Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

“True. But most basements don’t lead to an ancient cave system that includes one of the best wine lists in the city.”

Fuck it. Call him stupid.

“The restaurant is in a cave?” Cameron asked, taking a small step forward.

“Yes. I think you’ll like it.” Alric extended his left hand to Cameron, beckoning him forward. Cameron couldn’t stop from locking his eyes on it, taking in the hint of old scars along the side of his hand. As if realizing what he’d done too late, Alric balled his hand into a fist and dropped it back to his side. A scowl marred his handsome face as he looked down at the ground. “But if you’d rather not…I can take you—”

“No, I want to see it,” Cameron said, quickly cutting him off. Alric had made himself vulnerable for Cameron. He’d done nothing all day to make Cameron question whether he was trustworthy. He’d protected him from the crowds, filled him with interesting information, and made him laugh. He gently placed his hand on Alric’s left shoulder and lightly squeezed. “I’ve never had dinner in a cave.”

The light returned to Alric’s eyes and he smiled. Cameron’s heart stupidly flipped over in his chest and he ignored it. He was not going to think about why he enjoyed making Alric smile.

“You will love this. I know it.”

Cameron followed him through and almost instantly felt better. The alley was narrow, certainly, but there was beautiful, rich murals painted on the walls. Some of it was breathtakingly stunning dragons in flight. Narrow alley, yes. Dark, crime-ridden alley? Obviously not. Maybe it was just his American instincts at play, here. Germany was, after all, one of the secure countries in the world.

Alric led the way down the stairs and into the building. There were more winding stairs and some enormous oak barrels that looked as if they stored wine or beer or maybe even whiskey. At the end were a few more stairs and then an arched entrance that led into what was clearly a cave, its rough-hewn stone walls alight with dancing candlelight. The air was several degrees cooler, chilling the sweat still coating his skin.

Cameron was in awe of the place. The ceiling was higher than he’d expected, disappearing into darkness, while the floor plan was largely open with a scattering of tables covered in pristine white cloths. More candles in hurricane glasses glowed on the tables. In the center of the room was a large bar made of hefty rough timbers and a sparkling rainbow of hundreds of bottles of alcohol.

But the true color came from the banners—dozens of colorful old banners emblazoned with images of dragons. There were more with strange symbols and images he felt sure were linked to mages, but he didn’t know what any of them meant. Just things he remembered from his childhood thanks to his grandmother’s crazy stories.

“What do you think?” Alric asked in a low voice.

“I’m expecting to see a dragon wander through blowing fire because these people are too close to his hoard,” Cameron said with a grin. The entire cave had a feeling of stepping back in time.

Alric snorted softly. “No self-respecting dragon would keep his hoard where humans could stumble across it.”

Cameron laughed and started to ask how Alric could be so confident when a short man in a smart suit hurried over to them, sidestepping a couple servers and a woman who looked to be the hostess. He immediately fell on Alric, fawning over him in a flurry of German like he was a prince visiting from his royal castle. Alric greeted him with his usual easy charm, his expression stoic but mildly friendly. Not quite the same smile he’d been flashing Cameron all day.

Not that Cameron cared.

Not really.

Cameron shivered, and Alric stopped the man mid-sentence, turning his full attention to Cameron. “Are you alright? Is it too cold in here?”

“Oh no! This is fine,” he quickly countered. He did not want to miss out on eating in a cave.

Alric nodded once. “I’ll have a Kuscheldecke brought for you.”

Before Cameron could even ask what that was, Alric was turning back and issuing quick orders to the man watching them. The man waved them on, snatching up two menus before leading them on a weaving path through the tables to a secluded booth near the back of the restaurant. The table afforded them a view of the entire place while partially shielding them from the view of the other diners.

This was starting to feel like a date.

But it wasn’t a date.

Couldn’t be a date.

Alric was just showing him around the city.

Cameron was leaving Sonthofen in a couple days. He’d never see Alric again.

He needed to get his head on straight.

“Um…restroom?” Cameron asked and then winced. “To clean up, after all the walking.”

Alric smiled at him and gave succinct directions to the bathrooms not too far from where they were seated. Cameron quickly darted away, a sigh of relief escaping him when he was finally inside the room.