Another hand landed on his shoulder, and Sora tersely said, “He’s alright.”
“I can tell.”
Sora blinked, turning his head to see who it was. Oh. “Tori?”
“Yeah. Good work here. Really, excellent work. Need a hand?”
He almost said no. Some dark, emotional part of him didn’t want anyone near Ravi, didn’t want another soul touching him while he was hurting and vulnerable, but the logical side kicked in again and he thought better of it. “In a minute, I’ll need to bind his wing. He absolutely can’t move it until it’s healed.”
“Ravi? Not move? Shit, that’s going to be a tall order.” Tori grimaced but gave a nod. “Alright, I can help you with the binding. If he can’t move it, then I assume he can’t shift, either? He’s stuck in this form for a few days?”
“Unfortunately. He’ll be crippled for life if he tries to shift now.”
“Then we’d better make him comfortable out here. No way can he fit through the hallways.” Tori turned his head and bellowed, “Sasha! We need blankets and pillows for Ravi!”
Sasha turned out to be an incredibly well-built woman with blonde hair and as many muscles as any bodybuilder. She jogged to them, protesting and shaking her head as she moved. “No, this isn’t secure with the windows blown out like that. We need to stabilize everyone enough to move them out, clean up, and do some repair work.”
Tori immediately countered back. “Ravi can’t be moved. He’s got multiple broken bones in his wings.”
Backing this, Sora threw in, “If he shifts now, he’ll never fly again.”
“Well, shit,” Sasha growled. “Okay. I’ll update people on this and get some blankets and mounds of pillows over to you. Give me a minute. BALDEWIN!”
She jogged off, supposedly to update others on the situation and change the plans of clearing this area.
Tori left as well, to get something to bind the wing with. Sora focused on the burned skin as he did that, glad this clan knew how to work together in an emergency. Of course, it made sense that they had good teamwork. They’d only had each other to rely on for years.
He sat back on his heels for a moment, taking a breather and waiting for Tori to return. He needed a second, anyway. Sora’s emotions were battering at him, and he stole a moment to wipe the tears from his eyes with the hem of his shirt. Kami-sama, this was hard, seeing Ravi broken and bleeding like this. He wanted to gather him up, soothe the wind dragon with kisses and soft touches, try to erase it all. Even though he knew it was futile and impossible to do any of that.
Sora had suspected that Ravi was important to him. That there might be something between them. But right now, with his heart screaming at him, it couldn’t be more obvious. Ravi was everything. Everything his heart had ever wanted and more. And Sora would make sure he stood on his own feet again, that he could fly again. There was no room for error.
And when he had Ravi well and whole again, he’d do more to win this man. To confess his heart. There was a great deal that Sora needed to say, and not only to Ravi. This wasn’t the right time for it, but he’d create the right moment if he had to. There was no doubt about that.
His eyes went to the two other people who’d been injured, but they had already been treated and carried away it seemed. He saw no sign of them now. Someone was cleaning up the glass with some brisk cleaning spells, and two dragons had already shifted and were perched just outside, standing guard.
The wind blowing through the broken windows carried with it a hint of smoke, and Sora nearly smiled. Fire dragons. Angry fire dragons. He’d never thought he’d see fire dragons in his life, and now two red beasts were sitting just a few yards away, little curls of grey smoke trickling from their mouths as if they were barely controlling their rage. Not that Sora blamed them. Their home had been attacked. Their family had been hurt. If he were a fire dragon, he’d be breathing smoke right now, too.
King Alric jogged up to him, taking in the sight of Ravi with a pinched expression. “How is he, Mage Vo?”
“Injured, but nothing that he can’t recover from. Sadly, several bones in his wing are broken, and I cannot advise moving him until they’ve healed.” Knowing that this man needed a firmer timeline, Sora offered, “Depending on his rate of healing, anywhere from three to five days. Then it will be safe for him to shift without compromising his recovery.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Alric passed a hand over Ravi’s undamaged hide, looking on the point of either murder or tears. “Of course he’d be the one most hurt out of everyone.”
“Can I ask what happened?” Sora still had no idea how Ravi had been hurt.
“Someone snuck in. A Jaeggi, we think, coming in with the other new mages. Ravi caught some hint of her intentions, and he chased after the woman. We believe that, when she realized she’d been caught, she chose to ignite the bomb here. Ravi shifted and used his wind to blow the force of the explosion out of the castle, minimizing the damage.”
Sora regarded the little wind dragon next to him with renewed respect and heartache. Wind dragons were always teased about being impulsive and mischievous. They weren’t the responsible ones. He thought Ravi rather fit the type of his people, but clearly he could be very responsible when the situation called for it. And brave, as that had to have been terrifying, to face off with a bomb and know that you were in the blast radius. No wonder King Alric trusted him so much, as clearly the man knew the true nature of his bodyguard.
“His speed and wind saved him. Possibly saved a lot of mages and dragons today.”
“I believe that’s true. That and his intuition. It’s seriously uncanny. You’ve come to the aid of one of mine, Mage Vo, and it’s truly appreciated beyond what words can express.”
Sora gave the man a smile. “I’m very fond of Ravi, you know. I don’t want him hurting. I’ll do everything in my power to aid his recovery and keep him comfortable.”
Tori returned at that moment, his arms full of a folded white sheet of some kind and two long poles over one shoulder. “Can we make a makeshift cast out of this?”
“I think so.” Sora eyed the offerings with a judicious look. “I have a spell I can use to cement it, keep it flexible but firm. You won’t be able to use those things again afterwards, though.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I filched this from storage, no one will miss it.”
“Excellent.”
King Alric motioned for them to go ahead. “I’ll let you work, but I’ll swing back by soon.”
He probably had castle security and a hundred other things to oversee. Sora didn’t need his help here anyway. He focused on holding the bars steady as Tori wrapped the cloth around the wing, then fastened it in place. Sora enacted a plastering spell on top of that, turning it slightly more rigid so the bones underneath had no chance to shift. Good, that should hold.
Tori gave him a nod and said, “I’ll fetch blankets and pillows, maybe a couple of mattresses. Do not leave him alone; the first thing he’ll try to do is move.”
“I believe that.” Sora stayed planted, watching Ravi carefully for any sign of wakefulness. As he stared at this beautiful, amazing dragon, his heart ached.