Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they aren’t made like that,” Luka added. Their resident folklorist was cuddled against Vasily, who was silently watching Dimitri. Well, maybe it was more of a glare because he had dared to disturb Luka’s nap.
“We’ve got a job,” Dimitri announced, ignoring their questions with a smile. “Ilya, can you pull up the information we received from Dr. Samuel Hunter?”
The dragon had to have been expecting it, as he dropped into the chair behind the massive desk outfitted with four monitors. His fingers flew across the keys in a loud clatter.
“We knew we had a job. Couldn’t this wait? Sofi and I were stretched out, enjoying a romantic sunset,” Ilya complained.
Dimitri had almost forgotten what it was like to deal with a dragon who’d just found his match. They became mostly useless creatures with their heads stuck in the clouds, their only thoughts for their mate. It got better as time passed, but it was a slow process that left Dimitri wanting to smack Ilya on the back of the head.
He wasn’t jealous.
Definitely not.
Dimitri wasn’t all that old within his clan—barely more than seven centuries. There were plenty of other dragons in the Valerii Clan who needed to find their mate. Not to mention so many of the Burkhard fire dragons and the members of the Lost Clans.
In the meantime while he waited, he was happy to have his mind clear of all that mate brain-fog so he could properly serve his clan.
“I stumbled across Dr. Samuel Hunter while I was in town. He’s an archeologist and he’s searching for…” He gazed over at Ilya.
“Apparently, a lost clan of some sort that he believes lived in Brazil,” Ilya filled in.
The various screens around the room woke up. A professional-looking picture of Sam filled one half of the screen while the other half showed a map of Brazil with a shaded square to the south.
“Lost clan? Dragon or mage?” Misha asked.
“Because if he’s searching for the metal dragons, we can point him in the direction of the Sodalicium,” Gregori countered. “There’s no point in digging through any old ruins when the dragons have a lovely new home in the East. Besides, I thought they were farther north in, like, what’s now Colombia.”
“No, it says here that he’s in search of a mage clan called the Sousa.”
That seemed to wake Luka up. The dragon pushed out of the arms of his lover and strolled over to the closest screen while rubbing one eye. “And he’s searching for them there? That’s…unexpected.”
“What do you mean?” Vasily reached out and captured the hand that hung limp at Luka’s side. The willowy, pale dragon smiled at him and twined their fingers together before directing his gaze up at the screen again. Everything about Luka was pale, from his white-blond hair to his porcelain skin to his eyes that were so pale blue they looked like ice chips. His appearance made him appear deceptively fragile, but he was an absolutely lethal fighter and frighteningly fast.
“I mean that, from my reading, it was thought the Sousa were farther south in the Andes. Chile. Maybe as far north as Peru, but I didn’t think anyone had ever found proof of them living in Brazil. That’s…that’s just unexpected.” Luka cocked his head to the side, squinting at the map so that little lines dug between his eyebrows.
“I didn’t think your folklore studies included the mage clans,” Dimitri murmured.
Luka turned and grinned at him. “It doesn’t.” He flopped down on the sofa next to Vasily with a bounce. The brunet with the cold eyes and sharp, angular features gathered him close, as if he couldn’t be parted from him for longer than a couple of minutes.
Their relationship was an incredibly rare one. Dragons didn’t mate with other dragons. Oh, they certainly dated and screwed around. Who would want to be celibate for several centuries while you pined for a mate you weren’t sure you’d ever meet? Why not have some fun?
But a person needed to only look at Luka and Vasily to know this was more of a mate bond between them than a bit of fun. Until this moment, Dimitri had always been incredibly happy for them. Their happiness was a palpable thing.
Yet, the presence of Sam was a sharp reminder that new mages were being found every day. What would happen if it turned out that Sam was Luka’s mate? Or Vasily’s? How would the one who got left behind survive?
The odds of a mage being a mate to two dragons was…well, the odds were damn near impossible.
For the first time in his very long life, Dimitri prayed neither of the two dragons would find their mage mate. He didn’t want to see either of them heartbroken.
“How do you know about the Sousa?” Vasily asked, pulling Dimitri from his dark thoughts.