He definitely needed to come up with something just as romant—
A brilliant blue blur streaked across the sky, and Ravi’s breath caught in his throat. He blinked, unsure if he’d actually seen what he thought he’d seen. Coul—
Two more blue blurs followed the first over his head, and Ravi’s knees went weak. Could it be? With a shaking hand, he reached up and clasped Sora’s hands, squeezing tightly as he stood, unmoving, staring up the sky, willing the blue blurs to return.
They did. Oh, god. They did.
Only this time, they didn’t speed by. They flew back with a lazy grace, their massive blue wings spread wide as they caught the morning breeze. Their long bodies winked and glistened with shades of blue. The largest of the trio was a deep, murky blue that bordered on black in places. The second was a sky blue, barely discernable from its surroundings. The third, smaller dragon was a pale steel blue-grey.
Wind dragons.
“You…you did this? Wind dragons for me?” he whispered, the words getting caught against the lump in his throat.
Sora’s arms tightened around him. “Yes. They’re from the Sodalicium. When you told me you didn’t know any wind dragons, I called them and asked them to come meet you.”
“I can’t believe you did that,” Ravi said. He wanted to turn and wrap his arms around Sora, but he was frozen, unable to tear his eyes away from the dragons as they slowly circled the courtyard, dropping lower and lower.
The largest of the trio dropped to the stone courtyard first and shook his head before shifting into a man in colorful robes. His thick black hair was braided into a queue down his back, and his face was delightfully round, splitting into an excited grin when his eyes fell onto Ravi.
Behind him, the sky blue dragon dropped next, shifting into a young man who stood at almost the same height as Ravi. His bright blue eyes sparkled in the early morning light as if with laughter.
The final wind dragon landed, but she held back, remaining in her dragon form. The dragon’s head bobbed back and forth as if trying to get a better view of Ravi, but she seemed hesitant.
Sora chuckled behind him and released Ravi so he could step around the shorter man to approach the newcomers.
Sora introduced the larger of the three dragons. “Ravi, I would like to introduce Balin Yamuna of the wind dragons. He was a member of your clan and a friend of your parents.”
Ravi’s eyes went even wider. “You knew my parents?”
Balin stared at Ravi with a mix of joy and sadness, nodding. “I did. It is such an honor to meet you now, Ravi.”
“And this is your cousin, Sahan,” Sora continued, waving his hand toward the other man who was watching Ravi.
“Cousin?” Ravi gulped. He wasn’t only faced with other wind dragons; this man was a blood relative.
To his shock, Sahan walked right up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug, swinging him off his feet until they were both laughing.
“We had no idea you were still alive, Cousin.” Sahan laughed as he reluctantly put Ravi back on his shaky legs.
Balin turned and lovingly snapped at the other dragon, who was holding back, waving his hand for her to join them. After a moment of hesitation, the dragon shifted into a young woman in a beautiful blue-and-silver sari. She appeared to be only a teenager with long black hair braided down her back.
“Ravi, this is my daughter, Chandi. She is a bit shy, but she is very excited to meet you,” Balin said.
Chandi stepped forward until she was standing next to Balin. Her smile was a little uncertain, but her dark eyes were bright and dancing as if she were brimming with questions. She bowed to him.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Ravi.”
Ravi’s mouth bobbed for a moment. The entire encounter had rendered him incapable of speech, and it might have actually succeeded in breaking his brain. He looked up at Sora when the mage chuckled lightly.
Ravi shoved both his hands into his hair and released all the air in his lungs in a huge rush. “Whoa. This is so much. But how…how did you not know about me?”
Balin’s smile folded in on itself, and he stared down at the ground.
“So much information was lost at the end of the war. Not all of the wind dragons joined in the fight, though most did. I remained behind with a small group. Several mages were pregnant—including Sahan’s mother, who was your mother’s sister. It wasn’t safe for them to travel, so I was among the few who remained behind as protection. At the end of the war, when I heard of your parents’ death from King Chalo, I gathered up the remaining wind dragons and joined the Sodalicium, traveling east. We were too few in number to remain on our own.” Balin shook his head and swallowed hard. “If I had known you were still alive, I would have come for you, brought you home to your people.”
Something squeezed Ravi’s heart tight, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. He was torn. To have grown up among other wind dragons, to have someone like Sahan, who was actually related to him by blood. To have grown up with people who had known his parents well. It sounded like a sweet dream.
But it would have meant growing up without Alric, Baldewin, Gunter, Dieter, and Lisette. It would have meant not running through the halls of Burkhard Castle or soaring over the mountains he knew so well. It would have meant not having this family, and that idea was almost suffocating.
Sora placed his hand on Ravi’s shoulder and squeezed, his beautiful eyes filled with so much worry. “It’s not King Alric’s fault. I spoke with him, and he explained that there was so much chaos after the war. He didn’t realize that King Chalo was unaware you had survived. It took a couple of years for things to settle, but King Alric sent a messenger to where the wind dragons had lived.”
Balin shook his head. “But we had already left. King Alric had no idea there were any other wind dragons in the world. I’m sorry, Ravi.”
Ravi violently shook his head, blinking back tears for his lost parents, for the lost years, but also for the fact that Balin had worried about him. He rushed forward and grabbed both of Balin’s arms tightly.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I love it here. I am loved here. I’ve had a very happy life here and couldn’t imagine being happier. Hoheit and the entire clan have cared for me and made me their family.”
A loud sigh of relief left Balin, and he nodded, looking as if he were fighting back tears. “Sora said the same, but it is good to hear it from you.”
Ravi turned and hugged Sahan again, earning a laugh from the man.
“But I’ve got a cousin now!” He smiled at Chandi, who smiled back at him. “And I think you will be a great cousin for me, as well.” He looked over at Balin. “But you’re more of an uncle. Definitely Uncle Balin, I think. A dragon can always use more family.”
Balin laughed deeply as he rested his arm on Sora’s shoulder. Ravi couldn’t believe it. He was standing with three wind dragons. But not just any wind dragons. Balin had known his parents, and Sahan was related to him. And while he didn’t know Chandi, one look at her told him she was going to be the best partner-in-crime when she finally got comfortable around him.
“Do I have more family?” he couldn’t help but ask, bouncing on his toes with excitement.
“Oh, yes, several more cousins. You haven’t met all of us,” Chandi assured him. “We’re just the first to meet you.”