Alric shook his head, but it was Cameron who spoke up. “Road trips are bad. We don’t like road trips around here. Not since Tori’s awful road trip.”
“Cameron’s sister Cassie was horribly wounded on that road trip,” Warin murmured in a low voice.
Okay, a road trip was a very bad idea.
“However, there is a train leaving tonight from Brussels to Munich, and it’s only an eight-hour trip,” Gunter informed them.
“How many times do we have to change trains?” Warin inquired.
Gunter’s expression was smug when he looked up at his companion. “None. It’s direct, and it’s a sleeper. I’ll be able to work on the train and North can get some sleep so he can arrive at Burkhard awake and refreshed.”
“Burkhard Castle is in Munich, Germany?” North asked, excitement bubbling up in him.
Warin shook his head. “No, it’s near a small town called Sonthofen, but we will stop in Munich briefly to make sure you have proper attire for winter in the mountains.”
North started to argue, but Alric beat him to it.
“Consider it a gift of the Burkhard Clan. It is only fair that we make sure you have proper clothes for visiting us at this time of the year,” Alric smoothly offered, and well, it wasn’t like North could argue with a king about such a gift.
“Thank you. I’m sure I just need a heavier coat,” North quickly replied.
Alric smiled at North for a moment, and then his expression turned serious as he looked at Warin. “Keep me apprised of your progress. Baldewin will be standing by with more of his guards ready to escort you safely home,” Alric said grimly.
It was all really impressive. He had two members of Alric’s royal guards with him already, and the king was prepared to send more dragons to keep him safe. It was hard to comprehend that rogue mages were actually after him when he didn’t really know much magic, but he was hoping to uncover more information when he had a quiet moment on the train with Warin.
“Gunter! Give North my phone number,” Cameron said suddenly. He grinned at North. “Feel free to text me any questions you have that you might not want to ask the dragons. You know, mage questions.”
North grinned at Cameron and nodded. It was hard not to like the sweet, sassy man. If he ended up at Burkhard Castle for a little while, he hoped they got to be friends. He didn’t have any friends quite like Cameron.
“I will, Consort Cameron,” Gunter replied, earning a nose wrinkle from the young man.
Alric looked as if he was fighting a laugh when he turned his attention to North. “We look forward to meeting you in person, North.”
The call ended, and North found himself staring at the blank screen for a second, his breath sort of trapped in his chest. Everything seemed very strange and surreal. Dragons. They weren’t extinct. And he was going to a castle in Germany full of them. His greatest wish was coming true, and it all seemed a little too big and overwhelming for a moment. He was afraid he was suddenly going to wake up and be in his bed back in Georgia.
But he turned his head and looked up at Warin, who was smiling at him. Not even his best dream could conjure up someone as amazing as Warin. No, this had to be real. He was getting his wish, and he was going to make the most of it.
Warin felt more than a little conflicted about North. He was confused at his reactions to the young mage, confused at North’s reactions to him, and it left him with nothing but questions. He didn’t know how to respond half the time, and it was usually instinct that moved him before he could think it through.
He lay in the lower bunk of the sleeper car on the train, swaying a little back and forth with the train’s momentum. Above his head lay North, although judging from the way he breathed and turned, he wasn’t asleep yet. They were on an overnight train heading toward Munich. It meant a little backtracking toward Sonthofen, but there was no direct route, and getting out of Brussels had been the priority.
Gunter was in the next car up from them, probably researching things instead of sleeping. North had chosen to sleep in the same car as Warin, and had done so without asking either for their opinion. But then, he seemed to cling a bit to Warin. And that was part of what confused him.
Why had North gravitated toward him instead of Gunter? Gunter came off as a bit strange sometimes, sure, but it wasn’t like North knew him any better. Warin hadn’t made a good first impression on North. Or at least, he hadn’t thought so? But North kept leaning into Warin’s personal space. Didn’t Americans have large personal bubbles? North certainly didn’t.
And why, why did Warin react like this to North? After that initial demand for his scale back—which hadn’t been what Warin meant to say, not at all, but it had tumbled free of his mouth anyway—he’d found himself arrested by sky-blue eyes. Warin’s instincts had tripped over into ‘protective’ so quickly it had left his head spinning.
His dragon was in perfect agreement on this: protect the mage at all costs. Which, fine, of course a mage must be protected. It was the second corollary his dragon demanded that confused Warin. Because his dragon side wanted to curl right around North and nuzzle into him. And, well, lick him. In fact, the crazy lizard was quite jealous North had gotten to lick Warin, but he’d not gotten the chance to lick North.
Warin tried to reason with himself. North was clearly capable of fighting even the Jaeggi off to some degree, as he’d kept himself out of harm twice today with his wits alone. He wasn’t entirely defenseless. But his dragon wasn’t having it. North needed protection, and Warin needed to be that protection. Final word.
It was probably how North looked at him, with wide-eyed wonder and delight. Sometimes there was a hint of heat there, of curiosity, as if he wanted something from Warin that wasn’t so innocent. And it made Warin’s blood run hot, that look.
“Warin?”
He’d just known the mage wasn’t asleep. “Yes, North?”
“I’m, um, a little cold. Can I sleep with you?”
That wasn’t at all appropriate. “Of course.”
Warin sighed to himself. His dragon had just hijacked his mouth, apparently. That was clearly the answer. He never would have agreed otherwise.
North lost no time in dropping out of the top bunk, bringing his pillow with him. Warin shifted, drawing the blanket back, but then realized it meant North would be near the door. His protective instincts flared in protest. He shifted out and gestured North in.
The mage hesitated, giving him a questioning look.
“I need to be between you and the door,” Warin explained simply.
“Oh.” There it was, that pleased blush and shy smile as if he’d said something sweet, something North wasn’t used to hearing. Dammit. That expression was killing Warin slowly. Hadn’t anyone ever shown this man how precious he was? Why was such a simple, thoughtful gesture enough to evoke this reaction?
North climbed in before he could question him, and Warin bit back the query, sliding in next to him. The bed was narrow—there wasn’t enough room for two grown men—but they lay on their sides and made do well enough. Then North turned, situating himself so he lay chest to chest with Warin, and that was better. And worse. Warin realized he might have miscalculated.