Breath (Scales 'n' Spells 2)

No. Never again. The Jaeggi were not getting close to Tori or any of the Burkhard mages again. Any mage, if he could help it.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Dieter muttered softly. “The same clan who destroyed so many lives centuries ago is back, and it’s draining mages. They need to be uncovered and eliminated once and for all.”

“While I’m not a fan of taking out an entire clan, it’s clear from my captivity that they won’t be reasoned with,” Cameron said with a sigh. “I don’t think they’re going to leave us any other choice.”

Alric turned his hand and threaded his fingers through Cameron’s, giving his mate a tender look before turning a harder one on the other members of the council. “Until we find a way to uncover where they are hiding, we will have to maintain our restrictions on travel for all mages. I also don’t want any dragon leaving the castle alone. If they are tapping mages for power, I don’t want to consider what they might do if they get their hands on a dragon.”

“Could they even drain a dragon’s power?” Ravi inquired. He shifted in his seat, resting both his forearms on the table. “A dragon has to be mated to a mage, or at least be willing to share their energy. They couldn’t just…take it, could they?”

Alric turned his gaze to Lisette, who drew in a deep breath and sadly shrugged one shoulder.

“In truth, I wouldn’t have thought it possible to drain a mage of their energy, but they are doing it. It may be safer right now to assume they could steal a dragon’s power. It’s not something I’d want to be surprised with.”

“Our home is protected,” Cameron declared, but his look of confidence quickly faded. “But what of Tori’s clan in Finland? Is it possible that the Jaeggi who discovered Tori know about the Taavi Clan to the north? They need to be warned.”

Baldewin cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “The situation with the Taavi Clan is not…ideal,” he hedged.

Ravi scratched his jaw and smirked. “I think you’re going to have to give more details than that. I haven’t talked to Tori a lot, but I find it kind of hard to believe that the guy was kicked out for being this wild rebel who liked to push back against authority. Are they going to give us a hard time because Tori belongs to the Burkhard Clan now?”

“Not exactly.” Baldewin sorted through a couple of delicate ways of phrasing what Tori had told him, but in the end, he decided that blunt was probably best. “They’re a bunch of judgmental, homophobic, elitist assholes,” he snarled. “They have been teaching each generation that male mages are useless because a dragon would never dare to mate with a male. All males are generally treated like shit. Their only worth is in their ability to produce more female mages. And if you’re a gay man…”

“Fuck,” Ravi swore softly. “No wonder Tori got the hell out of there.”

Baldewin nodded. “They believe dragons betrayed mages, and the Jaeggi in particular. That we were the ones who started the war. They even told Tori that he’s horrible at magic when they’re the ones who are incapable. It’s utter bullshit. Tori is amazing, and he’s clearly worth more than the entire clan put together.”

A hand landed on Baldewin’s shoulder, and he looked over to find Lisette smiling at him with warm concern in her eyes. He realized that his fisted hands were trembling before him on the table. He’d gotten so lost in his anger over the things Tori had told him about his clan.

“Whoa, man. Baldewin, you’re smoking,” Ravi said in a stunned voice.

“Quite impressive. In all these centuries, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Baldewin lose his temper,” Gunter observed.

“It’s rare, but it happens. Though, this has got to be the first time in at least a century,” Alric lightly teased.

“Forgive me, Hoheit. That was unprofessional of me,” Baldewin murmured, bowing his head to the king.

Alric waved his right hand at his old friend, brushing off the apology. “You’ve grown close to Tori over the past several days. It’s understandable that you’re protective. If Cameron had come to me with such stories, I’m not sure their town would still be standing.”

“Awww, you’d defend my honor with a dragon firestorm,” Cameron cooed playfully. He leaned his head against Alric’s shoulder and exaggeratedly batted his eyelashes behind his glasses.

“At the very least,” Alric promised before kissing the tip of Cameron’s nose.

“Well, if they’re assholes like that, I vote to let the Jaeggi have them,” Ravi said, raising his hand up in the air.

Dieter sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes with one hand. “No, we can’t do that.”

“Are you sure? Sounds like they deserve it,” Ravi countered. “And I bet Baldewin would vote with me.”