Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

“Ranulf!” someone called.

Ranulf turned at the hail. “Oops, looks like something’s not working right. Give me just a minute, Cameron, Hoheit.”

“Sure.” Cameron watched him go for a moment. “So he’s sort of the clan’s handyman?”

“That’s a good way of thinking of it,” Alric agreed. “There’s little the man can’t fix.”

“I’ll remember that.” Turning back to Alric, he studied the man more carefully. What he saw, or rather the absence of it, relieved him. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Alric’s expression turned puzzled. “I’ve been fine all day.”

Snorting, Cameron drawled, “Liiiies. Lies and slander. You were obviously in pain earlier when addressing the whole clan. We all picked up on it.”

The king went abruptly still, dark eyes sharp on Cameron. “How could you possibly tell?”

“You get little pain lines here,” Cameron lifted a hand and traced a line out away from Alric’s eye with his thumb, a gentle caress. Alric’s eyes darkened perceptibly at the touch, and wasn’t that fascinating? Playing with fire, Cameron upped the ante a bit and deliberately caressed the tip of Alric’s bottom lip as he traced another line around his mouth. “And here. I noticed them when I was standing next to you.”

“I see,” Alric replied, voice a touch hoarse. “My mistake. I thought I was hiding it well.”

“I really wish you hadn’t tried.” And look at that face. Alric clearly liked Cameron touching him. Cameron may or may not be oblivious at times (Cassie claimed he missed cues all the time) but right now? This moment? A blind eye couldn’t miss Alric’s reaction. The King of the Fire Dragons didn’t have as good of a poker face as he thought he did. And this close, there was no chance in hell Cameron could miss his reaction.

Alric was attracted alright. Cameron wished he understood why Alric wouldn’t make a move. Why he wouldn’t do more than this light, occasional flirtation that teased but promised nothing. What was holding the man back?

He didn’t know. But he’d figure it out. And if Alric was incapable of making a move, well, Cameron didn’t have a problem doing it instead. Alric was far too intriguing and sexy. Like hell would Cameron let the man slip away without even trying to date.

That would be too much of a waste.

Cameron turned slowly in place, looking around himself in a hallway that looked remarkably like the hallway he’d just left. It wasn’t that he was lost, per se. It was just that he didn’t know where he was in this insanely large castle and had a limited grasp on how to get to his destination. And while he had a good sense of direction, generally speaking, this place made a labyrinth look like a child’s playground.

“The Burkhard Castle,” he muttered to himself sourly. “Brought to you by the letters W, T, and F. No, seriously, where the hell am I? I was over there”—he was pretty sure about that—“and that led from Lisette’s workroom, so…yeah, no, I’m not even going to pretend I have a clue. I am all out of clues. Right. So, that leaves the question of who can I text that will not make fun of me for this?”

He didn’t have a lot of options, mostly because he didn’t have a lot of phone numbers for people yet. Cameron was firmly against the option of wandering the hallways like a ghost, bemoaning his fate. Texting someone who was both kind and patient was the ticket.

Alric?

Hell, no, that would be super embarrassing and NOT the impression he wanted to leave on the man.

Ravi? Cameron didn’t have his number yet.

Warin—shit, also didn’t have his number.

Hmm, who did he have? Cameron had gone through a flurry of introductions and passing his phone to people, so he wasn’t actually sure who’s number he’d gotten. He unlocked it and started scrolling through his contacts. Okay, looked like he had Lisette and Baldewin. Lisette would be a given; of course she’d come after him.

Baldewin…hmm. Cameron didn’t have a lot of experience with Baldewin yet. He’d talked to the man maybe three times, but he had a good impression of him. Baldewin struck him as a solidly good guy who could always be depended on. Also, probably not the type to laugh at a guy who was lost in a castle.

Decided, Cameron texted him. Hey, Baldewin, I could use a little help.

Instead of getting a text back, Baldewin immediately called. “Ja, hallo,” Baldewin answered, sounding distracted.

Oh, maybe not a good time to ask for help. Cameron gamely asked anyway. “Hey, Baldewin. I’m, uh, maybe a little turned around?”

Baldewin went from distracted to focused in two seconds. “Turned around how?”

“Turned around in the castle, I mean. I took a wrong turn, I think?” Several wrong turns was more like it. “I’m not sure how to get to the dining room. I was heading there for lunch.”