Page 209 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

A beautiful flush rose in Tori’s pale cheeks, and he seemed to be fighting back a laugh. “If we’re talking about the way you distracted me last night, and the past several nights, then yes, I would very much like to be distracted by you. I want to be distracted by you every chance I can get.”

Baldewin’s gaze darted to an old clock that hung on the wall, and he frowned. He had a meeting with Alric in roughly forty-five minutes. It wasn’t a lot of time, but enough to leave Tori relaxed and smiling. “You have a meeting with Lisette soon, correct?”

A heavy sigh broke from Tori, pulling Baldewin’s gaze back to him. “Yeah,” Tori muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Baldewin cocked his head to the side, trying to meet Tori’s lowered gaze. “You’ve met with Lisette before. Why would this meeting upset you? Do you not like her?”

“What? No! She’s wonderful. Sweet and understanding,” Tori said, his head raising so he could meet Baldewin’s eyes. The lines of worry were back and carving deep furrows across Tori’s brow.

Baldewin wanted to grab the mage and pull him into his lap, shielding him from the world with his larger frame, but he knew that Tori wouldn’t appreciate it. Tori was strong and could stand on his own two feet, but that didn’t mean Baldewin and his dragon didn’t want to protect the man.

“What has you so worried?”

“We’re meeting today so she can properly assess my magic and skills.”

Baldewin frowned. The meeting had been put off due to the imminent arrival of the Valerii dragons, but it was a normal enough and painless procedure from what he understood. For Cameron, Cassie, and Ha Na, it had been incredibly quick, since the trio had come to Burkhard with no training whatsoever.

Tori’s meeting would be a little more involved, since he’d been somewhat trained by his clan. But Baldewin suspected that Tori feared more rejection and disappointment like he’d suffered at the hands of his teachers.

“It won’t be that bad,” Baldewin murmured.

“But what if…what if she changes her mind about me? She’s only seen me working on potions. What if she doesn’t care for how I cast spells? What if she decides that I’m not worthy of being a part of the Burkhard Clan?”

Baldewin gently cupped the side of Tori’s face, lifting it so their eyes met. “First off, we already know you have amazing skills. She has a strong idea of what you can do. She’s not going to change her mind. She only wants to do right by you. This meeting is as much for you as it is for her and the clan.”

“Maybe, but—” Tori started, but Baldewin lightly brushed his thumb across Tori’s lips.

“And second, you are a member of the Burkhard Clan and a mage of Burkhard. There’s no proving yourself to win your way in or hold your spot.”

Tori’s eyes narrowed skeptically. Grabbing Baldewin’s wrist, he pulled the dragon’s hand away from his mouth. “Lisette’s duty is to the clan, not me. She’s got to do what is best for the clan.”

“Yes, and if you’re a happy, well-trained, well-adjusted mage, that makes our clan stronger.”

Tori’s worried look dissolved slowly with each passing second until he gifted Baldewin with a crooked smile. It was enough to unknot some of the tension clenching tightly in Baldewin’s heart.

“You can’t help it, can you?” Tori inquired.

“Help what?”

“You can’t help being wonderful. Everything you do and say is just wonderful.”

Baldewin couldn’t hold it in any longer. Reaching over, he wrapped an arm around Tori’s waist and pulled the smaller man into his lap so he could properly nuzzle his neck. A surprised yelp escaped Tori, but he was soon snuggling closer, making happy little noises that were a balm on Baldewin’s weary soul.

“Do not rumple my mage.”

Without lifting his face from Tori’s neck, Baldewin looked up to find Lisette standing by their table. Her eyes were attempting to be stern, but her lips were fighting back a smile.

“You do not get to have him for at least another twenty minutes. I will rumple him all I want until then,” Baldewin growled. Tori laughed, and the sound bounced around in Baldewin’s chest. He was sure he could live on Tori’s laughter.

“I see Ravi stopped by this morning.” Lisette’s eyes darted down to the crystal jar on the table. “He was harassing my mages for a jar before any of us were properly awake.”

Baldewin groaned, but Tori surprised him by looking up and saying, “Wasn’t that incredibly nice of him? Such a sweet gift.”

Lisette laughed and shook her head. “I’ll see you soon, Tori. I’ll leave you to be rumpled by Baldewin. Otherwise, Alric will have to deal with his grumpiness.”

As the head mage walked away, Baldewin resumed the task of kissing Tori’s neck until the man in his arms made happy humming sounds.

“Should I worry that it seems the entire castle knows we’re…” Tori started breathlessly.