Page 92 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume Two

“Father?” Chandi inquired, a note of hope in her soft voice.

“Yes, yes. Go and have fun.” He paused and wagged his finger at his daughter. “But listen to Ravi and Sahan. I don’t want King Alric to regret inviting us to visit his clan.”

Ravi swore he heard an excited squeak escape her before she popped back into her dragon form. With a laugh, Ravi stepped away from the others and shifted as well. He started to extend his wings to take flight when a blue blur zipped past him. He looked up to find that Sahan was already in the air.

Holy crap! He was fast.

Laughing, Ravi leapt into the air at the same time as Chandi. He was vaguely aware of Sora cheering for him and the shouts of the humans outside the castle, but it all fell away as he spiraled and soared through the air with two wind dragons. It felt like a dream, and Ravi prayed he would never wake up.

This was quickly becoming the second-best day of his life.

The first was still the day he’d hopped on the back of the motorcycle and wrapped his arms around Sora. His mage.

Sora frowned at the book in his hand. He’d been trying to read it for the past ten minutes and was still on the same page. It wasn’t holding his attention—not that it was the book’s fault. It was Ravi’s.

Or rather, a distinct lack of Ravi in his life.

They’d known each other barely three weeks, and now Sora couldn’t go a day without seeing the dragon.

Not that he was surprised he hadn’t seen Ravi all day. After introducing Ravi to the wind dragons, he was gone from sight, streaking through the sky like a bolt of blue lightning against white clouds. Balin had told him years ago that a wind dragon was at his happiest when he was flying. He needed to feel the wind across his face, lifting his wings.

Sora had taken Balin to meet with King Alric and the other dragon leaders. He’d then excused himself so he could meet with Lisette and the other mages for a bit.

His day had been busy enough as he helped screen the humans outside the castle and then assisted with recording more spells. North and Gunter were overseeing the process in an effort to make sure that nothing was lost and that the information was shared with the Valerii mages in Brazil.

He took his meals with the mages and heard the other dragons talking about spotting Ravi, but he hadn’t seen the man with his own eyes in hours.

Now, he was alone in his chambers, feeling completely at loose ends.

Which was a very odd sensation. His entire life, he’d been content with his own company. Never before had he sat in a room and wondered what to do. Or felt as if nothing at all appealed.

He missed Ravi. That was the real issue. The only thing he wanted to do was spend time with his wind dragon, but he wasn’t there. It was as if someone had drained all the color from his world and he was walking around in somber shades of grey, waiting for his personal rainbow to bounce back into his life.

“I’m being very silly,” he told the air.

Saying it didn’t seem to change the situation much. It’s not that he begrudged the time Ravi spent with others, either. Sora didn’t want to monopolize him; he just…wanted. Wanted to share in the joy Ravi was experiencing. Was Ravi still enjoying himself, hearing stories told by family he hadn’t known about? Was he learning more about his wind dragon abilities?

Was Sora going to just sit here and think of nothing but Ravi?

Apparently so.

Oh, he had it bad.

Really, really bad.

Not that it mattered, because Ravi was most definitely his dragon. And⁠—

Sora didn’t have the chance to finish that thought as his door was flung open, and Ravi zipped into the room. Sora stood from where he’d been lounging on the couch, placing his unread book down.

Ravi’s beautiful brown eyes were wide, and his dark curls were thoroughly windblown as if he’d been flying around the castle in his human form. His gold skin was flushed, and he seemed so very alive and big, as if he were standing there in both his human and dragon forms at the same time. It was a little disconcerting, but so very Ravi.

“You had dinner without me,” Ravi declared, sounding shocked and affronted that Sora would do such a thing.

Sora’s lips trembled with the smile he was trying to hold back. They’d taken nearly every meal together since Sora’s arrival at Burkhard. He couldn’t deny he felt ridiculously pleased that Ravi had clearly missed him.

“You were busy all day with Chandi and Sahan. I ate with my parents.”

Emotions crisscrossed Ravi’s face in the blink of an eye before he nodded and closed the door behind him.