That was to be expected. Mages were incredibly rare, and the dragons of Burkhard Castle would closely guard the few they had. Everyone also adored Cassie. They would worry over her until her voice could be heard ringing through the rooms again.
Baldewin closed his eyes and tipped his head back, trying to relax. They still had another hour until they were on the ground, but Baldewin knew he wouldn’t feel better until he had Tori safely inside Burkhard walls.
Baldewin barely fought the urge to pull Tori into his arms as the jet taxied along the runway to the hangar where they would be met by a horde of dragons and a handful of worried mages. Tori had woken easily from his sleep and immediately started checking on Cassie, even though he might have asked Baldewin to confirm at least twice that they were firmly on the ground.
Cassie had suffered no problems during the flight, and her color continued to improve. She was clearly on the mend, but everyone would feel better when she was safe at home.
With nothing left to do, Tori sat stiffly in a chair, his leg bouncing while he gripped the arms of the chair tight enough to make his knuckles white. This was not about flying or being in a plane. Baldewin suspected this was about meeting a bunch of dragons and mages. Tori was about to be thrown into the deep end of the pool.
Baldewin had hoped he’d be able to introduce him to the clan slowly, ease him into a crowd of dragons and excited mages.
“They are going to adore you,” Baldewin murmured.
A nervous laugh left Tori, and he shook his head. “I think I’m going to be the least of their concerns.” His smile was crooked when he looked over at Baldewin. “While I would never wish harm on Cassie, it is nice of her to take the focus off me.”
Baldewin smirked back at him. “Cassie does like to be the center of attention, but I don’t think she would approve of this. I get the impression she’s fond of you already, and I’m sure she’s going to be frustrated that she can’t be the one to introduce you to everyone.”
“I’m happy to put all that on hold until she’s on her feet again.” Tori’s eyes strayed from him to Sasha as she carefully lifted Cassie into her powerful arms and carried her to the front of the plane. They’d stopped rolling at last, and Warin was working on getting the door open.
Sucking in a deep breath, Tori leaned toward the window to look out. A strange, strangled noise left him, and he straightened again quickly. Baldewin shifted in his seat to look out the window and nearly chuckled at the sight. More than a dozen people were standing just beyond the plane waiting for them. The one face he was glad to see was Ravi. If Cassie couldn’t be awake to help smooth everything over for Tori, then Ravi was an excellent second choice. He would do a great job of taking Tori’s mind off everything.
“Don’t worry too much about introductions. The main focus will be getting you to the castle and settled. We’ll worry about the rest later.”
Tori flashed him a weak smile. “Thanks. It would be nice to just relax for a little while. Though, I’m sure King Alric and the others would like the full details of what we know.”
“We’ll get there. We’ve got some time now that we’re home.”
The smile on Tori’s lips became a little stronger at the mention of ‘home,’ and Baldewin could only hope that the mage would soon start thinking of the Burkhard Clan as his home. He wanted him to feel welcome and comfortable among these people.
Baldewin reached over and gave Tori’s shoulder a quick squeeze before climbing to his feet. The door had been opened and the steps lowered. He reached them in time to find that Warin had gone down first and was gently lifting Cassie out of Sasha’s arms so she could safely descend. Alric and Cameron were right there, lines of worry digging deep in their faces. It could have been a trick of the lighting, but it did look as if there was a little more grey in Alric’s hair at the temples. At least he was in good hands with Cameron.
As he reached the tarmac, he heard Tori climbing down the stairs behind him.
“I can’t believe I freaking flew here,” he muttered under his breath.
Baldewin threw a grin at him over his shoulder. He couldn’t possibly be prouder of the man. He’d put his own fears aside to do what was best for everyone. Tori was going to be the perfect addition to the clan.
For now, the mage was edging closer to Baldewin, almost using his larger frame to hide behind. Not that he could blame him. Any dragon or mage who wasn’t focused entirely on Cassie was staring at Tori with open curiosity.
“No, she’s good. Everything looks good here,” Lisette said as she pressed her fingers to Cassie’s throat and head. “Let’s get her in the van and back to the castle.” Her head popped up, and her serious expression melted into a warm smile as she looked at the mage behind Baldewin. “Tori, we’ll do proper introductions soon, but you’ve done a wonderful job. Thank you for saving her.”
Tori sucked in a sharp, ragged breath. His grey eyes were shiny, and his lips pressed tightly together, but he gave Lisette a quick nod.
“That’s Lisette,” Baldewin whispered to him.
“Tori?” Cameron’s head popped up, and he stopped following his sister to the nearest black SUV.
The mage turned on his heel and marched straight to Tori. Baldewin’s dragon perked up its head, eyes seeming to narrow as it wondered if the mage meant Tori harm, but before the dragon could even grow disgruntled, Cameron wrapped Tori up into a tight bear hug.
“Thank you so much for saving my sister’s life,” Cameron said in a choked voice. The consort released him and gave a teary smile. “We’ll talk more soon. Get settled first.” He hurried to his husband’s side, roughly wiping tears away with the heels of his palms.
Alric touched his mage’s cheek, as if silently checking to make sure he was alright, before looking at Tori. “I’m sorry, this is not the welcome I hoped to give you.”
Tori laughed and waved him on. “Go. Take care of Cassie. I’ve got Baldewin to keep an eye on me.”
Alric’s eyes shifted to Baldewin, his scrutiny sharpening. Oh yeah, Alric could clearly read that this was more than a protection detail. His old friend could always see right through him. “Good. Baldewin will take very good care of you.” He then climbed into the SUV with his mate.
“That leaves you with me, too.” They both jerked around to find Ravi standing behind them with a playful grin on his face.
“You’ve got to be Ravi,” Tori said, and the dragon’s eyes widened to almost comical proportions.
“I am. How?”
“Cassie. She told me a lot about you. Said you’d be the best person to show me around the castle.”
He hadn’t thought it possible, but Ravi actually looked lost for words. He shook his head and dropped his hands to his hips. “That girl,” he mumbled. He looked up at Tori and grinned again. “I am. I know everyone and where everything is. And I’m far more entertaining than grumpy dragon Baldewin.”
Baldewin mock-gasped. “Grumpy dragon? I thought Gunter was grumpy dragon.”
Ravi shrugged, looking completely unrepentant. “You seem to take turns. Though, Gunter takes more turns than you.” He looked back at Tori and waved him toward another SUV. “Let’s get this show on the road.”