North had a whole lot of questions about that statement, but he’d save them for later. He smiled at Didiane and nodded. “Yep. Everything is just fine.” On impulse, he gave the police officer a quick hug. It really was sweet she’d come over to check on him while she was off duty and out with her own family. “Thank you so much for today. I really have had a wonderful time in Brussels. I can’t wait to return.”
Her expression softened a little, but there were still questions in her eyes. “Okay. It was wonderful meeting you, North. Bon voyage and remember to call me if you need anything.”
As Didiane walked back over to her family, Warin stepped into North’s personal space again. “She is a police officer?”
“Yes, she and her partner helped me earlier in the day when I was chased by those men you scared off.”
Warin and Gunter exchanged a look that was more than a little troubling. Something was going on besides dragons and aggressive pickpockets.
“What?” North demanded when the silence had stretched for too long.
Though, silence wasn’t exactly accurate. More and more people passed by on the street to fill the enormous square, lights brightened the night sky all around them, and a full choir could be heard a short distance off, singing what sounded like Christmas carols. The world continued on, completely oblivious that two dragons stood in their midst. How had everything changed and yet stayed the same?
“We need to get to a secure location and talk,” Warin said in a low voice.
“My hotel. I left my stuff there. I was planning to catch a train to Munich tonight.” North winced a little at the heat he could feel stealing into his cheeks. “I could only track you as far as a particular part of the Alps. I was heading to Munich and hoping my next spell would give me a more exact location.”
“No need to be embarrassed, little mage,” Warin murmured, lightly touching North’s chin so that he looked up at the dragon. “You’ve done well on your own. We’re glad you’ve sought us out.”
“Surprisingly well,” Gunter added in a low, speculative voice. “Are you alone? Are there other mages in Brussels with you?”
“No. I came here alone.” North took a step closer to Warin, not feeling all that comfortable with Gunter’s questioning look. “I learned what little magic I have from my grandpa.”
Warin placed a hand on North’s shoulder, and he instantly relaxed while his new guardian glared at his companion. “Now isn’t the time.”
Gunter gave a wave of his hand. “You’re right. We need a safe place to call Alric. Things are more complicated than we imagined with the presence of the Jaeggi here.”
“The who?” North demanded.
“Hotel first. Talking later,” Warin grunted. Using the hand on North’s shoulder, he started to nudge him in the opposite direction of the square. North was tempted to dig his heels in and demand answers now, but Gunter was already leading the way and talking about phone calls and upgrading their tickets to a private car on the overnight train. The situation was already in hand, and since North didn’t know what the hell was going on, it was just easier to follow along. Besides, he really did need to get his stuff before escaping Brussels.
As soon as one could be located, they piled into a taxi. North found himself seated between the two dragons, sure he’d never been safer or warmer in his life.
“How in the world did you come by a dragon’s scale?” Gunter inquired the moment the driver pulled into traffic, heading toward North’s hotel.
“I don’t know.”
“What?” Warin barked, and North flinched a little.
“Well, what I mean is that I don’t have some extravagant story of the dragon scale being given to one of my ancestors as a gift for some chivalrous deed so he could summon a dragon to his side should he ever be in trouble.” North looked up to find both dragons kind of staring at him in confusion. “It’s just a family heirloom that’s been handed down through the generations. The old stories say my family immigrated to the United States about two hundred years ago from England, but I’ve also got a lot of family who supposedly lived in, like, Greece and Italy, on the Mediterranean, about five centuries ago.”
“Hmm…probably during the war,” Warin murmured.
Gunter nodded. “A lot of the surviving mage families were fleeing. Mages fought alongside the dragons in Africa. One of his ancestors could have found the scale then, unless you were giving them away as tokens.”
Warin glared at his dragon companion. “I was not giving away my scales. But I did suffer an injury in the same battle as Alric. I would have lost many scales then.”
Reluctantly, North reached into his pocket and pulled out the treasured scale. It wasn’t just that it was a family heirloom. The scale had come to represent his own hopes and dreams for a better life. Of living as a mage, as his true self. But he couldn’t keep it, not when he was faced with the scale’s true owner.
Holding up the brilliant red scale in his palm, he offered it to Warin. “Here. You should have it back.”
To his surprise, the dragon’s expression turned even darker as he stared at the scale in question for several silent seconds. His gaze darted to his companion for a moment, and then he cleared his throat, dropping his eyes to North’s face. “You can keep it. In case we should get separated and you need to find a dragon again.”
“Seriously? You don’t mind?” North gasped.
“Really, Warin?” Gunter echoed, though there was a hint of teasing in his voice.
Warin cleared his throat a second time and directed his dark look on his friend. “Yes, North may keep the scale. It’s safe within his hands.”
North nearly started bouncing in his seat. He didn’t know what was going to happen next, but at least he got to hold onto the one thing that had brought him this far in his amazing journey. And Warin was right. He’d protect this scale with his life. With a goofy grin, he shifted and tucked the scale back into his pocket.
“What about the rest of your family? Or your clan? Are there other mages in your family?” Gunter quickly asked, seeming content to redirect his attention away from the scale.
North felt his own mood droop a little. He hoped his lack of a prestigious mage heritage didn’t turn the dragons away. “Actually, it’s just Gramps and me. He’s the one who taught me magic, and I only know a few things. He’s the same way. What we learned came from my great-great-grandma’s diary. I don’t think anyone else in my family is a mage.”
The dragons didn’t seem disappointed, though. Gunter nodded on North’s left and starting furiously texting someone as they continued to the hotel.
“Do most mages come from big mage families?” he asked, looking up at Warin. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Gunter snap a quick picture of him and send it off to whoever he was texting, but North’s attention was on the sad look that crossed through Warin’s eyes.
“They did, before the war. Now, mages are very few. We’ve been searching a long time for you.”
Him?
No, mages in general.
Which would explain why Warin looked at him with a kind of wonder.
And that was the real reason for all of North’s blushes. No one ever looked at him like that. Disgust? Sure. Annoyance? All the time. Disappointment? Definitely. But not wonder.