Breath (Scales 'n' Spells 2)

Excitement and fresh hope rose with every person he spoke to. For those not mated—and there were many—it meant an opportunity where none was before since dragons could only mate with mages.

Five hundred years.

Even for a long-lived dragon, it was a long time to wait for a sign. A breath of hope. A little proof that mages weren’t gone from the world completely. That dragons would once again start finding their mates, that they would find the love and completeness they’d all been raised to believe in but that had been stolen away with the Great Dragon War.

Baldewin shared in their enthusiasm, which was why it was so easy for him to be patient with every interruption.

Five hundred years of waiting had brought them Cameron, Cassie, and their grandmother, Ha Na. Now they’d uncovered Nestori Taavi. Maybe they were only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it came to mages. Maybe Baldewin’s mate was just around the corner, waiting to be discovered. It probably wouldn’t be this Nestori. The odds were against him finding his mate so quickly. But soon. He had to cling to the hope that he’d find his mate soon.

Baldewin finally made it to his room and packed three changes of clothes and a few odds and ends, as he didn’t want to have to stop and shop for necessities if he could help it. Then he went back down to the dining hall for a quick lunch, where he got even more questions. Warin joined him halfway through, with his own plate in hand.

“I see we had the same thought,” he greeted as he sat across the table from Baldewin.

“Might as well eat before we leave,” Baldewin agreed as if Warin had voiced it aloud. “Everything settled on your end?”

“Yes. I think we can leave right after we eat. I haven’t had a chance to look at what Cassie sent, though.”

Baldewin had been showing the man’s picture for a good hour now, off and on, so it was easy to pull it back up for Warin’s sake.

Warin tucked a lock of his dark hair back over his shoulder, narrow face lighting up a little at what he saw. “He’s handsome.” Then his face fell a little into a frown. “He looks a bit…strained? I don’t know how to say it, but like there’s something wrong behind his smile.”

“If you look at his work history, it doesn’t show a good picture.”

Baldewin did not understand it, really. Mages throughout history were revered for their talent; they didn’t have to go begging for jobs or struggle to make ends meet. Had the world so changed? Or was this mage like Cameron, possessing magical talent but unaware of his own ability?

Taking his phone out, Warin scrolled through the information, his frown growing. “I see what you mean. Did he move to Helsinki hoping for better employment?”

“It’s possible. His home town is tiny. The population is only two hundred people.”

“Ouch. Then yes, a bigger city might be better for him.”

“Better than thinking of him being on the run.”

Warin stilled at Baldewin’s dark comment. “Jaeggi?”

The name alone could send a chill down Baldewin’s spine and tighten a knot in his stomach. The rogue mage clan had successfully kidnapped Cameron and threatened the life of their king. They didn’t know the Jaeggis’ motives yet, but it was clear they were after mages and had malicious intent. It didn’t matter. Baldewin would not allow another mage to come to harm by their hands.

“I don’t know, but it would be wise of us to at least consider it. If Cassie and Lisette were able to find him, we have to assume the Jaeggi can find him as well.”

Warin grunted and looked down at his phone again. “Very true. Even without the Jaeggi, I see why he’s so strained. Life hasn’t been good to him so far.” He perked up. “Maybe we’ll be the wind of change for him.”

Warin’s optimism couldn’t completely chase away Baldewin’s growing sense of unease. Why did he have this nagging suspicion they were going to have a fight on their hands with this one?

Nestori Taavi sat on the edge of the extremely firm twin mattress and rubbed his burning eyes. He was exhausted down to his very core. Everything hurt. Even his damn hair hurt. But all the exhaustion, stress, and headaches were worth it.

He was free.

After nearly three decades of being treated like a second-class citizen by the fucking Taavi Clan, he was free of them. Free of their gay-hating rhetoric. Free of their rigid style of magic training. Free of all the snubs, shit assignments, and all-around belittling he’d been forced to stomach for almost as long as he could remember.

He wasn’t going to be their whipping boy any longer.

It just sucked that he’d waited so long. For the first couple of decades, he’d stupidly clung to the belief that if he just worked hard enough, he could prove he was a great mage to the rest of his clan. But no amount of hard work and dedication was going to change their minds.