Page 157 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

Tori barked out a surprised laugh and then clapped his hand over his mouth before looking into the backseat at Warin. His pale grey eyes still twinkled with laughter when he looked over at Baldewin. “Dragons are troublemakers in the castle?”

“There might be a few,” Baldewin said dryly, his mind automatically filling with the endless trouble Ravi managed to find at every turn.

“But if it’s not the nice summer weather…” Tori started, leading them back on topic.

“I think it started shortly after the arrival of Cameron’s twin Cassie and their grandmother Noh Ha Na. Cameron was the first mage we’d found in five hundred years. We’d nearly given up hope of ever finding a mage again, of finding mates and love. Then in the span of weeks, we suddenly had three new mages living in our castle. While the human side of us might be willing to listen to logic, I think our dragons are pushing for us to all take flight and search in earnest for our missing mages.”

Tori’s brow furrowed, and he pressed his full lips together for a moment, then finally asked, “Would your king allow that?”

“For dragons to take off on their own search?”

“Yeah. He wouldn’t force you to stay, would he?”

Baldewin’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as he sorted through the rush of emotions. His knee-jerk reaction was to immediately defend both Alric and his clan. The idea of Alric needing to force any dragon to stay and obey his wishes was ridiculous.

But then, the idea of anyone going against what was best for the entire clan was also a little crazy. The key thing to remember was that Tori was coming from a world completely different from his own, and what little he knew of it was not good.

“No, Alric wouldn’t force a dragon to stay at Burkhard if they truly wished to leave. But you must remember that mages are spread around the entire world, and the only way a dragon alone can find a mage is through smell. We might have discovered Cameron purely by luck, but Cassie was able to locate you through a seeking spell and what she calls her Google-fu. Apparently, she is quite good with computers.”

Tori grunted and shifted back around in his seat. “I guess that makes sense. Can’t fly off to find a mage if you don’t even know where to look.”

Baldewin had the worst impulse to reach across the console and place his hand on Tori’s arm, but he didn’t. He kept his fingers wrapped around the steering wheel. Tori had accepted his touch earlier, but Baldewin was reluctant to press his luck.

His dragon wasn’t particularly happy about it. He wanted to figure out a way to pull Tori into his lap while still driving the car. The ridiculous lizard didn’t seem to understand that Baldewin was barely crammed into the driver’s seat. There wasn’t room for Tori in his lap, no matter how badly they both wanted him there.

“We’ve lived a very long time without much hope. Cameron, his family, and you are all proof that there are mages out there. We just need to be patient, and we will find what we’re looking for. And if we need to spread our wings a little more to attain that patience, then our king is more than willing to indulge us.”

Tori fell silent, and Baldewin glanced over at the GPS to check for the next turn he would take that would move them closer to the hotel he’d booked for the night. It was a significant step above the place Tori had been staying in. The mage deserved some pampering.

He’d briefly wondered if he should tone down his efforts out of fear that Tori would suspect him of trying to buy his trust, but Baldewin shoved the thought aside. The important thing was that Tori was properly taken care of. They’d made steps forward with his eating habits, but now the mage needed to be warm and comfortable. All three went far to create a feeling of safety. Tori needed to feel safe.

“You know…glamour spells aren’t overly complicated. The ingredients are relatively common,” Tori volunteered suddenly.

“Really?” Baldewin said, not quite sure where he was going with this conversation.

“If you wanted to stretch your wings tonight, I think I could create a glamour spell that would hide you from people.”

Baldewin’s mouth fell open at the unexpected offer, but Warin’s voice piped up before Baldewin could gather his thoughts.

“I want to fly,” Warin said.

“I thought you were asleep back there,” Baldewin snapped.

“I woke up when he started talking about stretching our wings. I want to fly.”

Baldewin rolled his eyes at his companion in the rearview mirror. “You flew just the other day.”

“Yes, but it was only for a few minutes, and I had a frightened mage in my hands. Not really an enjoyable experience.”

“If you can promise to not do that again, I’ll glamour you too,” Tori offered. “I mean, I can at least try. You have to remember I’m not good at magic. It might not work.”

“Done!” Warin declared, tapping Tori excitedly on the shoulder. The dragon lifted his head and flashed a cheeky grin at Baldewin in the mirror. “I get to fly, too.”

“I have no doubt that you can cast a glamour spell if we can get you the ingredients,” Baldewin said confidently, secretly loving the little flush that unexpectedly rose in Tori’s cheeks. “Let’s just get to the hotel, and then we can figure our plans out. We need to make sure the area is secure, and Tori has what he needs to be comfortable.” His words did nothing to dim Warin’s smile. Tori chuckled next to him, and Baldewin relaxed a little more.

Warin remained awake for the rest of the drive, his grin broad and his manner engaging. They talked about random things, mostly comparing winters in Sonthofen with Tori’s hometown. The Finn was definitely winning in terms of cold temperature and the amount of snow, but Baldewin thought Germany’s traditional winter comfort foods sounded better.

It was after 17:00 when they finally arrived in Riga. Baldewin had never spent time in Latvia’s capital, but he was immediately charmed. It was like he’d stepped back in time. While there were the typical steel and glass structures he was accustomed to seeing in places like London, Paris, and Berlin, it was the perfectly preserved architecture of Vecrīga—Riga’s Old Town—that captured his interest. It was like he’d stepped backward in time as he took in its cobblestone streets and charming buildings.