“My parents were very close friends with Hoheit’s parents, the king and queen of the Fire Dragon Clan. The wind dragons fought alongside the other dragon and mage clans against the Jaeggi. I was just a baby at the time, and I was left behind at Burkhard Castle, where I’d be safe from everything.”
“Do you know how old you were?”
“Probably only two or three years at most. My first memories are of this castle. My parents and my clan were killed during the war. As far as I know, I’m the only wind dragon in existence. Alric lost his parents at the same time. He didn’t hesitate—he immediately adopted me. I know I’m a wind dragon, but I’ve always been a member of the Burkhard Clan.”
Sora smiled at him, but there appeared to be a lingering sadness in his eyes. “They clearly love you and see you as one of their own.”
“Definitely,” Ravi said, his voice full of enthusiasm. “No one has ever treated me differently because I’m not a fire dragon. I’m family first. If anything, they value me even more because I can do things that they can’t. I’m the fastest in the entire clan. I can control the wind. I am one of the personal bodyguards to the royal family.”
“You have a lot to be proud of, and you are very loved here. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you weren’t,” Sora said, rubbing his head again. “I guess I just found it curious to find a wind dragon alone among fire dragons.”
“I understand. I guess I only ever saw myself as just another dragon among the Burkhard dragons.” Ravi paused and closed his eyes, snuggling his head against Sora. When he spoke again, he’d dropped his voice as close to a whisper as he could get in his dragon form. “I love my family. I wish I could remember my real parents, but I don’t. Dieter and Alric have told me a few stories, but even they don’t have many to tell. I’ve always felt loved and cherished here. A true part of the family. But I have wondered…”
“Wondered what?”
“What it would be like to meet another wind dragon. Are there things that I don’t know because the fire dragons simply can’t teach me? I never want to leave my family, but…are there things I don’t know about myself, things I can only learn from another wind dragon?”
“Possibly.”
“There are old stories that some wind dragons might exist within the Lost Clan, but no one has heard from them. Most of us don’t believe they even exist anymore. But if they do, I wish I could talk to another wind dragon for a little while.”
Sora’s hand drifted across Ravi’s head in a soothing caress. “So do I, Ravi. So do I.”
Two days later, Sora found himself hesitating outside Ravi’s door, heart pounding. Eagerness to see the dragon’s smiling face was at the forefront of his mind, but nerves about the next step he needed to take with all the members of the Burkhard Clan predominated.
He’d finally gotten the approval from his mother. He could come clean to all of them about his identity. Especially Ravi—and that was a weight off his shoulders. He could finally, finally be completely truthful with Ravi and no longer watch every word out of his mouth. Sora felt like crowing, he was so relieved.
Firming up his resolve and silencing his worries, Sora knocked on Ravi’s door. The dragon’s grumpy voice called out, and Sora instantly smiled. From what he’d seen of the man, he was not normally grumpy by nature, but this injury was slowing him down, and Ravi was not a slow creature.
Of course, wind dragons weren’t typically slow about anything, not that he could explain how he knew. At least, not until he’d spoken with King Alric.
Ravi’s door swung open, and the man’s face instantly brightened when he locked eyes with Sora. “There you are! I was beginning to feel like you were avoiding me!”
Sora shook his head. “Never. How are you feeling today?”
Ravi shrugged one shoulder and instantly winced. “You know that phrase, your body is a temple? Well, mine’s a federation starship with critical hull damage and shields at twenty percent.”
As he backed up, letting Sora into his room, he lifted one side of his baggy shirt to reveal white bandages wrapped around his ribs, back, and shoulders.
“Lisette was here early this morning, getting my dressings changed and new salve applied.” Ravi dropped his shirt and gave Sora a little sad look. “I thought you were going to look it over.”
His eyes darted around as if he were checking for spies before he continued in a whisper, “You have a gentler touch than Lisette.”
Closing the door behind him, Sora laughed. “I’m sorry. I slept late this morning after someone kept me up for a movie marathon.”
“D’oh!” Ravi cringed. “I guess we shouldn’t have crammed in all three original Indiana Jones movies last night.”
After dinner the previous evening, Sora had stretched out on the pillows next to Ravi in dragon form and watched the first two movies. Before starting the third, he and Lisette had checked Ravi over, finally deciding to let him shift so he could sleep in his own bed.
The change from dragon to human had been slow and clearly painful for the dragon, and Sora had hated it even as he’d been grimly aware of the necessity. He wasn’t sure who had winced more, he or Ravi, during the whole process. But leaving after Ravi was back in human form, bones aching and exhausted, had not sat well with him, which was why Sora had readily agreed to watch the third movie with Ravi in his room. Not only did he get to spend more time with the cute man, but he was able to keep an eye on him and make sure his injuries weren’t aggravated by the shift.
“When I finally got up, I discovered that Lisette had already checked on you, so I saw to our other explosion patients this morning. But if you’d like, I can look over your injuries now.”
Ravi seemed to think about it for a second before finally shaking his head, his smile a little wry. “Nah. I’m okay. Still tender in spots, but I’m healing.”
Sora chewed on his bottom lip for a second, and while he wasn’t much of a control freak, he didn’t know if he could trust the medical knowledge in this clan.
For his own sake, he asked, “Do you mind if I check you over anyway? You are, technically, my patient, and while I know Lisette has done a fabulous job, I won’t be able to relax until I see for myself that you’re okay.”
“Oh yeah! Of course!” Ravi instantly perked up and started pulling at his shirt, not caring about his injuries as he walked toward his bed.
Sora batted his hands away and took over carefully removing his shirt while Ravi sat on the edge of the mattress. As Sora had expected, Lisette had expertly wrapped Ravi this morning, and he secretly prayed she never found out that he was double-checking her work. He wasn’t trying to undermine her. It was more like he was making absolutely sure all was well.
With great care, he peeled away the new bandages to reveal mostly healed wounds and tender flesh. But there were also incredibly strong shoulders and nicely molded biceps that were tempting Sora’s fingers. He really wanted to pet and caress. He had to clench his hands several times to make them behave.
He stepped back and hurried over to the dresser where the salve they were using on Ravi was placed. “I think I’ll put on a fresh coating of salve. It’ll help ease some of your muscle ache.”