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“So…what happened?”
Callum’s question caught Ezran a bit off guard. The two of them were sitting on a rock near the body of Avizandum, having decided to camp out there for the night before climbing that painfully tall spire in the distance. Rayla had already fallen asleep by the fire they had started, and Zym was curled up at Ezran’s feet. No one had spoken for a while, and Ezran had been about to turn in himself.
He glanced up at his brother, who was looking at him with curiosity and a hint of concern that didn’t escape Ezran’s notice.
“What do you mean?” He asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Callum shifted a bit, adjusting Bait from where he was sleeping in his arms. “Earlier. You said that being king wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Care to elaborate?”
No. Not at all. If I tell you, you’ll freak out. You probably did that the second you saw Zym’s dad. You shouldn’t have to do that again.
That was what Ezran wanted to say, but he kept his lips pressed tightly together, staring at the fire.
Callum frowned at Ezran’s lack of answer. He was already dreading learning what happened in the time they were apart, but knew it would be a bad idea to put off talking about it. Still-his little brother’s silence told him that he definitely wasn’t here because things in Katolis were going well.
“Ez.” Callum said quietly, putting a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. “You can talk to me. You know that, right?”
Ezran folded his hands in his lap. “Yeah.”
“Then tell me what happened to you.”
Ezran couldn’t express how much didn’t want to tell Callum about the whole ordeal. He was still struggling to process it all himself. He knew his brother well enough to know what his reaction would be. He was tempted to come up with a less panic-inducing story on the spot, but he was a terrible liar, especially to Callum.
So, with no other option, he told him.
He told his brother everything from when he had left him and Rayla to finding them in Xadia again. Callum seemed to keep relatively calm throughout the tale, which surprised Ezran. Maybe telling him the whole thing wouldn’t be as bad as-
“I’m sorry-Viren what ?!”
Ah. There it was.
Ezran cringed, absentmindedly rubbing his wrists as he thought of his cell back in Katolis. “He crowned himself King after I abdicated. And I guess he was worried I was gonna change my mind or something, because he locked me in the dungeon right after.”
Callum felt the blood drain from his face. The thought of his brother-his baby brother, who never should have had to be King this young-alone and chained up in the castle’s dungeon by a murderous, power-hungry psychopath like Viren made him sick to his stomach. He grabbed a very startled Ezran by the shoulders, examining him. “Did he hurt you?”
Ezran shook his head, trying to calm Callum down before he got some very bad images in his mind. “I told you earlier, I’m fine.”
“Ez, you know how Viren is. He-”
Suddenly, Ezran threw his arms around his brother, pressing his head into his shoulder. “Callum. I’m okay. I promise.”
Callum hugged him back instantly, gripping his brother like he thought Viren would suddenly appear and snatch him away. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. It wasn’t that bad, really. I was only in there for like, a day. Everyone pretty much left me alone, and Bait even snuck in a bunch of jelly tarts so I wouldn’t go hungry.”
The young king was trying to sound nonchalant, like being imprisoned at ten years old wasn’t a big deal, but the slight quaver in his voice betrayed him. Callum couldn’t help but wish that Viren had died right alongside Thunder. That way, he never would have had the chance to even come close to his little brother.
At that moment, an utterly horrific thought crossed Callum’s mind. He hugged Ezran a little tighter, his hands grabbing his brother’s shirt in a vice. He knew what Viren was like, what he thought of the princes of Katolis, and the lengths he would go to secure his power. If Ezran hadn’t somehow escaped, if he had stayed there much longer, or if Viren had decided not to bother imprisoning him at all-
“He could have killed you.” Callum whispered.
Ezran stiffened. He had thought about that possibility more than once on the flight to Xadia, but he’d pushed it back into his subconscious so he and Phoe-Phoe could focus on finding Callum and Rayla. He knew repeating the thought wouldn’t do him any good, but now that Callum had said it, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Yeah, I know.” Ezran replied softly. “Honestly, I was kinda surprised when he didn’t.”
Callum pulled away, still keeping a protective grip on Ezran’s shoulders. “Ez, I’m so sorry. I should have gone with you. I should have-”
“Callum, stop.” Ezran said gently. “Even if you had come home with me, you couldn’t have done anything. Viren would have thrown you in the dungeon, too.”
“You don’t know that!”
“And you didn’t know that Viren would do all that stuff. This isn’t your fault.”
Callum looked down, stomach churning with guilt. “I left you all alone. That’s not okay, Ezran.”
Ezran smiled. That, at least, he could refute without Callum protesting.
“I wasn’t alone. There’s no way Bait and I could have escaped by ourselves. We actually had a lot of people in our corner helping us.”
That seemed to surprise Callum. Like he was too busy worrying to think about how Ezran had gotten back to his side. “Who?”
“Well, Soren, for one. He let me out of the dungeon and snuck me out. Then we met up with Corvus, Opeli and Barius, and Lujanne showed up so I could take Phoe-Phoe and find you and Zym and Rayla. And, well…here I am!”
A wave of emotion washed over Callum-mostly gratitude, and relief. Soren had gone against his own father to save Ezran, and had rallied people behind him in order to ensure the young king’s escape. Callum didn’t know if there was anything he could possibly do to pay him back for that.
Ezran sighed, like telling the story had drained all the energy from him. He squeezed Callum’s hand, giving him a small grin. “I still missed you, though. A lot.”
Callum smiled, finally feeling some of the worry in his chest subside. “I missed you too, Ez. I’m glad you’re okay.”
The younger boy yawned, sliding off the rock and curling up on the ground next to Zym. It reminded Callum just how young Ezran was, and prompted him to set a hand on his brother’s arm. “We’re almost there, Ez. The Dragon Queen is right up there-on that spire. It’s almost over. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Ezran closed his eyes, and for a second, Callum thought he had fallen asleep. Then, he smiled, speaking in a voice that was barely a whisper.
“I know.”