I can read in my brother’s words and his magery how intensely his feelings run for this shifter. And how, despite all the prejudice against Trystan, he’s finding a new life here—a place and culture and even a religion that he truly loves.

Conflicted tears well in my eyes, exhaustion fueling the rise of troubled angst.

Trystan stops speaking. “Ren, what’s the matter?”

“I’m not quite sure what I’m feeling. It’s just...in a way, you’ve found your place and you fit in here. You have Vothe, even though you think you don’t. And I feel like... I don’t belong anywhere.”

Trystan gives me a look of appraisal. “How do you think I felt for so many years? In a place I could never fit into? A place that hated me. With a religion that hated me. And then, at university, all alone while the rest of you paired up?”

“Maybe like this?” I grudgingly offer.

“Exactly like this.”

“I am glad you’ve found your place here, you know,” I tell him, heartfelt.

Trystan coughs out an incredulous laugh. “Ren, the Wyvernguard erupted into protest over my inclusion.”

“It’s clear, though, you have found your place.” I look him over. His kohl-rimmed eyes. The dragon tattoo snaking up his neck. His vivid blue hair and sapphire Wyvernguard uniform. And his circle of newfound family, so many of them possessing water magery just like him. “Whether you see it or not,” I say, “you seem like you truly belong in the Eastern Realm.”

Trystan tilts his head, as if acknowledging my point. “You do too, Ren. With me. With all of us.”

A bitter sound escapes me. “Even though I’m a complete and utter freak?”

Trystan’s mouth lifts. “Especially because you’re a complete and utter freak. You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

I can’t help but spit out a beleaguered laugh. I peer at Trystan searchingly. “Vothendrile’s extremely handsome.”

Trystan colors and looks away, which surprises me. Trystan isn’t the blushing sort.

Then he turns back to me, actually smiling. “Despite everything,” he says, “I’m so much happier here, Ren...” The words break off as tears glisten in his eyes. “It’s possible to be born in the wrong place...and then suddenly find yourself in the right one.”

Tears return to my own eyes as my heart swells to see my brother finally finding happiness. But then an ominous sense of vulnerability rises, the Shadow pressing in. “Trystan, I’m afraid. It’s worse than they all think with Vogel.”

My brother nods and grows silent, but then his expression lights with defiance. “Who needs good odds? Where would the fun be in that?”

I burst out into laughter and tears at the same time. “Someone very wise must have told you that.”

Trystan smiles. “A deeply wise sister.”