Flight of Eden

Chapter Five

Kaleva practically dragged me back to the Clan Hall and out of the snow. He immediately led me into the office that Karoline had pointed out earlier. It was big enough to have a large wooden desk at the far end, and a small seating area in the middle of the room. Kaleva led me to one of the armchairs and sat me down before he moved to shut the double doors.

"Did I do something to upset you, Kaleva?" I asked after he'd sat down behind his desk. He'd been silent since talking to Karoline outside, and the scowl on his face had become permanent. Kaleva had barely looked at me since dragging me into the room, just busied himself with some papers on his desk.

"You can call me Kalle." He answered after a few moments. He still didn't look up from his desk, and avoided answering my question. I normally had a lot more patience, but Kaleva had a way of raising my blood pressure when he was around. He was vague and rude and refused to answer any of my questions, and a part of me hated it.

"I thought only your close friends called you that?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow, "I'm your prisoner, not a close friend."

"You're not my prisoner." Kalle answered, this time at least glancing up at me as he spoke. I narrowed my eyes, taking a deep breath to keep from yelling at him.

"If I'm not your prisoner, then what am I? Why am I here, Kalle?" I asked again, this time using the name he'd asked me to use. This seemed to get more attention, and he finally stopped shuffling papers around on his desk. He let out a sigh, before standing up and moving across the room to sit in the armchair opposite mine.

"Why were you in that cave?"

"What?" I asked, tilting my head to the side as I tried to understand the change in subject. Kalle sat opposite me, leaning forward in the armchair with his elbows on his knees as he watched me. I felt my heart beat pick up now that his full attention was on me.

"The cave where the Wild One found you. It was pretty far from your village, right?. Why were you out there by yourself?" Kalle asked again, his eyes never leaving my face. I saw the image of Hugo flash behind my eyes, and an involuntary shutter rolled through my body. Kalle noticed, of course, but he didn't push me to explain. He sat quietly and gave me space to answer, which I had no intention of doing.

"You don't answer any of my questions, so why should I answer yours?"

Kalle raised an eyebrow slightly at my response. He seemed surprised his intimidation hadn't immediately worked. I held back my smug smile, and just kept returning his stare and waiting for an explanation. I needed to understand what he wanted me for. At first I thought they didn't want me to tell anyone they existed, but Kalle seemed much more invested than just that.

"The Wild Ones historically stay very far from civilization. We usually see one, maybe two in a month's time. Last month we saw seven. This month we've seen nine, and yours marks the tenth. They're coming closer, and I need to find out why." Kalle explained. I frowned at the idea of more Wild Ones being nearby. I had seen one up close, and I hoped that would be the first and last time.

Kalle's answer was more than I expected, though I was still reluctant to tell him the truth. His presence set me on edge, and I would prefer he knew as little about me as possible. But I also didn't know anything about his world or the Wild Ones. I didn't know why my brother was out there, or why the Wild One was so close. And I didn't want to be the reason that innocent people in their village got hurt.

"My younger brother went missing a few days ago. I was out there trying to find him." I finally answered. Kalle and I had been in an unspoken staring contest, but I broke away first. The image of Hugo lying on the rocky ground, covered in blood was stained in my mind. I resisted the urge to shudder at the memory.

"By yourself?" Kalle asked after a moment. I definitely wasn't expecting an empathetic response from him, but his question took me by surprise.

"Yeah..." I answered slowly as I glanced up at him, "no one else in my village believed it was worth the risk."

"What about your parents?"

Again, Kalle's question caught me off guard. He was leaning towards me now, and the look on his face was full of curiosity and annoyance. The sight set me on edge. He was far too invested in my life for this to just be about Wild Ones, and I had no intention of sharing anything else with him.

"My parents are none of your business," I told him, my tone curt as I narrowed my eyes, "I told you what you wanted. Now are you going to tell me why I'm really here?"

For a moment, Kalle's face remained exactly the same. Eyes focussed on me, mouth set in a permanent frown, eyebrows furrowed. But I saw the slightest twitch of the corner of his mouth, which was the only gauge for what he was thinking. It was far from a smile, but I took it as a positive sign.

"I can't. Not yet," Kalle said after a moment. I let out a loud groan, running a hand over my face in frustration. I was surely going to lose my final drop of patience with this man. Luckily, before I could yell at him, Kalle continued to explain, "my first priority is keeping my people safe. I need to understand why the Wild Ones are getting closer, and I need to understand some things about your arrival here. Then I will explain everything to you. You have my word."

I didn't fully know what that meant, and it frustrated me to be kept in the dark. But I knew I wouldn't get anything else out of him. I took the promise of him telling me eventually as a step in the right direction. So I nodded to him, relaxing back into the armchair as my heart rate started to settle. Kalle didn't move, just kept his eyes focussed on me and every minor movement I made.

We lapsed into silence, and I was itching to break it. Everything about Kalle's presence set me on high alert. Even though I didn't feel unsafe, I felt on edge and constantly observed. I thought maybe he'd return to his desk and his papers, but he stayed seated, and his eyes never left me. Surprisingly, it was him who finally broke the silence.

"Did you find your brother?"

The image flashed in my mind again, and this time I couldn't hold my reaction in. I visibly shuddered and shook my head as my eyes welled up with tears. It was all I could do to keep them from falling.

"He was in that cave, but I was too late," I told him as I picked at my nails again, "Hugo had always loved adventuring. I think he was exploring that cave when the Wild One found him."

"I'm sorry." Kalle told me. Two simple words, but he said them with such conviction. It held a level of empathy I hadn't expected from the brooding dragon. I met his gaze and offered a small smile and nod of acknowledgement before we fell back into silence.

This time, I didn't let the silence go on nearly as long. I was growing tired of my body's constant heightened state whenever I was near him, and I was itching to get out of the small office.

"Did you need anything else?" I asked him, gesturing towards the door and raising an eyebrow. Kalle looked where I was pointing, and it seemed to break him out of his trance. He was moving before I could take a breath, and he stood in front of me and held a hand out to help me from the chair.

"That's all, for now." Kalle told me as I took his hand and stood up. His hand was warm, almost too warm. It was such a contrast from my own it felt like a burn. I snatched my hand away quickly as I skirted around him and headed for the door.

"I'll tell Karoline to get you some warmer clothes before venturing outside again," Kalle said as I moved to leave, "it's not safe right now with the Wild Ones, so don't leave the Clan Hall without either myself or Karoline."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I knew his intentions were to keep everyone safe, but it seemed a little bit overkill. I highly doubted a Wild One would attack a village full of trained dragon shifters. But still, I nodded to him and muttered a thanks, before pulling open the large wooden doors and slipping out.