Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Over the course of the two hours, Sora chatted with his parents, catching up on clan news and gossip about life back with the rest of the Sodalicium. There had been marriages, births, dating mishaps, and other shenanigans, which painfully reminded Ravi that Sora had an entire life with the rest of his clan on the other side of the world.
Yes, they were dating, and when a mage dated a dragon, it was understood that the intention was they would one day become mates, but did it mean something different to Sora and his clan? Would Sora seriously consider staying with the Burkhard Clan so they could be mates?
Or was he expecting Ravi to leave Burkhard and return to the Sodalicium with him?
Just the idea of leaving his home, his family, and his king made his stomach queasy. Burkhard was everything to him. Serving and protecting Alric and his family was everything. With the appearance of new mages, he’d even begun to look forward to the day when Alric and Cameron would have their first child and he would get to protect their baby dragon as they toddled around the castle.
But to claim Sora as his own. To build a life with Sora. To have a family with Sora. All those thoughts made his heart speed up and his head get all fuzzy. He didn’t want to imagine a day when he wouldn’t get to see Sora’s handsome face.
Ravi gave his head a hard shake. Now was not the time to worry about what would happen between himself and Sora. They’d suffered another attack by the Jaeggi. He had to get two kings, their mates, and Sora’s parents to the castle safely. They had a war to finish. It all needed to be done before Ravi could even think about a future with Sora.
And that was all assuming the mage wanted to keep him.
Outside the castle walls, there were decidedly fewer reporters and people claiming to be mages. In addition, Ravi noted that nearly every dragon who worked security was patrolling the walls and the skies around the castle to make sure the new arrivals were safe.
Near the center of the courtyard stood Alric, Cameron, Rodrigo, Dieter, Lisette, Baldewin, Tori, and Gunter. Everyone was in their fanciest clothes, and Ravi couldn’t have been prouder of his family. They might be small, but they were strong and impressive all the same.
As everyone got out of the car, Alric and Rodrigo stepped forward. Alric opened his mouth, likely prepared to offer a formal greeting, when Chalo’s booming laugh stopped him.
“My god! Alric, look at you. I remember seeing you and that friend of yours, Baldewin—” He paused and pointed at Baldewin, his smile growing even wider. “—running around the castle and driving your father crazy.”
Alric’s mouth hung open for a moment, but no sound came out. Ravi had to slap his hand over his mouth to stop the laughter. Cameron made a choked noise beside Alric, failing to hold in his own laughter. Poor Alric probably had this beautiful formal speech prepared, and Chalo had stolen the words away.
“Dear, if he was that young when you last saw him, he probably doesn’t remember you,” Diya pointed out as she threaded her arm through his.
“No, I remember King Chalo of the Earth Dragons,” Alric quickly replied, regaining his power of speech. He turned toward the king and bowed his head. “I remember you fought bravely alongside my father.”
The earth dragon’s expression darkened, and he lowered his own head. “But I couldn’t reach him fast enough when he fell to that damn spell. Blasted Jaeggi. He was a great dragon. And your sweet mother, wonderful mage. It wasn’t right to lose them when the world needed them so much.”
“The world lost many great dragons and mages to the Jaeggi war,” Rodrigo added solemnly.
“And, somehow, the return of the Jaeggi has done the impossible,” Roca stated. “Mended fences between the fire and ice dragons.”
The old dragon smirked as his gaze darted from Alric to Rodrigo.
“I can’t think of two dragons who butted heads more back at the end of the war. Constantly arguing. Fire and ice.”
Rodrigo rubbed his chin, his narrowed eyes slipping over to Alric. Ravi recognized the playful mischief there. “Yes, well, Alric has become less of a stick in the mud now that he’s a bit older and mated.”
Alric snorted. “And you’ve become something less of a pain in my ass the older you get.”
“Actually,” Cameron said sharply, stepping in front of his mate and extending his hand to Chalo, “they were brought together because of me. Or, rather, the discovery of new mages. Hi, I’m Cameron Burkhard, mage and mate to Alric.”
Chalo chuckled and eagerly shook Cameron’s hand. “Yes, that makes much more sense.”
Introductions were made all around, and then they were ushered inside. Lisette took the mages off to her quiet sanctum for mage refreshments that she claimed would soothe the mind and replenish the soul, which Ravi took to mean a couple of bottles of wine from Alric’s private reserve. The bodyguards split up to check out Lisette’s rooms, as well as Alric’s study, before they were shown to their own chambers.