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The logic impacted Amaru like emotion wouldn’t have. He’d heard this before, but now, standing here, he felt it on a deeper level. His clan wouldn’t have been awakened if not for all the dragon and mage clans coming to the rescue. His home village wouldn’t be repaired like this so that people could actually live here once more if not for all the help incoming.
Amaru wasn’t the type to only receive. He wanted to give back, too, keep these scales even. “I speak for my clan when I say we appreciate it. And will join in. Let me promise you this, first and foremost. All of the Jaeggi mages who need help? I will help them.”
Cameron’s expression lit up with anticipated joy. “I heard you knew how to fix Sam’s core. You think you can do the rest?”
“Ninety-nine percent sure of it. Irany, a colleague, has also promised to help. Frankly, I find the whole thing abhorrent. The descendants of Kaiser Jaeggi didn’t even do anything wrong and yet they have to pay for his mistakes? Ugh, makes me throw up in my mouth. No.” Amaru’s tone firmed, and he meant every word he said. “No. Not on my watch. I’ve already promised to fix Sam. But I’ll teach anyone who wants to learn how to correct this.”
Cameron’s hand shot into the air. “Me. I want to learn. I might not understand everything said, but I want to record it, too.”
“Done.”
Cameron looked as giddy as a child on holiday expecting presents. He shot Luka a grin. “Luka, I really like your mate.”
“I rather like him myself.” Luka hugged Amaru to him for a moment.
Aww, he did feel loved. He could also see why Nikki claimed Cameron as a favorite person. Amaru might do the same.
Cameron waved them both to fall into step with him. “Let me give you a tour of what we’ve started. First, generators. Ah, those supply electrical power.”
“I’ve seen those at the other camp,” Amaru told him, to save Cameron from trying to explain. “I know how those function.”
Luka shot him a droll look. “You also took one of them apart.”
“Which is how I know how they function.” Amaru felt no shame about that. He’d put it back together, hadn’t he? And it worked fine. No problem. “How many did you bring, Cameron?”
“About twenty. We didn’t know how many to bring, so we figured we could always buy more.” Cameron pointed to a work crew farther along who were busy around the hospital building. “Once the earth dragons were done digging the way into the grotto, they shifted over here. We’ve had them do all the basic repair work, mainly getting the roads and walls back into shape. We mages are handling the finer details, like doors, windows, and roofs. I can at least promise basic shelter by nightfall.”
It was incredibly generous, all that had been accomplished. Amaru could easily tell where patches and repairs had been done, the newer stone in shiny contrast to the weathered stone, all looking solid. He could almost see his home as it had once looked. He did not underestimate how much magic and manpower had gone into this. They must have been at it for days to manage all of this.
He stopped dead in the central plaza, looking about. What used to be thriving businesses were nothing more than shells now, but he knew they’d be rebuilt. Flourish once more. It just looked sad in the moment.
“You’ve done so much work.” Amaru turned to Cameron, not even sure how to express adequate thanks. “I don’t know if my clan can ever repay this much generosity.”
“We are happy to help. Truly.” Cameron took one of Amaru’s hands in both of his, the mage’s hands warm. Comforting. “Your clan symbolizes hope to us. We want to support you.”
Yes, he believed that. But Amaru stood by his initial assessment. Just healing Jaeggi broken cores was not enough to repay all of this. “I think we better have you send us apprentices. Whatever medical knowledge we have, we’ll pass on to your clan. I won’t be able to rest easy unless you agree to this.”
“Student exchange program?” Cameron’s smile was dazzling, and in that moment, Amaru imagined he saw exactly why the Fire Dragon King fell in love with this man. “I’m all for it! Let’s get you up to speed first, then we’ll talk logistics.”
“Excellent. First, though, let me turn everything on. It’ll help speed things up.”
Cameron and Luka looked at him like he wasn’t quite making sense.
“Uh, love?” Luka’s head canted to the side, brows quirked in puzzlement. “Turn what on?”
For a moment, he shared their confusion. Why was he getting this look. “All the lights, sewage system, and repair golems, of course.”
This did not, apparently, clarify matters. Cameron especially looked even more confused. “The whatsits?”
