Page 191 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

Alric rolled his eyes, but his smile had become tender. “Centuries from now, I will still be surprised by the strange thoughts that cross Cameron’s mind.”

“And you look forward to every one of them,” Baldewin teased.

“I do.”

“Thank you, Alric, for sending me. For giving me the chance to find him.” A lump grew in his throat as he spoke. He’d found his mate, achieved the thing he’d begun to secretly doubt he’d ever have. And his friend had made it possible. He’d be forever grateful.

“I wish I could say I knew Tori would be your mate. I’m just glad I could put you in the right place at the right time. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that for more of our clan.” Alric straightened and cleared his throat as if it had become clogged as well. “I think we’ve got enough business settled. Why don’t you go check on our new mage? Make sure he’s properly settled.”

Baldewin stood and bowed his head to Alric, a smile playing on his lips. “As you wish, Hoheit.” He’d never been so glad to be dismissed. He had a mage he needed to feel in his arms again.

Tori was in a freaking castle.

No. He had a room in a freaking castle. An amazing, beautiful room with the world’s most comfortable bed, softest sheets, and fluffiest pillows. The bathroom was filled with toiletries that smelled amazing. The stone floors even had a heating mechanism to guard against cold winter mornings. He had seriously never felt so pampered in his life, and Baldewin had done some serious pampering over the past few days.

His rooms—and it was definitely rooms, since he had a bedroom, sitting room, and bathroom—were obviously meant for visiting dignitaries and the like, but Tori was not complaining. The rooms for the regular clan members had to be less posh, but even they had to be better than the conditions he’d been living in.

A few hours after their arrival, Baldewin had texted to see if he was up for dinner in the main dining hall or if he preferred to eat alone in his room. The man was just too thoughtful. While the idea of eating with the rest of the clan was overwhelming, he knew if he was going to make a good impression on the dragons and mages, he couldn’t hide in his room.

Baldewin was all about convincing Tori to stay at Burkhard, but he knew deep in his soul that it was more about convincing the king and the rest of the clan that he was worthy of joining them. Yes, he’d made some good first steps by proving that he had some magical skill, but he didn’t feel he was in the clear yet.

He was living in a dream right now, and he was going to enjoy every freaking second of it.

The dragon appeared at his door a short time after the text and showed him to the massive dining hall. As they walked, Baldewin pointed out interesting historical things about the castle and told stories about weird things that had happened there. It was kind of amazing how Baldewin could wrap him in a sense of awe and family at the same time, but then everything Baldewin did was kind of amazing.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the massive dining hall. Happy conversation and laughter echoed off the stone walls and bounced up into the high ceiling. They filled up plates buffet-style, and Tori couldn’t help but be touched to find three Finnish dishes.

“Hi!” greeted an apple-cheeked man with slightly frizzy, red hair on the opposite side of the table. “I’m Gris. You’ve got to be Tori Taavi.” He introduced himself in heavily accented Finnish.

Tori returned his smile. “I am. Do I stand out that much?”

Gris’s eyes went wide. “Oh no! It’s not that. You just recognize a new face pretty quickly around here. I wanted to say that I oversee the kitchens here. Sort of the head chef. I tried my hand at making imellety perunalaatikko and lihapullat for the first time. I think they turned out pretty good, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. My assistant made the kalakeitto, and it has been going very fast.”

Tori blinked at the man for a moment, speechless. He’d cooked just to make Tori feel more at home and welcome. “I…I will try them all. Thank you so much.”

“It’s not a problem. We’re so happy to have you here,” Gris said with an easy grin. “And be sure to have Baldewin snag you a laskiaispulla. Dessert of any form does not last long in this castle, but this horde will at least think twice about crossing Baldewin for that yummy pastry.”

“I will. Thank you again.”

Tori was in a bit of a daze as Baldewin ushered him over to an empty table in the far corner of the dining hall. They were away from the larger group while giving Tori an excellent view of everything and everyone. He’d caught more than a few people watching him, but they were at least trying not to look obvious about it. No one looked angry or threatening. They all seemed curious and welcoming so far.

“He cooked just for me?” Tori asked softly when Baldewin sat down next to him. Unexpected warmth blossomed in his chest, and he couldn’t wipe the grin from his lips. He couldn’t believe a total stranger had done something so nice for him.

“Gris is great. Makes amazing food and is an all-around sweet person. I’m sure he wanted you to feel at ease here. It’s all new, but if you had something familiar, you might be happier,” Baldewin explained.

“Oh I am. It’s just…so nice. I hadn’t expected that. I wouldn’t want him to go to any trouble for me.”

Baldewin laughed. “Trust me, it’s no trouble. Since the Noh family came to live with us, we’ve all been experiencing traditional Korean food. Gris has dug all through Ha Na’s brain for recipes. Now he’s got an actual Finn to talk to. I’m sure he’s excited to learn a whole new cuisine.”

Tori snorted. “Well, I’ve never been much of a cook.”

“Doesn’t matter. He’s undoubtedly buttering you up so you’ll taste all the Finnish dishes he can find and tell him whether they are meeting the standards of a true Finn palate.”

“He needs a Finn guinea pig?”

Baldewin nodded, and Tori laughed.

“Well, I have no problem with that. Luckily this place is so big, I’ll have a chance to walk off all the food I’m going to eat.”