“Tori? Tori?” Tanja said in a low whisper.
Tori blinked his eyes open, not even realizing he’d closed them. He shifted in his seat to see Tanja and Panu looking utterly confused and maybe even a little scared.
“The dragons…where did the dragons come from?”
The angry, hurt part of Tori wanted to turn his back on them. While Tanja and Panu had never personally done anything to him, they were still part of a clan that had hated and tormented him his entire life.
But this entire trip had been about setting the record straight and finding a way to bridge the gap between the dragons and the Taavi. There were still too many mages and dragons in the world without mates.
Sighing deeply, Tori sat up and twisted around in his seat so he could face them. “The red dragons are fire dragons from the Burkhard Clan, who live in Germany. The white dragons are ice dragons from the Valerii Clan, who live in Brazil.”
“And that man…the one you’re with?”
“Baldewin Burkhard, my mate.”
“Your mate?” Panu said, then winced, quickly lowering his voice again, as if everyone in the SUV couldn’t already hear him. “I thought dragons only wanted female mages.”
“Dragons are generally pansexual. They don’t care about a mage’s gender. They only care that a soul matches with their own.” Tori tilted his head toward the front seat. “That’s King Alric Burkhard and his mage mate, Cameron.”
“But…” Tanja started, but Tori was already shaking his head.
“We were told wrong. We were told a lot of things wrong.”
Tori watched as Tanja’s face clouded over, and she seemed to sink in on herself, while Panu sat up straighter, held his head higher. Tori got it. Tanja had been told her entire life that she was special simply because she was a female mage, while Panu had been told he was good for nothing beyond fathering female mages.
And because they’d been attacked by the Jaeggi and saved by dragons, they were a little more open to the truth Tori had to deliver. In the end, he wasn’t sure if either of them would be willing to leave the clan, but they would carry the information he shared to the rest of their generation and possibly beyond. The first seeds were being planted, and with some luck, maybe some dragons and mages would find each other.
For the rest of the drive to Nuorgam, Tori told his story—meeting Baldewin and Warin, the Jaeggi attacks, and most importantly, living within the Burkhard Clan. Evora even roused herself to tell what it was like in Brazil with the Valerii Clan.
Tori struggled to bite back a smile. They didn’t even have to sell it hard. They were both talking about adventure and dragons in new, far-off places. Panu was actively asking questions, and Tanja even seemed to come around slowly. She might not be guaranteed to be queen bee if she left Nuorgam, but there was little likelihood of finding her true mate if she stayed.
By the time they pulled into the village, there was a good crowd gathered near Mathilda’s red house. The dragons were standing close together off to the side, while the mages were on the other side. No one appeared to be outwardly hostile. Just confused.
As Alric parked the SUV in the parking lot, someone ran to the house, probably fetching Mathilda, because she appeared a moment later, looking flushed and flustered. Tori barely managed to get out of the SUV before Tanja and Panu barreled out behind him to run over to their worried parents. At least it was nice to see that Panu’s parents were happy to see him, rather than the indifference he would have likely received from his own parents.
Tori bit his lip to hide his grin when Alric bypassed Mathilda to walk over to where Rodrigo was waiting for him with Thiago and his bodyguards. The dragons all formed a loose circle around the kings, as if to protect them as well as provide some privacy.
Okay, so maybe Tori did grin like a fool when the dragons parted and welcomed him inside the circle when he followed Alric over. Baldewin wrapped his arms around Tori from behind, holding him close.
“Problems?” Alric asked Rodrigo.
The ice dragon king gave a small shake of his head. “None. They seem lukewarm at best. Confused. Maybe waiting on direction from Mathilda as to which way the wind is blowing now.”
Alric nodded. “Tori made some very nice progress with the two teenagers during the drive.” Thus proving that the dragon could in fact hear everything said in the rear of the SUV.
“Then we should be plain with them. I wish mates for my dragons, but I’m not interested in trading one trouble for another,” Rodrigo murmured in a low voice.
Alric nodded again, before the two kings turned as one toward Mathilda. The dragons circling them parted, and the woman who had shouted at them paled. While the kings had been talking, Tori had glimpsed Tanja talking briskly to both Mathilda and her mother, Kirisi. At the very least, Mathilda now knew that the dragons had nothing to do with the kidnapping.
“As promised, we have located your missing mages and returned them to you. We hope that…” Alric paused and started to turn toward Tori.
“Markku,” Tori supplied.
“Markku is properly on the mend,” he finished.
“Yes, he is doing much better. You and your mages have saved his life,” Mathilda began with a soft quaver in her voice. “Markku woke up long enough to identify the Jaeggi as his attackers before falling asleep again.”
“Thank you for saving our children,” Kirisi added as she wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. “We were so wrong. We didn’t know the Jaeggi had lied to us about dragons.”
“Yes,” Mathilda agreed softly, looking more and more uncomfortable. “I am so very sorry, and I—we are hoping that we can try speaking again. That you might be willing to still share the journals you had mentioned.”
“I think that can be arranged,” Rodrigo said, flashing his charming smile again.
“We-we should step inside where we can speak more comfortably.” Mathilda motioned toward her house. Before leading the way, she shouted to the gathered mages to return to their homes and business, though it didn’t look like anyone really moved. Everyone was too interested in seeing what the dragons were going to do next.
The house wasn’t overly large, so Ravi and Rodrigo’s bodyguards were left outside, where they would hopefully make nice with the mages. Well, Tori was sure Ravi would at least be entertaining, and the ice dragons seemed charming like their king.
Tori was a little surprised to find himself inside the red house of the clan leader. In all his years, he’d never stepped inside. The place was simple and cozy, with white walls and thick, green curtains to help keep the winter cold out.
Kirisi had accompanied Mathilda inside. She’d acted as the leader’s advisor for as long as Tori could remember. She was also joined by Eija, who was another powerful mage within the clan. Eija wrinkled her nose a little at Tori, causing more lines to cut through her old face. Her steel grey hair was pulled back into a tight bun. The woman had briefly been one of Tori’s teachers until she declared that he wasn’t worth her time.
For a while, conversation was quiet as tea was served and Gunter handed out the journals to Kirsi and Eija. The dragon hovered over them, keeping a watchful eye to make sure no damage was done to his precious books. Tori was content to sit silently, watching as both women paled with each page they read.