Breath (Scales 'n' Spells 2)

“I’m so sorry. So very sorry. You never should have had to suffer through that. No one should. But to think a mage was so poorly treated, it makes me sick.”

Tori shook his head; Baldewin’s words and the emotions thickening his deep voice were a soothing balm over old hurts. “It’s okay. Well, no, it’s really not okay, but it’s my past now. This,” he said, holding up Baldewin’s phone and giving it a little shake, “this is so much better. This is hope. This has to be a better life. Or at least proof that I could find a better life somewhere.”

“You can, and you will. I think you’ll find a mate at Burkhard, but if you’re not happy there, we won’t make you stay. Alric speaks frequently with the Valerii ice dragons in Brazil. If you don’t wish to stay, I am sure they would welcome a visit from you.”

Tori had to bite the inside of his mouth at the funny little curl that formed in Baldewin’s upper lip when he mentioned the other dragon clan. He didn’t think Baldewin would suggest them if they weren’t good dragons, but Tori got the impression that he thought his clan was better and that Tori should obviously stay with the fire dragons.

“And the Ice Clan, they’re like the Fire Clan?”

Baldewin’s left eyebrow jumped in question. “What do you mean?”

Tori nearly snickered. “Pansexual. You said dragons are pansexual.”

“Oh! Yes!” Baldewin sank back into his chair. “Dragons are naturally drawn to their mate.”

“Regardless of their mage’s gender?”

Baldewin nodded. “I guess that’s why we dragons say we’re pansexual. We simply know we are going to be drawn to our perfect match, and we don’t see their gender. Only how their soul weaves with our own.”

“And it’s always been this way?”

“For as long as I can remember, which is over six centuries. We can check with Gunter on the history, but I know I’ve heard stories of it being so long before I was born.”

“Then where would my clan get such an idea?”

A heavy sigh left the dragon’s parted lips, and he scrubbed a hand over his buzzed hair. “My guess—and it’s just a guess—is because mages were usually female. Male mages were extremely rare. I’d have to ask Gunter for exact numbers. Maybe one born for every hundred females. Someone in your clan might have wrongly assumed that the rarity of males was linked to them being unwanted or useless, but it’s utter nonsense. If I were gifted with a mate, I would cherish them regardless of what form they came in. They would be my most precious treasure, and I would devote my existence to my mate’s happiness.”

Tori found himself tumbling into the dragon’s grey-green eyes. His mouth had grown as dry as the desert. To be cherished and treasured by this man would be quite a wonderful thing.

Only in his most secret fantasies when he was too tired to put up his defenses had he allowed himself to dream about what it might be like to be held by Baldewin. To be cared for. To be seduced.

Before Tori could formulate a coherent thought, there was a knocking at the door. Well, not so much a knock as a couple of dull thuds. Baldewin jumped to his feet and quickly crossed the room, with Tori following a few steps behind him. He didn’t think the Jaeggi would make another grab for him already, not when it was clear dragons were guarding him.

Standing off to the side, Baldewin glanced at Tori and motioned for him to move to the side so he wouldn’t be in direct view of the opening when Baldewin looked to see who it was. The man was clearly good at protecting people and took his job seriously. Maybe if Tori had listened to him sooner, he wouldn’t have gotten into trouble and been forced to fly across the city dangling from a dragon. No. Nice thought, but there was no way he would have listened to Baldewin without a little more proof.

When Tori was in a safe location, Baldewin carefully pulled open the door, his shoulders instantly relaxing. Warin walked inside, his arms full of bags and containers of food. It was easily enough to feed a dozen people. Rich smells filled the air, and Tori’s stomach took the opportunity to growl loudly.

“Ha! I thought I’d bought too much,” Warin laughed.

“You did. Are there more dragons or mages hiding on the ferry I don’t know about?” Tori teased. Both dragons stared at him in surprise for a moment as Tori replayed the words in his head, wondering what he’d said that was so surprising.

But it wasn’t so much what he’d said, rather how he’d said it. He’d teased them. For the first time ever. No sarcasm or biting comments. Just playful teasing. Did that mean he was starting to trust them? Maybe the hope he was clinging to from Cameron was starting to bleed into how he viewed his traveling companions.