Page 167 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

A choked laugh escaped him, slightly hysterical as he realized what it meant. His clan had turned obsessive about their magic because it was all they had left. They’d gone into a no-man’s land, hidden away from the world, closing ranks to the point that they’d had nothing better to do than turn on each other. They’d created an insane system to work magic in to make themselves superior. There wasn’t any other reason for it.

Tori bent forward, trying to gain control over himself. He was so incredibly mad. At his clan, his family, himself. All for believing in that falsehood. Another lie.

Why had he ever let himself believe them when he’d known better? He’d snuck away when he was a teenager and cast spells, just to prove he could, time and again, all without their calculations. He’d had ample proof that their methods weren’t the only way to work magic. So why had he internalized that lie?

Dragons were evil betrayers. LIE.

Male mages were worthless, only good for breeding more mages. LIE.

There was only one way to do magic. LIE.

Tori’s entire life, his entire existence and sense of self-worth, was built upon a pile of falsehoods believed and spread by his clan. And he was done with it. He was done valuing himself and his skills based on a bunch of lies.

He was free of the Taavi. Free of the past. He didn’t know where that left him now, or even what that made him, which was more than a little scary, but he was at least free.

A large, warm hand stroked his back in a soothing line, the touch comforting. It made Tori want things. To turn into Baldewin and take comfort from the man. He didn’t. Mostly because he was too embarrassed to admit he wanted that comfort. And partially because he was afraid of putting Baldewin into an awkward position.

“I trust your magic, Tori.” Baldewin kept stroking, a soothing motion that brought his sick laughter to a shuddering stop. “I’ve trusted it since the day we met. Please don’t believe the lies you were told.”

“I trust your magic, too,” Warin said firmly from the front seat. “We’ll tell Lisette about this teaching method of your clan’s when we get home. She’ll tell you that it’s insane.”

“Telling Lisette is a good idea,” Baldewin agreed. “She’ll want to know about this.”

Tori dared to straighten up, although he hated to do so, as he didn’t want to disturb that hand. He liked Baldewin touching him. A little too much, to tell the truth. It was partially that which made him straighten, as he couldn’t get into the habit of depending on that kindness. Baldewin’s job was to find him and bring him to the castle. Tori didn’t know what that meant for them once they reached their destination. Would Baldewin consider his job done and not see him again? No reason to get attached to the dragon if he was only going to walk away.

Baldewin didn’t remove his hand immediately like Tori suspected he would. Instead, the hand traveled up to his shoulder to give a warm squeeze before retreating. The comfort in the gesture filled him with tingles. Pleasant, sweet tingles.

Tori said something he never thought he’d utter in his life. But it felt both right to say it and incredibly liberating. “I’ll do everything in my power to magically safeguard both of you.”

A smile lit Baldewin’s eyes, revealing just a touch of crow’s feet. The relief in his expression was clear, that he’d worked Tori through that rough patch. “Please do.”

The trust and security he had with Tori was obvious. And sincere. Tori stared back at him. He wanted to kiss Baldewin so badly, his hands almost shook with the desire. Just what was it about this man that drew all these emotions out of Tori?

And was it any wonder that the mages of past centuries had fallen time and again for the dragons?

If Baldewin was any example of his race, then the mages likely stood no chance before being swept away. Tori himself felt the strong appeal, and Baldewin wasn’t even trying to seduce him.

Dragons were indeed dangerous creatures.

Baldewin orchestrated for everyone to meet at a particular hotel. The dragon and mage coming to meet them could fly in and make it by evening. Even with multiple countries in between them. Apparently, a dragon could fly nearly as fast as a jet.

The realization made Tori feel a little guilty for insisting on not flying, as they could have already been at Burkhard Castle by now if not for him.

But every time he even thought about strapping himself to a dragon and flying, his palms got sweaty and he nearly threw up, so—no. No flying.

The hotel was nice, not one of those commercial things that was all industrial grade carpet and weird-but-boring art. This was more of a bed and breakfast style, with cozy rooms and wooden floors. He liked it, including the street art hanging on the walls.

Baldewin had reserved a suite with two separate bedrooms connected by a central sitting room. Tori’s had a queen-sized bed with a fluffy blue quilt, with a bathroom tucked into the far end that he promptly made use of.

He moved quickly to the bags on his bed. He hadn’t had a chance to check anything since this morning, when the bags were dropped and scattered during the attack. He could only hope that his guitar was alright and the few glass vials he had on him weren’t broken. They were empty at the moment, but he didn’t want to replace them, either.

A knock sounded on the door, and he answered it to find Baldewin on the other side. There was a slight smile on his face as he held up a black box. “I thought you might need this.”

Another gift? Not that Baldewin ever called it that, but these simple things he kept picking up certainly felt like one present after another to Tori. He accepted it, as it was rude to do anything else, and it was surprisingly heavy for such a slim package. “Thank you?”

Tori had no idea what the practice was in Germany, but in Finland, you always opened the gift in front of the giver to show your appreciation for it. He promptly did so, and what came out of the box was a rather nice multi-tool. No wonder it had heft to it, then. It was an entirely practical gift. Baldewin was correct; he’d need half the tools on this to make their necklaces later this evening. But it was also thoughtful, as all Baldewin’s gifts to him were.

“Thank you,” he husked. “It’s precisely what I needed.”