“With all the spells being flung around, the air is not safe right now.”
“It’s still safer than the ground. I can’t trust mages. I’ve not met a good mage yet. But I can trust the dragons. Please?”
Frowning, Gunter moved a little farther from the gathering of Burkhard mages. In a quiet and safe spot, Gunter’s dragon settled on the ground and pulled his wings around in front of him so that his head—along with all of Nikki—were completely shielded from the world.
“There. No more mages,” Gunter announced. To his relief, Nikki finally put his feet on the ground but didn’t release his arms. Progress. Sort of.
Nikki huddled closer, peering suspiciously over one shoulder as if tracking where the other mages were at all times. “I don’t want to go near the mages again.”
“I swear to you, these mages can be trusted. They are of my clan. I really need to shift back into my human form. I must speak with King Alric and find out what needs to be done now that you and Ravi have been liberated.”
Nikki did not like this idea one iota. He peered up through his thick lashes, expression doubtful.
Gunter felt that look impact him straight in the heartstrings. It was sad Nikki couldn’t trust other mages. The damn Jaeggi’s fault, no doubt. Who knew what Nikki had suffered at their hands to make the mage react so against his own kind. Gunter felt...not sympathy, but a willingness to help Nikki feel comfortable and safe until he realized there was no reason to fear the Burkhards.
“If it helps, stick with me,” he offered with a smile. “I’ll act as a barrier between you and them.”
As if fate thought this all a wonderful joke, a small hand lightly grabbed the edge of Gunter’s wing and started to pull as if parting a curtain, but he jerked it back.
“Really, Gunter. A battlefield isn’t a good place to play hide-and-seek,” Mage Yuki admonished.
Gunter nearly snarled. Now was not the time. Just the sound of her voice sent Nikki spinning, guard up, vibrating with the need to either fight or flee. “Everything is fine, Yuki. I’ll be along in a moment.”
“Gunter?”
With a huff, he extended his long neck, poking his head out between his wings so he could speak to her while keeping Nikki hidden from sight. He felt freaking ridiculous. “I will explain later, but everything is under control. Ravi has been found. Maybe you should check that he doesn’t need medical attention.”
Yuki laughed and waved a hand at him. “Oh, I saw Sora tackle him already. He’s in good hands. I believe they’re talking to Alric now.” She gave him a little pat on the snout like he was being a particularly good dog and walked back over to where the other mages were working.
Gunter rolled his eyes. All mages were precious, but he was beginning to understand all mages were also a handful. Particularly the one still hiding with him.
Pulling his head back into his wings, Gunter bumped his snout into Nikki’s side in an awkward nuzzle, and the mage giggled. The happy sound was surprising and sent up the strangest little bubble of something in Gunter’s heart. “Did I tickle you?”
“I’m super ticklish,” Nikki admitted. But the best part was that Nikki had relaxed his hold. Gunter didn’t hesitate. He shifted back into his human form in a flash.
Nikki yelped in surprise, his face flushing a little. The hold on Gunter’s arm hadn’t lessened any through his transformation, either.
Gunter resettled his glasses on his nose and smoothed some hair out of his face. He wasn’t feeling entirely pulled together, but that was nothing a hot shower, a cup of tea, and maybe a little mage-removal surgery couldn’t cure.
And the surest way to become one clingy mage lighter was to find Alric.
“Come along, Nikki. We need to speak to those dragons over there.” Gunter pointed to where three dark-red dragons stood guard. They held a defensive ring just outside of the main gates at a temporary command-center. It was an easy guess that Alric had shifted back into his human form and those dragons were forming a shield to protect their king.
“Will there be mages?”
“A couple probably, but there will be far more dragons.”
“Are you—” Nikki started to ask something else, but the words broke off as he lifted his eyes to Gunter’s face. His astonishingly purple eyes went wide and his mouth hung open, but no sound came out. Surprise. Or rather shock at seeming Gunter in his human form.
Gunter looked Nikki over more carefully now that he had better lighting. Yes, those really were purple eyes. A deep, galaxy sort of purple. Genetically speaking, those eyes were one in a million. (Gunter may have spent too much of his time recently on genetics.) And they were set in a narrow, androgynous face, silky blond hair falling around Nikki’s shoulders in a touchable way. Nikki was short, with a delicate sort of air, one that made Gunter feel protective. A beautiful person, no doubt about that.