The gorgeous blue dragon turned in an instant and darted down to him. He threw his broad slate-blue wings out to catch the wind and slow his descent. Closing them again, he dropped suddenly, landing directly in front of Sora in his human form.
“Are you hurt? Did they touch you?” Ravi demanded. One hand cupped Sora’s cheek while the other swept across his chest as if checking him for injuries.
Warmth and joy poured through Sora’s veins and wrapped tight around his heart. His beautiful, funny dragon. “I’m fine. They never touched me. What about you? You’re the one who is still recovering from the explosion.”
“I’m fine. They didn’t lay a hand or a spell on me.”
“Good.”
Ravi sighed heavily. He dropped his hand from Sora’s cheek to rest it on his chest.
“Yes, all the mages are just fine,” his mother tossed in, making Ravi wince. The dragon blushed and cleared his throat.
“Sorry. Yes. Of course. I’m so glad you’re all safe. I—”
“This is outrageous!” thundered King Chalo. The king of the Earth Dragons stomped over in his human form, and the earth gave an answering quake. “They attacked us! In broad daylight!”
“And they thought they could steal our mages!” King Roca added.
“Not a chance of that happening,” his mate said with a snort.
“They’ve been this bold for nearly a year,” Ravi explained. He shook his head and looked back over his shoulder, at the place where the four cars had blockaded the parking lot. “We don’t know why they’re doing this, but they are growing more aggressive.”
“More aggressive?” Sora’s father repeated. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung open. Sora couldn’t remember ever seeing such a look of shock on his face.
“That’s enough for me,” King Chalo growled. “Whatever help Alric wants, he’s getting it. Mages, dragons, weapons. All we’ve got.”
The king of the Metal Dragons nodded. “We’re crushing the Jaeggi once and for all. They won’t harm another dragon or mage.”
Sora chuckled as Ravi’s mouth bobbed open and closed several times, but no words came out. Yes, the Burkhard dragons were soon going to find themselves up to their eyeballs in the Sodalicium. They would finally solve their Jaeggi problem, making it safe for dragons and mages to find each other once again.
“Thank you. I—we—wow, yes…” Ravi sucked in a harsh breath and laughed. “King Alric is going to be thrilled, but we need to get moving now.”
Ravi looked around the other dragons toward the restaurant, and Sora joined him. The other customers and staff were standing in the windows with their phones lifted.
Yep, this was definitely going to be on the internet in a matter of minutes, if it wasn’t already. So much for King Alric’s attempts to control the dragon message. Sora suspected all the kings were going to be stuck doing damage control interviews.
Sora jumped back into the front seat of the SUV he’d been riding in while Ravi ushered the dragons into their SUVs. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. He hadn’t been worried that the Sodalicium would hesitate to help the Burkhard Clan, but it was nice to know King Alric had their full support before they’d even arrived.
A small hand squeezed his arm, and Sora looked around to find his mother smiling at him. “Ravi is quite amazing in a fight. He’s so fast.”
“Wind dragons are fast.”
She made a little noise in the back of her throat. “He’s fast even for a wind dragon, and so very dedicated to your safety.”
Okay, so maybe he had nothing to say to that. Ravi was sweetly concerned over his well-being; Sora couldn’t deny it and didn’t want to.
She patted his arm and started to sit back in her seat again. “He’s going to fit in perfectly with the Sodalicium.”
Sora turned back to face forward, a boulder sinking in his stomach. He hadn’t thought of that. It was clear that his mother, and very likely his father, expected him to return home after they were done dealing with the Jaeggi.
But, was that what he wanted?
And what about Ravi? Would the wind dragon even consider coming to live with the rest of the Sodalicium?
Just as the questions were starting to churn in his brain, the driver’s side door opened and Ravi jumped into the seat. He took one look at Sora and his smile disappeared.
“Everything okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yes!” Sora quickly said. Now was definitely not the time to be thinking about such things. “Just…I’m just thinking about the attack.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, the bodyguards are back without any Jaeggi. They scattered like cockroaches. I think it’s best if we get on the road before we’re swamped with reporters and police.”
“Good idea.” Leaning across the center console, Sora brushed a kiss across Ravi’s cheek, winning a surprised smile from the dragon. “Let’s get out of here. I’m sure King Alric is anxious to have this crazy caravan safely at Burkhard.”
“Too true.” Ravi deftly pulled the SUV out of the parking lot and started them on the two-hour journey back to Sonthofen.
Sora was grateful for the drive as it gave him time to turn over the seed his mother had so deftly planted. Ravi in the Sodalicium. Ravi in his home. Ravi able to fly with wind dragons, his own kind, at last. Was that temptation enough to lure him away from Burkhard?
Ravi didn’t take an easy breath until they finally pulled the SUVs into the massive courtyard of Burkhard Castle. While leaving the restaurant hadn’t exactly been easy, the drive from Munich to Sonthofen had proven to be quiet. Thank heaven.
Over the course of the two hours, Sora chatted with his parents, catching up on clan news and gossip about life back with the rest of the Sodalicium. There had been marriages, births, dating mishaps, and other shenanigans, which painfully reminded Ravi that Sora had an entire life with the rest of his clan on the other side of the world.
Yes, they were dating, and when a mage dated a dragon, it was understood that the intention was they would one day become mates, but did it mean something different to Sora and his clan? Would Sora seriously consider staying with the Burkhard Clan so they could be mates?
Or was he expecting Ravi to leave Burkhard and return to the Sodalicium with him?
Just the idea of leaving his home, his family, and his king made his stomach queasy. Burkhard was everything to him. Serving and protecting Alric and his family was everything. With the appearance of new mages, he’d even begun to look forward to the day when Alric and Cameron would have their first child and he would get to protect their baby dragon as they toddled around the castle.
But to claim Sora as his own. To build a life with Sora. To have a family with Sora. All those thoughts made his heart speed up and his head get all fuzzy. He didn’t want to imagine a day when he wouldn’t get to see Sora’s handsome face.
Ravi gave his head a hard shake. Now was not the time to worry about what would happen between himself and Sora. They’d suffered another attack by the Jaeggi. He had to get two kings, their mates, and Sora’s parents to the castle safely. They had a war to finish. It all needed to be done before Ravi could even think about a future with Sora.