by AJ Sherwood
Oh god, what had he gotten himself into?
Lisette had mentioned something about a clan meeting and that he should attend. She had made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal, but now he was standing near the front of the hall, looking around at all the people. There had to be more than fifty here. Fifty freaking dragons in one place! That was exciting and sad at the same time. Less than a week ago, he’d been sure they were extinct.
But his history class had taught him that at one time there had been thousands of dragons. Now Alric’s clan was down to just fifty.
And there were even fewer mages.
It was a miracle and a tragedy all wrapped into one.
His mind tossed that aside when he realized nearly every eye in the room was trained on him. No one looked hostile. Just extremely curious.
“Are you sure I should be here?” Cameron whispered when he leaned closer to Lisette.
“Oh, most definitely!” she replied with her usual warmth and cheer. “You don’t want to miss this.”
Cameron turned his eyes away from the people watching him to take in the vast room he stood in. He was in an honest-to-god throne room. It was enormous, with enough space to comfortably hold three times as many people. The walls were a pristine white while the ceiling soared at least three stories above his head. Dragons could have flown into the room if not for pillars that rose up at regular intervals. Pennants and banners hung from the ceiling similar to the ones he saw at the restaurant, but where those looked worn and faded with time, these looked brand new. No wonder Alric was so familiar with them and all their symbols.
Down the center of the room was a long red carpet with gold edging that looked like a line of tiny gold dragons in flight. It all led up four short stairs to a dais and a black throne easily three times the size of Alric.
Cameron leaned close to Lisette again. “Is…is that throne made of onyx?”
Lisette grinned broadly at him. “Solid obsidian.”
Of course, he thought, smirking at the throne. Obsidian was volcanic glass.
He wanted to make a comment, but the sound of doors opening at the back of the room had everyone turning at once. He couldn’t see who entered but he had a guess. Silence fell over the room, but it only lasted a couple of seconds and then it started.
Softly, like a low rumble, the chanting steadily grew. He couldn’t understand what they were saying. Did dragons have their own language? He’d never learned about that in school. It sounded old. Older than the stones that made this castle. Older than the mountains and the sky. He could feel the weight of the words down in his bones. The sound caused goosebumps to break out across his skin and his breath to catch in his throat.
The chanting grew louder as Alric walked slowly down the center aisle, his head held high and his shoulders back. A golden crown gleaming with rare gems winked in the sunlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Cameron was speechless.
This was the man who’d walked through the festival, talking about dragons as if he didn’t have a care in the world. This was the man who’d treated him to a private dinner. The man who’d teased him until he blushed. Who’d rescued him, risking his own life.
He was a king.
A king to all of these people. No, dragons and mages.
A leader.
And it took only a brief glance at their faces as they watched their king approach the dais to see that they loved him. They respected him. They trusted him with their future.
As he reached the front of the room, Alric turned his head just slightly and looked straight at Cameron. The tiniest of smiles grew on his lips, and he winked. He fucking winked at Cameron as if he just knew Cameron’s knees were weak and his head was spinning. This was the man he’d daydreamed of kissing.
Holy shit! This was the man he’d shouted at.
The chanting stopped as Alric reached the top of the dais and turned to face the assembled people. He smiled at them for a moment before lifting his lovely voice so it carried across the vast room.
“My people, thank you so much for joining me today. I know you have busy lives you wish to return to, so I will keep this brief. I have two announcements to make that will have a great impact on our people.” He paused, and his smile turned into more of a smirk. “As they like to say, I have good news and bad news. First, the good. We have, at last, found a mage.”
The silence instantly turned into a roar of conversation as everyone started talking at once in what looked to be shock. Several people turned their gaze back to Cameron, and he desperately wanted to hide behind Lisette, but he was way too tall for that.
Alric let the conversation stretch for a couple of seconds before he lifted both hands above his head to get their attention. To his shock, Lisette grumbled something under her breath, glaring at him. It only took him a moment to realize she was glaring at his left arm. Cameron never saw him using it, but he had a feeling it had something to do with his scars. Yet, if he was in pain, it never showed in his face.
“People,” Alric said simply before lowering his arms again. Silence returned, and he smiled. “I would very much like for you to meet him.” Alric turned toward Cameron and extended his hand to him.
Oh, he could not possibly be thinking…
Lisette pressed her hand into Cameron’s back, giving him a little push toward the dais. “Go on. It’s okay.”
He wanted to hiss at her that this was insane. He wasn’t properly dressed with his shorts and T-shirt. That evil woman hadn’t warned him that he was going to be standing in front of the entire clan. Not that he had a single piece of clothing appropriate for such a meeting. Just his vacation gear from the hotel, and that consisted of jeans, shorts, T-shirts, and one passably nice sweater. What would these people think of him? They’d think he was the poorest, most pathetic mage in all the world, which wasn’t far from the truth.
But if he didn’t go, he’d hurt Alric’s feelings. He’d embarrass him. Disappoint him. Nothing in the world could get Cameron to do that.
So, with shaking legs, Cameron slowly climbed the dais, keeping his eyes on those stairs so he didn’t pull a Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars and fall in front of all these people. As he reached Alric’s side, he stared into his beautiful deep blue eyes and the world fell away again. The king was back to being the man who’d made him laugh, his expression warm and encouraging.
“You’re perfect. I’ve got you,” Alric whispered, and despite his rising panic, Cameron believed him.
With Cameron positioned on Alric’s left, he turned and faced the crowd of dragons eagerly staring at him. Alric’s hand lightly touched his back as if the king just wanted to remind Cameron that he was right there and would always be there for him.
“My people, this is Cameron Park, and we believe his family is of the Noh Clan. His family knows little of their mage heritage, but Cameron has already begun working with Lisette. He’s eager to learn magic and the history of our peoples. When you see him around the castle, I hope you take a moment to make him feel welcome and a part of our clan. As we learn more about Cameron and his family, it is my belief that he will help us find more mages like him.”
Cheering filled the hall again, and Cameron was once again taken aback by the excitement and joy these people felt at seeing him and hearing Alric’s words.
“Unfortunately, my good news comes with a dire warning. Someone has tried to kidnap Cameron from under our noses. Dieter and Baldewin are leading an investigation into this group to uncover who they are and why they seek Cameron. Until we have our answers and eliminated this threat, we must be extra vigilant to protect all our mages both at the castle and outside. Any mage leaving the castle walls must be accompanied by at least two dragons at all times. I regret any inconvenience this may cause, but your lives are precious to us.”
Cameron’s heart skipped a beat when he looked up to find Alric staring at him as he finished speaking. Alric smiled softly at him and the grand room started to fade away again. He couldn’
t understand how Alric did it. When he looked at him, everything seemed to fall away. When he was with Alric, he felt precious.
The king blinked, his eyes going wide for a second, as if he’d just realized he was staring at Cameron, and turned his attention back to his people.
“Thank you for your time. Please celebrate the arrival of Cameron and watch over each other as we search for more answers,” Alric finished.
There was some brief cheering before most of the dragons started filing out of the hall. However, many stayed behind and slowly approached the dais. They quickly bowed their heads to Alric, but their eyes were locked on Cameron as if they couldn’t quite believe he stood in front of them. With just the tiniest of urging from Alric, Cameron descended the stairs and greeted them. Everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming.
The names blurred a bit in his mind as they spoke, but after a moment Cameron found his own gaze drawn back to Alric. He glanced over his shoulder to find the king still standing where he’d left him, a broad smile on his lips, but there was something in his eyes, in the lines creeping out from them. And the faint lines around his mouth. Was he in pain? Was it from when he’d lifted his arm?
Had no one else noticed? Why wasn’t anyone helping their king if they loved him so much?
Cameron reluctantly looked at the other dragons, but he was simmering inside. Someone needed to take care of Alric, help him.
As the last of the dragons wished Cameron well, he started to turn toward Alric, but Lisette was already sweeping in to usher Cameron out a side door. He looked back to find Alric listening to an older man, a look of worry digging lines into his handsome face. The king was already at work again, protecting his people.
“He’s in pain, Lisette. I need to do something…” he whispered, finding it hard to draw his gaze from Alric.
The small woman at his side patted his arm. “I know, love. We’re going to fix him up. I promise.”
Some of the tension that had balled up in Cameron’s chest eased. Someone had to take care of that dragon.
“You studied engineering in the United States?” Warin asked with interest. “That’s interesting. I don’t think we’ve ever had a mage who studied anything but magic.”
Cameron gave a noncommittal shrug, as he had no ready response to that. Warin seemed a nice enough guy. He was definitely good looking, black hair in a smooth fall past his shoulders, the lines of his face masculine and chiseled. He spoke and carried himself as if he were a relic of a time long past. Cameron kept wanting to put chainmail on him and give him a sword. He looked strangely naked without either.
This was the fourth dragon he’d found himself sitting and talking to. Alric had escorted him into the dining hall for dinner—and it was quite the feast with a wide selection of foods—and introduced him to several people before being pulled away. Cameron didn’t mind since Warin seemed really nice. The time he’d helped with the almost-kidnapping attempt, he’d been nice, at least.
The dining hall in the castle was massive. It looked like something out of one of those period movies, with the long tables stretching along the room, with a smaller and shorter table at the far end. Presumably for the reigning family.
Now knowing what he did about the history of the clan, it was sad to see so much empty space. It was at the peak of dinner hour, and yet most of this cavernous room wasn’t filled, people sitting here and there in groups. It should have been full with mages, dragons, children. Not like this.
“Someone mentioned you have a sister?” Warin asked, hope in his voice. “Will she join you here?”
“She really wants to, yeah. Her and my grandmother. They’re really excited about dragons still being alive. And possibly having magic of their own. I know you guys are really interested in meeting my sister, but I have to warn you, she’s one hundred percent gay. She won’t be interested in the guys that way. Like, happy to meet you and talk, no question, just not romantically interested.”
Warin shrugged, accepting this easily. “I think I can speak for us all when I say we want a mate. We’ve all dreamed of finding that person who’s meant for us. But we won’t begrudge a clanmate if you choose someone else instead.”
“Er…really?” People were generally more selfish than that.
A sad smile graced Warin’s face as he explained, “We’ve learned the lesson the hard way, you see. What jealousy can beget. Our clan was decimated because of one man who let himself be consumed with it. None of us needs a repeat. And I cannot begrudge another the happiness, in all truth. These people are brothers and sisters to me; I know the heartbreak they weather all too keenly.”
It was settled. Warin was the nicest guy ever. “Well, I hope you guys realize it’s not just me and my sister? I’ve got cousins, too.”
Warin’s face lit up. “Do you?”
“Three, to be precise. I’m not sure how we’ll get them over here, or if they’re magical—could be they aren’t. Who knows? But there’s more than just us.”
A weight dropped next to him on the bench, and Cameron turned his head to realize a woman he didn’t know had abruptly joined them.
“What’s this I hear about a sister and cousins?” she asked.
Warin waved a hand between them. “Cameron, this is Sasha. Sasha, Cameron. He just told me that he has a twin sister and three cousins.”
Sasha looked like a bodybuilder who could walk right into the Olympics and take the gold. Any gold. All the gold. She was beautiful, her blonde hair thick and luxurious, draped over one shoulder, eyes a stunning blue in an oval-shaped face. She also looked quite capable of snapping Cameron in half.
Right now, though, she looked as giddy as any child in a candy store. “That’s amazingly good news! I hope all of them can come.”
“My sister and grandmother hope to come, at least.” And Cassie would take one look at Sasha and climb her like a tree. Cameron decided to call it right now.
“They’ll be more than welcome. I’ll volunteer to guard them from the airport, bring them here.” Sasha nodded, already decided. “Maybe they’ll be here in time for game night. That would be an easy way to introduce your family to the clan.”
“That’s a good idea,” Warin approved heartily. To Cameron, he explained, “We do game night every two weeks. Sometimes we play hide and seek in the castle. Sometimes it’s board games. Ravi introduced PlayStations to us, so we’ve taken up LAN parties, too.”
“Alric plays DnD with his own group every Thursday,” Sasha threw in. “We have one other campaign going, I think. I don’t play myself, but isn’t Menno the DM?”
Cameron’s jaw dropped. “Get out. Your king plays DnD?”
Head canted, Sasha regarded him for a moment. “Is that how he strikes you? As serious? He can be, I suppose. He’s under a great deal of strain. But he does know how to have fun, too.”
“We haven’t seen him really smile much the past several decades,” Warin pointed out with a sigh. “He takes on too much responsibility, sometimes. He blames himself for not finding mages before this. As if he failed us by not doing so. I suppose right now, he does give off that impression.”
And then some. Cameron had seen him smile, though. And laugh. He’d been great fun on the two times they’d been out together. But then, that sort of made sense, in context. Of course Alric would be in lighter spirits. Cameron’s arrival had given him hope. Up until now, he’d likely felt he was in a dark tunnel and even the light at the end was just an oncoming train. Everyone dealt better with a bad situation when they at least had hope to cling to.
“It’s not that he struck me as this too-serious guy,” Cameron sought to explain to them. “He was fun while hanging out with me. I guess I didn’t expect a dragon to play Dungeons and Dragons.”
“Oh.” Sasha snorted, lifting her cup to her mouth for a sip. “Yeah, the irony of that still amuses me. Ravi was the one to bring the first edition book home, so many years ago. Took a while for it to catch on—the rules are rather intense—but people
had fun playing it. I’m not sure how Alric got pulled in.”
“Ravi,” Warin stated confidently.
“What am I being blamed for?”
Cameron tilted his head back to see the dragon standing right behind him. “Corrupting Alric with DnD.”
“Ohhh. Yeah, that was me.” Ravi plopped down in the seat next to Cameron’s, a slice of cake in his hand. “I accept blame for that. Cam, Lisette wanted me to assure you, he’s good now.”
For a second, that didn’t connect. Then Cameron spotted Alric across the room and saw him turn to speak to someone. He displayed no sign of the pain from before, his movements far less stiff and more fluid. Oh good, so she had taken Alric aside at some point and done something to help him. A spell or a potion, who knew? Cameron made a mental note to ask later, as he was curious on the how-to. It was a relief, frankly. Cameron had hated seeing Alric be in pain and yet smile as if nothing was wrong.
“Did he overdo it again?” Warin asked in dismay.
“Yeah, I think this was more a leftover of saving Cam from the kidnappers,” Ravi confided. “We’d mostly gotten the kinks worked out after that fight, but it wasn’t something to be fixed in a day.”
Cameron listened to this exchange with intense interest. “Does Alric normally overdo it?”
Sasha waffled a hand back and forth. “He’s generally sensible enough not to. But sometimes, he gets in this weird mood where he has to prove something, or do something on his own, and he’ll reinjure himself. Drives us all crazy. The reason he’s got four retainers is because it takes four of them to support him.”
“Gunter doesn’t count,” Ravi denied, biting into his cake with relish. “He’s too much of a dungeon dweller. He’s only useful when Alric needs to send someone out to research.”
Cameron hadn’t met Gunter yet, only heard him referenced several times. He’d have to find a moment to do so. Right now, he didn’t want these three sidetracked. He was getting an entirely different view of Alric through their perspectives, and it fascinated him. “Four retainers? I know about Baldewin, but who else?”