And then, of course, there was the playful applause from the rest of the clan for the couple. They were clearly happy for their king.
After dinner, which included a rather fabulous lihapullat, Baldewin showed Tori around the castle a little more. A very good thing, since he felt at least ten pounds heavier and wasn’t sure if he was going to fit into the lovely clothes Baldewin had recently purchased for him.
He marveled at the beautiful murals, the exquisite library, and glimpsed the warm and inviting classroom where Lisette taught all the new mages of the clan. It was vastly different from the grim and bleak classrooms Tori had known over his lifetime. But his worry remained that the classroom wasn’t going to make a difference when it came to his dyscalculia. The problem was the man, not the room, ingredients, or teacher.
When they reached Tori’s room again, he invited the dragon inside with a smile. It had been too long since he’d last managed to steal a kiss, and here, they were at least away from prying eyes. Tori’s heart pounded, and his palms grew sweaty as he watched Baldewin enter, his hands shoved into his pockets as if it was the only way he could keep his hands to himself.
“Are you sure your rooms are to your liking?” Baldewin asked for the third time since picking him up for dinner. “If you don’t like them, I could see about you being moved. I think there are some rooms on the higher floors if you’d like a different view of the mountains. Or—”
Tori cut him off with a laugh. “The rooms are amazing. I’ve never stayed anywhere so lovely in my entire life.”
“I’m glad. You know, they could be your rooms permanently, if you’d like.”
Crossing the short distance between them, Tori placed his hand on Baldewin’s chest, loving the little catch in his breath. He liked to think he affected the dragon as much as the dragon affected him. “It’s a little early to be thinking about staying. I still have to meet with your king and the head mage. God only knows how many other people I need to meet with to get the proper approvals.”
Baldewin was already shaking his head, his hand sliding over Tori’s to cover it and hold it in place. “That’s it, but it’s not necessary. You’re a mage, and all mages are welcome in Burkhard so long as they don’t mean any harm to the dragons and other mages that live here. I know you see the upcoming meetings with Alric and Lisette as tests, but they’re not. They simply want to get to know you.”
Tori leveled a skeptical look at Baldewin, but the dragon only smiled back at him. “Life isn’t that easy, Baldewin. There are always tests and a need to prove yourself. I have to prove that I deserve to be here, that I can pull my own weight.”
“I’m not worried about that.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“That you’ll decide you’d rather be on your own or out exploring the world. That you don’t want to stay here with a bunch of crazy dragons.”
A low chuckle broke from Tori’s throat. “I’m finding that the best adventures are with a bunch of crazy dragons.”
“That’s good, because I know that Warin and Ravi and Sasha and Cassie would very much like you to stay. And Gris, since he wants to cook for you.”
“Are they the only ones?” Tori asked in a light, teasing voice.
Baldewin’s grin grew a little wicked, and he dipped his head, taking a step closer to Tori. “I would very much like for you to stay, as well.”
Leaning into Baldewin, Tori tilted his head up and smiled. His lips were already tingling in anticipation of the kiss that was coming. He couldn’t imagine ever getting enough of this man. “Really now? How much is ‘very much,’ would you say?”
As Tori had hoped, Baldewin didn’t answer with words. Pulling the mage in close, Baldewin slowly kissed him, his tongue sliding along the curve of his lips before slipping inside. Tori sighed, leaning almost all of his weight against Baldewin as he wrapped his arms around his neck. There was no rush, just a casual exploration, as if they had all the time in the world.
And maybe they finally did. There were no Jaeggi to worry about in the castle, and they weren’t rushing to their next stop. Tori could finally sink into Baldewin’s arms and stay there for the rest of eternity, which still might not be long enough to kiss this dragon.
A knock at the door had Baldewin jerking his head up and swearing softly under his breath in German. Tori giggled. Yeah, he felt the same since he’d just thought there was no reason to rush. But apparently someone wanted something.
Releasing him, Baldewin crossed to the door and jerked it open. His expression turned more resigned as he stepped aside to reveal Cameron standing in the doorway. “I didn’t know you were stopping by,” Baldewin grumbled.
Cameron blinked in confusion and then looked around the hallway as if checking that he was in the right place. His eyes fell on Tori, and his expression melted into one of wry amusement. “Not interrupting anything, am I?” he teased.
“You were, in fact.”
“I can always come back later,” Cameron offered, looking as if he were fighting to not laugh straight in Baldewin’s face.
“No!” Tori said, shoving the dragon out of the doorway so Cameron could step inside. “Please, come in. Is Cassie okay?”
Cameron nodded quickly. “Lisette has declared her out of danger and on the mend, though she has many hours of sleep ahead of her.” He paused and threw one little smirk at Baldewin before looking at Tori again. “I thought we could have a little chat, but we can always talk tomorrow after you’ve had some rest.”
Tori bit his lower lip as he looked up at Baldewin. The dragon smiled in return before bending down to brush a light kiss across the tip of his nose. “Spend some time with Cameron. If you need anything, you have my phone number. My chambers are also right above yours. Just go left out of your door, down the hall to the stairs, right off the stairs, and then two doors down on your right. If you need anything at all—”
Cameron moved around Baldewin and pressed both hands into his shoulders, pushing him toward the door. “Yes, yes, you big mother hen. Tori is going to be just fine. Let the man get some rest. He’s been dealing with my sister, for heaven’s sake. The man could use some quiet.” Cameron maneuvered Baldewin out the door, and Tori caught sight of a grin on the dragon’s lips before Cameron shut it in his face. The man leaned against the wooden surface for a second and winked at Tori. “You’ve got to keep those dragons on their toes or they are going to baby you to death.”
Tori chuckled. He could see that Cameron was going to be very much like his sister, if a little more restrained. But only a tiny bit.
“You can understand me?” Cameron asked as he pushed away from the door. Tori nodded, and Cameron sighed with relief. “Oh thank god. Lisette showed me how to make a little amulet that held a translation spell, and I swear it took me at least a half a dozen tries to get it right. The last two tries, the damn stone kind of exploded.”
Tori hated to admit he was a little relieved to hear that Cameron struggled with a spell. So much seemed to come naturally to his sister, he’d begun to feel that he was the only one who had difficulties at times.
“I’m still trying to learn German, and it’s really slow going,” Cameron continued, a frown briefly forming on his mouth. “Alric won’t let me cheat with a spell, and I know there’s one that will shove that language into my brain. I just don’t have the excess capacity to learn Finnish, German, and magic all at the same time. But I will!” he concluded, holding up one finger as if making a vow.