Warmth and love wrapped around his heart, squeezing him. He could do this. He could talk to Sora, and they’d figure out their fate together.
And if it meant leaving Burkhard, then he could do it. The people he loved would never stop loving him, and he would always love them regardless of whether he saw them every day or only once in a great while. Life was an adventure, and he was ready to take the next step with his mate.
Reluctantly, he released Alric and roughly wiped at his burning eyes. Stupid allergies—that had to be it. At least he wasn’t the only one; Alric’s blue eyes were sparkling, too.
“Have a fun, naughty night with Cam.”
“Go, Ravi!” Alric chuckled.
With a final laugh, Ravi walked briskly toward the door. He needed to find his mate.
And maybe a Twister mat or two.
Sora sat with Lisette and Cameron in the head mage’s workroom, seated comfortably in well-stuffed chairs, and talked magic. His head had finally stopped aching from the Burkhard Fire Wine he’d over-indulged in last night. He was quickly learning his lesson when it came to listening to Cassie’s suggestions. They were more dangerous than Ravi’s impulsive ideas.
Thank Kami-sama Ravi had planned ahead and kept two hangover cures next to the bed. He’d spent the night with Ravi—as he normally did, now—and woke up to a ringing head, his mouth tasting like something furry had crawled inside and died, messily. Ravi, apparently better at processing alcohol than his puny human body, was already up and coaxing the cure down Sora’s parched throat.
Definitely an upside, having a dragon lover who was a morning person.
In the peace of Lisette’s private sanctuary, Sora could comfortably enjoy talking with his peers. He’d always loved this part of being in a magical clan—the ability to sit like this and discuss theory. To work together in tandem with others to create something truly magical. He loved this process more than anything, this pitting of intellect and possibilities against a problem.
And this was definitely a problem in need of a solution.
“I’m so glad you came.” Lisette wore a sad smile on her face even as she oriented to face him more directly.
The mage looked comfortably attired, today, in a dark green dress that hugged her from collar bones to ankles in a flattering way, and she clearly had multiple things stashed in the front pockets, judging by the way she clinked.
“We didn’t know how to ask for your help without sounding desperate, but Ravi encouraged us to do so. He was adamant that you wanted to help but weren’t sure how to ask.”
“I’m perfectly fine sounding desperate,” Cameron pitched in darkly. There was a pained frown gathering across his brow. “Alric’s been neglecting himself the past several days, jumping from one thing to another, and I can’t get him to slow down enough for me to apply the salve every morning. He’s in pain and ignoring it.”
And the mage was clearly upset his mate was carrying that pain. Sora could see it clearly in Cameron’s eyes. He’d not had a great deal of interaction with the consort of this clan, but in this moment, he didn’t see a consort. Just a man who was deeply worried about his husband.
Sora’s heart went out to him, even as his mind revved up to tackle the problem. “Ravi has mentioned some of it to me. What is his condition, precisely?”
Cameron answered readily, his dark eyes intense. “A spell hit him along the back and left shoulder, damaging the nerves and leaving a wicked burn mark along that area. Alric believes it was some mix of fire and lightning spells, but it’s hard for us to know for sure. It was enough to get past a fire dragon’s hide, though.”
“Two, in fact,” Lisette corrected grimly. “Alric now suffers from pinched nerves and tingling sensations, and his grip strength in that hand is basically nonexistent. If something’s over a pound, he can’t lift it. He doesn’t have full range of motion—even lifting the arm above shoulder height is difficult.”
It sounded like nerve and muscle damage to Sora. “But there’s no indication anything is wrong in his skeletal structure? Specifically along the spine?”
They exchanged bewildered glances.
Lisette offered slowly, “I think his bones are fine? Why do you ask?”
“The symptoms you’ve just relayed to me suggest that there is a compression to the c-spine. Weakness in the arm and hand, burning sensations, numbness—all of that is commonly linked to compression. It would make perfect sense to me if the spine were pinching nerves and pulling muscles and tendons out of whack.”
Cameron sat up abruptly, eyes alight. “Does this mean we can counter those symptoms if we can decompress the spine?”
“Not a hundred percent, perhaps, but we can certainly improve the situation by leaps and bounds. I hesitate to promise anything until I can examine King Alric myself. But I think it’s very possible to alleviate the worst of these symptoms.” Sora now itched to lay hands on the man himself, but it wasn’t the easiest of tasks to ask a king to strip down for a stranger’s examination. “What have you been using to treat him?”
Lisette popped up and fetched a sheet, which she passed to him. It detailed the potion elements and recipe in neat handwriting. Reflected sunlight, untouched snowflake, distilled frankincense, and carrier oil. There was a scribbled note on the side: Willow bark. Ah, a good addition. Willow bark acted as a topical pain reliever all by itself. Add that into this mixture, and it could only enhance the other elements.
“You added in willow bark recently?”
“Tori’s addition,” Cameron explained. “Tori, frankly, knows more herbology than most of us combined. He’s the one who suggested it, and it has definitely helped.”
“Yes, it would. He’s mentioned to me he’s interested in becoming a healer. I didn’t know what to say when we first discussed it, and he’s not brought it up since.”
“Tori would jump at the chance to learn, if someone was willing to teach him.” Lisette eyed him as if wondering about Sora’s intentions. “He has a very keen mind, that one.”
“If not myself, then someone of my family will be happy to teach him more of the trade. We believe that knowledge should be passed along to those willing to learn.”
Sora made a mental note to bring this up with his parents. Heaven knew, they needed more healers, and his parents were always excited at the prospect of teaching. If they were going into an outright war, then the healers would be at their wits’ end. Sora set the thought aside to be handled later and focused on the here and now.
“I see no issue with what you’re using. But I do have a few thoughts. Something we can use in addition to the salve. I suspect there is a build-up of scar tissue interfering with the nerves. I have a potion that can help break it up and then keep it from rebuilding.”
“That sounds promising, too.” Lisette propped her hands on her hips, clearly thinking hard. “A maintenance potion to keep trouble from reaccumulating in the future.”
“Yes, that’s precisely what it is. It’s not a complicated potion, and if we apply it before the pain-relieving salve you have here, then it will significantly cut into King Alric’s numbness.”
Cameron was so excited he practically vibrated in his chair. “That sounds amazing. We’ve never been able to do anything about the numbness. You know what? I’m calling him. Right now.”