not really.

  "Then take some time. A day. More would be better, but..."

  "But we don't exactly have a lot of time," Aytin finished.

  "We do not. And if you need company during that time, at least you are aware of the consequences."

  "Ha. Consequences." The laugh was bitter, without any real humor behind it. "Not the normal sort of consequences when it comes to a girl. A little late in the year for that, anyway."

  Aytin scrunched his eyes and messaged the base of his horns. "I still don't know how I feel about it all. Part of me thinks I'm being an idiot. Like I overreacted. But I don't know."

  "Wait a day," Faelon repeated. "Do not make any decisions now. Let your head clear, and then consider what happened. And what you want to do next."

  "I will. Thanks, Faelon." He reached out and put a hand on the dragon's bulk. "And, again. I'm sorry."

  "I would be a fool not to forgive you." His tone turned wry as he continued, "After all, who would I talk to if I did not? The past few days have not been easy."

  "Yeah. I bet." The dragon had complained about just one night alone. And then Aytin had abandoned him once again. A rush of guilt hit him and he squirmed uncomfortably, hunting for something to say before he remembered all of his plans.

  "I, uh, did want to talk to you. About something else, I mean."

  "Oh?"

  "At least four of the wildlings can see in the dark. The ones here, not just in the tribe."

  Faelon dipped his head in understanding. "Not an uncommon magic. I believe that Vin had it as well."

  Aytin remembered the guard, a younger woman who had accompanied Bush's singing with her flute all those weeks ago.

  "But with so many, we could fight Xantha at night."

  "They would have sentries, and I would not be surprised if at least one of their number could see in the dark as well. Or more."

  "No, I mean, we ambush them." Aytin was starting to regain some of his enthusiasm. He had laid awake, going through scenarios and fleshing out the bones of his idea.

  "We start a fire," he explained. "A big fire. One they can see from the keep. We'll be waiting."

  "They will send scouts, not their dragon."

  "And if we see them coming, we disappear into the woods. We don't fight them without Kalthor there."

  "I see. It could work. But..." The dragon paused, and then seemed to choose his next words carefully. "It gambles much on the brigands doing what we want them to. They may choose a different option."

  "Like what?"

  "If those scouts find a big fire with no one there, would that not be just a little suspicious?"

  "Okay, that's fair. But-"

  "And I cannot easily disappear into the woods," Faelon pressed. "Or do so without leaving a trace. If we do not attack, they would know a dragon was there. At best."

  Aytin sighed. "I get it. It was a bad idea."

  But the dragon twitched his head in negation. "No. It is the bones of an idea." He was quiet for a moment, save for a soft hum in his massive chest. "You are certain that they will investigate a fire?"

  This was something that Aytin had considered long and hard. "I think so. My parents won't have paid the ransom - I'm sure of that - and they'll come back to me and Nyx and Zan and the Sisters missing. They'll have to think that they found your body and escaped with the cargo. Probably tossed me over the side of the island when they did."

  "Then why chase down fires?"

  "Desperation. Maybe whoever's there knows what happened while they were gone. Or has some idea of where you crashed, since there's no way four dragonettes could have gotten much of the cargo off of the island. Or maybe they just have something to steal? Some merchant blown off course."

  That earned him a nod. "Fair. You did spend some time among them. You have an idea of how they think."

  "Yeah. Most of them are in it for the gold. And they won't have a single copper to show for this. They'll be ready to riot. We may just be able to watch as they tear themselves apart."

  "They will not." Faelon sounded certain of that. "Whichever side their dragon supports, that is the one the others will follow."

  "Good point."

  "Regardless of who is in charge, they will still be cautious. That likely means scouts and someone high above to bolt if anything happens."

  "Or all of them fly out to it?"

  "Or that, unlikely as it seems."

  Aytin shook his head. "I actually think they might. They have to go investigate a fire-'' He was cut off by a hard look from Faelon and, after a moment's pause, he nodded. "They'll probably investigate a fire. Definitely the next day. But they're going to be at least a little nervous. Wouldn't they go in force?"

  "Perhaps. And criminals are aggressive when they believe they hold an advantage. But after so many setbacks, would they truly believe that? If we guess wrong and they do not send the blue, surprise will be lost."

  "So no matter what, you need to be where Kalthor is. Which... is the keep."

  "You have another idea?" Faelon asked when the dragonette didn't continue. Aytin just held up a hand in response.

  When his thoughts proved insufficient, he knelt down and swept a section of ground free of dead leaves and pine needles. With a stick, he started sketching.

  Actually, sketching was an exaggeration. Faelon turned his head this way and that, trying to make sense of the mess of lines and dots and squiggles. But it helped Aytin center his thoughts, and after a minute he straightened and dusted off his hands.

  "Okay, so I haven't thought this all the way through, but here's what I have.

  "You hide as close to the keep as possible. We can't actually hide you in it because we don't know when the brigands will be showing up, but we can get you to that thicket where the creek flows out of the clearing. With a few wildlings and at least one who can see in the dark.

  "The rest of the wildlings set up a few campfires and make sure they can be seen from the keep." He used his stick as a pointer, and tapped a drawing that might charitably represent rising smoke. "Both of our groups will be able to see what they send.

  "If Kalthor stays, the wildlings at the fires ambush the party. Then they fly back in their place. Maybe come in with firepots to drop on the keep." The pointer moved to indicate a big triangular mark. "As soon as your group sees them coming, you start running for the keep. You think you can cross the fields in a couple of minutes?"

  Faelon considered the question and then flexed his massive legs. "Maybe even a little faster than that, now that I have had time to heal."

  "Well, either way, their attention will be on the returning scouting party. Hopefully, at least. And you can get there before Kalthor has a chance to take flight."

  Aytin paused, inviting comments.

  "It requires much to go right," Faelon eventually said. Before his words could sink in, he added, "But it could be workable. Most worrying is that we would be depending on their dragon being slow to react. Unlikely if they are on guard. But... I recall you said that there were wildlings willing to act as lancers?"

  "Uh, probably." That was also a part of his plan. Just one he had hoped not to have to use. The idea still made him uncomfortable.

  But Faelon didn't have that hangup. "They could be useful under the circumstances. Now, what would you do if they sent out their dragon?"

  "We take the keep." A raised eye ridge showed that explanation was insufficient, so he explained, "They won't have left more than a few guards. Maybe no one. The wildlings at the fires will scatter and take the long way to the keep as soon as they see Kalthor coming." He made a wide arc from the smoke squiggles to the central triangle. "Meanwhile, the ones with you ambush any stragglers. When Kalthor comes back, you give him a face full of dragon fire."

  "Again, much must go in our favor. And they will be cautious upon discovering the camp empty. But... it may be workable." Faelon snorted, earning a dirty look as the puff of air sent leaves blowing across the sketch. "And if they remain in the keep we try again another night?"

  Aytin nodded. "When they investigate during the day, they'll just find a campsite. Hopefully that's enough to make them curious enough to fly out the next night."

  "'Hopefully' is not an encouraging word to apply to a plan," Faelon remarked.

  "Well, then hopefully you have a better idea?"

  "No. Perhaps some additions. And we may yet come up with something better. For now, this provides a chance at success. But..."

  When the dragon didn't immediately continue, Aytin raised an eyeridge. "What?"

  "Should things go against us, and they realize I am here before we are ready, I want you to leave me."

  "Faelon-"

  But he was insistent. "Go with the wildlings. Hide. Do not throw your life away."

  Aytin shook his head, hard. "We already talked about this. I'm not leaving you."

  "And what about them?" A flick of the dragon's snout indicated the encamped wildlings. "They will follow us into disaster. Will you let them?"

  "That- no, I... I..." Aytin glared at his companion.

  Faelon met the glare, and shook his head gently. "If the time comes, you will make the right decision. Live."

  But the dragonette stood firm under that baleful gaze. "I'd rather not have to make that decision,"

  "As would I."

  "Then maybe we should try to keep from having to." Aytin's words rang with finality and, after a moment, Faelon gave a small nod. "Now, you said you had some ideas?"

  As the two started discussing details, Aytin was almost able to forget Rina and the roiling pit of emotions she had left deep inside of him.