Emotion hijacked his mouth again. “No.”
She hiccupped to a stop. “No?”
“No. Eleven mages, Kaa-san. Six experienced mages and five students to guard this clan against the Jaeggi. I know the dragons are formidable, but they can’t be everywhere. I will not leave this place until they have more help. I can’t in good conscience do so.”
She sounded surprised. “You sound very determined. Are you that attached to them already?”
“I guess I am. Even in such dire straits, they still won’t press me for information about my family and where you are. They still respect my privacy and hide nothing from me. Does that not tell you the quality of people they are?”
“It does say quite a bit. Alright. I’ll relay this information to your father and everyone else. We’ll discuss the proper thing to do. I might have you do a video call later so they can ask you questions.”
“I’m happy to do that.”
He would prefer it, in fact, as Sora wanted to pitch this himself. He felt more emotionally attached to these people than his mother did, after all. They had been too detached, too hidden from the world for far too long. Sora was beginning to fear that Burkhard’s state was the price of that isolation, and he needed to make this right.
He didn’t think he was rushing his opinion. Sora had seen quite enough to tell him the score. And yes, the Burkhards had survived so far. But people shouldn’t be reduced to the level of base survival. No one deserved that.
He exchanged a few more pleasantries with his mother before hanging up. He still needed to go into town and fetch his luggage from the hotel and cancel his room. Ravi had mentioned leaving a car parked in Sonthofen. Maybe he could catch the charming wind dragon and ask him to go back into town with him, offer a ride to the car. He had more questions to ask, after all.
And something about Ravi was intriguing. His frankness, that dazzling smile he wore. It tugged at Sora, his eyes gravitating to the man entirely of their own will. Sora hadn’t reacted like this to anyone in ages. He’d like to spend a little more time with Ravi and figure out what it was about the man that was so intriguing.
A harmless trip into town would be a good start.
Sora would have been vastly surprised if the head mage of a clan didn’t question, however politely, a new mage in their clan. And Lisette did not disappoint. He’d barely stood from the dinner table when she appeared quite smoothly at his elbow, all smiles but with an intent expression that meant he was not allowed to escape her.
Fair enough. Sora had questions for her, as well. Ones not so easily asked nor answered.
“Mage Vo, I wonder if you have a little time to sit and chat.” Lisette gestured at the door, indicating a more private spot.
In the same tone, he inclined his head. “Of course. I have a few questions to ask you.”
“Splendid. It’s always nice when two people are on the same page. Perhaps my workroom will be the best place to sit and talk.”
Private indeed and it would give Sora a glimpse into the clan’s inner functions. A mage’s workroom could say a great deal about the skill level of the wielder. Sora had no compunctions as he followed her out of the room.
As they walked, Lisette asked casually, “I hope that you’ve been properly welcomed here? We’re all a tizzy with so many new mages at once, and I don’t want anyone to feel left out or slighted.”
Two—three including him—new mages were so amazing to them? It wasn’t as if Sora saw new mages outside of his family come in regularly, but they had many born to them. Gaining new mages wasn’t something unusual. It segued nicely into one of the many questions he had.
“You don’t have new mages born in?”
Lisette shook her head with a sad smile. “No. Not for lack of trying. All of our mages are mated to dragons, you see. We had a few welcome surprises—Sasha, for one—but few births. And with no mages partnered with other mages, we had no new magic users born.”
Uh-oh. No wonder he’d seen so few, then. Sora had wondered at the dearth of magic here and had made a few guesses. But this made it much clearer.
“May I ask what the Burkhard specialty is?”
“Explosions, if you ask our dragons,” Lisette answered dryly.
Sora snorted a laugh.
“Our mages, well, we don’t really have one. We’re a hodgepodge of mages who married in from other clans, so we all bring something different to the table. The Nohs their seeking spells, Tori his herbology, Clara her potion-making. Does your family have a specialty they claim?”
“Yes, healing.”
Lisette blinked in surprise, eyebrows lifting. “Oh? That’s one of the things we’ve lamented, our lack of healing knowledge. I’m afraid we lost most of that skillset in the war.”
It explained so much. During Ravi’s tour earlier, Sora had met quite a few members of the clan. While most were hale and hearty enough, there were small signs of ailments that should have been addressed. Easily addressed, no less. Sora had wondered why so many were wearing glasses when a simple corrective spell would address sight issues. That alone told the story of how much information this clan did not have.
And it was disturbing. Because those were rather basic spells.
Lisette led him into her workroom, gesturing him gracefully into a chair that looked plush and comfortable. As he took the seat, Sora glanced around, getting his bearings and doing a discreet study. The walls around him were filled with shelves, and he didn’t need the labels in neatly printed German to recognize the ingredients housed within the glass jars. There was a stainless-steel table off on the other side of the room, a stove and refrigerator, all of the modern conveniences. It was a very well-organized setup and an indication that this woman was head mage for a reason. She clearly knew what she was about.
At least one person in this clan knew what they were doing.
The greenhouses said that they had more than one competent mage, of course. But that wasn’t saying much. They should have had hundreds. Not a dozen.
Lisette settled across from him, shifting her skirts about for maximum comfort, still with that smile on her face. “Now, we should be able to talk without interruptions.”
Should Sora be worried? His instincts were suddenly sitting up, alert and focused.
“Tell me a little about yourself and your family, Sora. I’m avidly curious.”
Honesty, half-truth, or lie mixed in with truth…? That was the lightning-quick debate in Sora’s head. He decided on honesty only because he was a terrible liar, and it wouldn’t serve him well if he lied to them now. Not if there was a future connection to be had.
“I can’t tell you everything; I’m sorry. My family went into hiding at the beginning of the Dragon War, and they’re not compelled to leave it yet. But I’ll tell you what I’m allowed.”
To his surprise, Lisette nodded, as if she’d expected this. “That’s fine. Tell me what you’re comfortable saying.”
Sora had expected more resistance than this and couldn’t help but ask, “You’re alright with that?”
“We lost too much during the Dragon War, young mage. I know you’re too young to remember it. But because I do, I’m more inclined to be lenient and patient with those who survived it. Secrecy was the only thing that preserved some families. If your family needs to test the waters before revealing themselves, then I’ll patiently wait them out while dangling a carrot or three.”