Tori flushed a little. She thought him handsome? He wasn’t a troll by any means, but he never really thought of himself in terms of handsome or plain. It was so far down on his priority list that as long as he was clean and not dressed in rags, it was a good day. But Sasha clearly meant every word.
“But I’m…I’m not really a true mage?”
She snorted. “Cassie was entirely green when I first met her. I didn’t care. I assure you, my clan won’t care either. They care that you are a good person and a mage. And that’s all they will care about. If you need more training, Lisette will be happy to take you on as a student. We do not just see you as you are, Tori, but as you are now and what you will become.”
That was the sweetest sentiment ever handed to him. That she looked at him and saw nothing but potential to be someone amazing. That she liked what she saw even now. He felt his eyes burn a little bright with tears.
“And I will kick Baldewin for you,” she promised, shaking her head. “You shouldn’t be second-guessing his intentions. He’s not courting you right if you’re in doubt of where you stand with him.”
For some reason, Tori felt the need to defend him. “Hey, we’ve been a little busy dodging bad guys. It’s understandable.”
“I,” she rebutted archly, “was dodging bad guys and still managed to snag my mate.”
She did have a good point. “Men suck at communicating?”
“That’s more likely the problem, yes.” Sasha dropped a kiss on the top of Cassie’s head. “It’s a shame this one is still sound asleep. If she were awake and heard all of this, she’d have much to say about it.”
He’d only known Cassie three days and was absolutely certain that Sasha was right.
Speaking of the devil. Baldewin stepped into the room, his hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks and his handsome face a mask of dark worries. His grey-green eyes slid to Tori, seeming to soften for a heartbeat, before continuing on to Cassie’s unconscious form.
“How is she?”
“Steadily improving,” Tori replied. “She’s warmed and her magical core has improved. She needs many more hours of rest and an application of the salve at least once more, but I think she’s past the worst of it.”
A heavy sigh of relief left him in a rush, and his broad shoulders slumped some. “That is good to hear. I will relay the news to Cameron and Ha Na. Alric is managing to keep them at the castle rather than racing to us, but I know they will breathe easier knowing she is fully on the mend.”
“Have you heard anything from the police?” Tori inquired. He was hoping the cops were willing to walk away from this whole mess since no one was pressing charges. Of course, the woman who’d been attacked was still unconscious and couldn’t.
“Nothing else. I think they’ll just be happy when we finally leave town.” Baldewin paused, his lips pressing into a hard, thin line for a moment while his brows dropped below the upper edge of his glasses. “We should discuss that, leaving town.”
Tori nodded, drawing in a deep, shaky breath. He’d been expecting this. “You’re right. Let’s go into the next room so we don’t disturb Cassie while she rests.” Tori pushed to his feet and managed a small smile for Sasha. “Just shout if either of you need me.”
Baldewin followed Tori back into the main sitting room where Warin was plugging his phone into a charging cable. Both he and Baldewin had been on the phone since they’d run off the Jaeggi. They left the door open to Cassie’s room so they’d be able to easily hear if there was a problem.
Dropping onto the sofa, Tori immediately scooted to the edge, his elbows resting on his knees while Baldewin sank down beside him.
“I know the original plan was to take a train to Sonthofen, but I think it’s too dangerous,” Baldewin started carefully. “If we catch the afternoon train, it’ll take close to seventeen hours, and we’d have to change trains several times. If we stay here another night, we can catch an early one that will take about thirteen hours, and it would give Cassie more time to heal. But another option is to rent a large van and drive. It would only take eight, maybe ten hours. It would be rougher on Cassie, but it would get us there faster.”
And it would mean getting Cassie into the hands of mages with proper training. He wasn’t doing all that bad with the limited knowledge and supplies that he had, but Cassie was much better off with Lisette.
“The other option,” Tori offered, trying to ignore the growing tightness in his chest, “is that we fly.”
“Tori—” Baldewin started, but Tori was already shaking his head.
“If we can drive it in eight, then we could probably fly it in two or three hours tops.”
“But you’re terrified of flying,” Warin needlessly pointed out. “You’ve been dead set against flying since we started this trip. We can’t ask that of you now.”
“You’re not. Cassie needs to get home now.”
“I thought you said Cassie had stabilized.” Fear and worry thickened Baldewin’s voice, and Tori’s head snapped up to look at the dragon.
“She has. I swear, she is better. It’s just that I can only do so much, and she’s in much better, more experienced hands at the castle.” Tori straightened and shoved a shaking hand through his hair. He hated this relentless tremor of fear, the coating of cold sweat already covering his skin. “But it’s clear we’re all in danger. Cassie is out for the count right now. That leaves only three dragons and one inexperienced mage against the Jaeggi. We need to get to the castle where everyone will be safe.”
Baldewin reached across and gently captured one of Tori’s hands. His touch was deliciously warm, helping to chase away some of the chill. “Yes, we need to get you and Cassie back to the castle as quickly as possible, but I won’t sacrifice your peace of mind to do it. I will protect you both.”
“So will I,” Warin added. “And I dare a Jaeggi to show his face around Sasha right now.”
Tori managed a weak smile for Warin before looking back at Baldewin. “Yes, and what if you get hurt? Or Warin?” Fingers tightened on Baldewin’s hand as he shook his head. “Nope. I won’t risk it if we don’t have to. Flying is smarter. Safer.”
“Are you sure?”
A high-pitched, slightly hysterical laugh tripped from Tori’s mouth before he could clamp it shut again. He drew in another deep breath and slowly released it. “No, I hate it, but I know it’s the best choice.” He paused and looked at Baldewin. “But…I-I can’t be conscious for it. I know I won’t be able to handle it. Flying terrifies me. Heights have always terrified me. I have enough supplies to knock me out.”
“What if something goes wrong with Cassie? Dragons aren’t generally healers. At least not Baldewin, Sasha, and me,” Warin countered.
“I thought of that. I can make up some more salve if she’s in pain. And…and if you need me, I can make another potion to wake me up in an emergency.”
“I’m sure if we prep her properly before the flight, we won’t need any of your precautions. You’ll both sleep safely through the short flight, and when you wake up, you’ll be in Sonthofen.” There was a peaceful calm to Baldewin’s voice that helped settle some of Tori’s nerves. He knew they’d be back, but for now, he wanted to believe that everything would be just fine.