Season’s Dragons: Winter by Toby Yu

Author:Toby Yu [Yu, Toby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12: Family Bonds

My brother’s house was in the outer reaches of Mithil, which meant it was a short walk after the bridge. While royal guards patrolled the streets, they were mostly decorative, more concerned with card games than who was going where.

The streets themselves were different too. Aria wasn’t the only Pact Mage, as a few shared her gemlike eyes. Occasionally someone would point at Aria, but with the same tone as if she was wearing a particularly nice dress. The winter city did indeed never sleep.

Aria had her arms wrapped around me as we made our way to my brother’s home. For the first time in a long time, I saw a relaxed smile on her face as we walked. She wasn’t taking in the sights, nor was she trying to keep us safe. She was unapologetically happy to have her arms wrapped around me and following my lead. I’ve never seen her serene before.

“I’ve never seen you calm before. It’s nice, isn’t it?”

Her eyes perked up as another person with amethyst eyes and dark robes passed by. A soft shade of pink emerged on Aria’s cheek as she snuggled a little tighter.

“It’s nice to belong.” We attracted a few more glances as she rubbed her head on my shoulder affectionately, her blush spreading to me. Damnit! I was supposed to be the one embarrassing her in public, not the other way around.

Soon enough we reached my brother’s home. It was a bit wider than the other homes in this area, no doubt due to my brother’s work on it. There was also a new fence for grazing animals, but we usually used it as our own private archery range for target practice. I pulled a key from my pocket and unlocked the door, surprised I hadn’t lost the thing on the way here.

“And, I’m home!” I stretched my arms, dumping our gear behind my back as Aria followed behind, shyly glancing into my brother’s house. I gave her a look of confusion as she whispered back that she didn’t know what my family would think of her. I gave her a reassuring pat on the head as I closed the door, but she was still clinging behind me like a child.

The place was toasty, being lit by a fireplace that was crackling away. Instead of stiff chairs, they had two beds propped up by a chair for back support, with a leather covering draped over them. They were a curious fusion between chair and bed. Myrtle, my sister-in-law preferred these to regular chairs, and a testament to her creativity, I did too. The only drawback was that they took up far more room than a chair.

The rest of the house was lightly adorned. Few pieces on the walls, though there was always something new each time I came over. This time it was a painting of an elegant white dragon flying over green hills, something Aria eyed with a knowing smirk. They definitely got her shape wrong, and those wings ought to be a lot bigger.

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