“Oh! Gramps! I need to tell my grandpa. He’s the only one who believes in any of this. He’s got to be dying to know!” How in the world could he have forgotten?
Cameron laughed. “Sounds like my grandmother.”
“Hoheit, we should be heading to the train station to arrange for our passage to Sonthofen tonight,” Gunter broke in.
“Why not just fly? We could be home in a matter of a few hours,” Warin suggested.
Cameron cackled. “Because North would be a magecicle by the time you got him here.”
North winced. “As much as I’d love to fly with you, I’ve learned that I definitely don’t have the right clothes for your winters here.”
Warin stared at him with a kind of appraising expression before giving a little nod. “Then we will need to stop in Munich. Acquire some warmer clothes for you.”
“But—”
The dragon was already shaking his head. “We protect our mages.”
North wanted to argue, but the words got stuck in his throat behind a sudden lump. Warin—er…no, the dragons wanted to take care of him.
Warin looked over at Gunter. “How long would it take for us to drive from Brussels to Munich?”
Gunter held out his hand, and Warin quickly handed over his own phone since they were using Gunter’s to talk to Alric and Cameron. The blond dragon typed on the phone, leaving them to wait only a moment.
“It’s an eight-hour drive from Brussels to Munich without including necessary stops along the way. Same for Brussels to Sonthofen.”
North looked down at Alric and Cameron to find them both darkly frowning. Eight hours wasn’t bad. Probably including stops for gas and such, they could do it in less than ten. “That’s not too bad. We can all take turns driving to help it go faster.”
Alric shook his head, but it was Cameron who spoke up. “Road trips are bad. We don’t like road trips around here. Not since Tori’s awful road trip.”
“Cameron’s sister Cassie was horribly wounded on that road trip,” Warin murmured in a low voice.
Okay, a road trip was a very bad idea.
“However, there is a train leaving tonight from Brussels to Munich, and it’s only an eight-hour trip,” Gunter informed them.
“How many times do we have to change trains?” Warin inquired.
Gunter’s expression was smug when he looked up at his companion. “None. It’s direct, and it’s a sleeper. I’ll be able to work on the train and North can get some sleep so he can arrive at Burkhard awake and refreshed.”
“Burkhard Castle is in Munich, Germany?” North asked, excitement bubbling up in him.
Warin shook his head. “No, it’s near a small town called Sonthofen, but we will stop in Munich briefly to make sure you have proper attire for winter in the mountains.”
North started to argue, but Alric beat him to it.
“Consider it a gift of the Burkhard Clan. It is only fair that we make sure you have proper clothes for visiting us at this time of the year,” Alric smoothly offered, and well, it wasn’t like North could argue with a king about such a gift.
“Thank you. I’m sure I just need a heavier coat,” North quickly replied.
Alric smiled at North for a moment, and then his expression turned serious as he looked at Warin. “Keep me apprised of your progress. Baldewin will be standing by with more of his guards ready to escort you safely home,” Alric said grimly.
It was all really impressive. He had two members of Alric’s royal guards with him already, and the king was prepared to send more dragons to keep him safe. It was hard to comprehend that rogue mages were actually after him when he didn’t really know much magic, but he was hoping to uncover more information when he had a quiet moment on the train with Warin.
“Gunter! Give North my phone number,” Cameron said suddenly. He grinned at North. “Feel free to text me any questions you have that you might not want to ask the dragons. You know, mage questions.”
North grinned at Cameron and nodded. It was hard not to like the sweet, sassy man. If he ended up at Burkhard Castle for a little while, he hoped they got to be friends. He didn’t have any friends quite like Cameron.
“I will, Consort Cameron,” Gunter replied, earning a nose wrinkle from the young man.
Alric looked as if he was fighting a laugh when he turned his attention to North. “We look forward to meeting you in person, North.”
The call ended, and North found himself staring at the blank screen for a second, his breath sort of trapped in his chest. Everything seemed very strange and surreal. Dragons. They weren’t extinct. And he was going to a castle in Germany full of them. His greatest wish was coming true, and it all seemed a little too big and overwhelming for a moment. He was afraid he was suddenly going to wake up and be in his bed back in Georgia.