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Luka tried to keep the thought off his face, but he was fairly sure he’d already lost.
It wasn’t that Vasily understood everything about Luka; even after centuries together he was not arrogant enough to claim that. But Luka leaving when Amaru needed comfort was very outside of his normal behavior. Generally speaking, Luka was always the one to offer comfort when it was needed, so him leaving made very little sense.
Especially since Amaru was their mate.
It had taken less than five seconds for Vasily to realize it once he held the mage. The second he had drawn Amaru into his arms, his dragon had quite smugly declared MINE. If Amaru had not been so obviously distraught at that moment, Vasily might very well have crowed it to the heavens. It had not been the time or place, he recognized that, and there was no guarantee Amaru even knew they were mates. From what he had seen, the humans tended to take a little bit longer to realize things.
He had just one question for his dragon, since it was in a talking mood. Luka? Was Luka also his mate?
His dragon very audibly rolled its eyes. Duh. Yes, of course Luka was mate.
Vasily let out a not so subtle breath of relief. Thank any god listening. He had not known what he would do if Luka wasn’t.
But why had Luka not realized it?
It did not take a dragon’s nose to know this stank of potential trouble.
Amaru had pulled himself together, but he looked a little fragile to Vasily’s eyes. Like he was just hanging on by a thread. If not for Amaru’s obvious need for him, Vasily would’ve already been out of the tent and tracking Luka down. As it was, he was loath to move because Amaru apparently had no intention of regaining his seat.
Was this something like having a cat sit on you? A mate on his thighs seemed to have the same sort of paralytic powers.
“Someone said something about earth dragons. You think earth dragons will help us?”
To Amaru, this probably did sound ridiculous in the extreme. Five hundred years ago, the concept of asking another dragon clan for help would’ve been laughable. He did remember those days, so he was patient as he answered.
“I am absolutely positive. They have already helped considerably when dealing with the Jaeggi. Frankly speaking, no dragon can afford to ignore your clan. We don’t have enough mages as it is, and the expertise of your clan is something we desperately need.”
Amaru’s eyes narrowed, expression shrewd. “You say this because of Sam?”
“He is definitely part of the equation. Sam is my clan brother. But you must understand, there are a lot of dragons without mates, and there’s a very good chance at least some of our potential mates are among your clan. I would help you regardless, as I know how dear your clan is to you, but…”
It was like he already knew Vasily’s thoughts before he said them. “I know. And that makes me incredibly happy. If you are sure the earth dragons will come to help, then I want to speed them along their way. Can you call them for me somehow?”
“My king is probably doing that as we speak. But if you want to pitch in on the conversation, I am sure there are going to be details they will ask you.”
“Yes.” Amaru nodded decisively as he got up. “Then let’s go.”
Somewhat to his surprise, Amaru took his hand as they walked out of the tent. Vasily was not quite sure what was going on here. Was Amaru touch deprived after being in a deep sleep for five hundred years? Was he just physically affectionate? Was it something else entirely? He absolutely was not complaining, but he was a little bit confused.
Or perhaps this was one of those cases where the mage picked up quickly on who their dragon was? Unlike the mages they had discovered in this generation, Amaru was of the time where dragons and mates were very common knowledge. This could play out more like Cassie and Sasha’s mating had, where the mage took no time at all to put the pieces together. If that was the case, Vasily would only be relieved. Amaru was in a very difficult position and he could use the support of both of his mates through this.
He could not help but look around for Luka as they walked to Rodrigo’s tent. Seriously, where had his other mate gotten off to? It was so unlike him to leave in a moment like that. Vasily’s unease grew, and he resolved to find Luka at the first given opportunity.
Vasily slapped the tent on the side—a sort of knock to announce their presence—before opening the tent flap and stepping inside. He half expected to find Rodrigo on the phone, but instead he seemed to be video chatting. He had a tablet on the table in front of him, with Ha Na seated next to him in a folding camp chair.
