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“Please.” The word came out huskier than he intended. “Please do. We all need to grieve. And I don’t think any of us has found the time to do it.”
“Then I’ll do that, too. If you can help me, guide me in your clan’s traditions, I’d take it as a favor.”
“That I can do.”
His clan and the Tupã had lost a great deal. But if today was any indication, the future held nothing but promise.
The work at the Sousa village continued for another four days. Dragons worked in shifts, carrying all the Sousa mages home again. The Tupã lightning dragons stopped off at their own village down the mountain to find it had largely been leveled. It looked as if the fighting had taken place there, leaving them with little more than rubble covered with vines and trees. Luka hadn’t been there when the Tupã toured their old home, but his heart broke for them.
During the Dragon Wars, the Valerii Clan’s home in Russia had been physically untouched by the fighting. Yet, there had been no wish to stay when they’d returned to find their home missing so many mages and dragons. Just ghosts.
But the Tupã were missing their brothers and sisters as well as their homes.
Of course his darling mage hadn’t hesitated to invite the Tupã dragons to move into the Sousa village. With the loss of their own numbers, they had more than enough room to accommodate the dragon clan, and it only felt natural since the two clans had been so close in the past.
With everyone working together, the village looked as if it had largely returned to its original glory. Most of the homes that had been left at least partially standing were livable once again, and others were being built from scratch. The smaller amenities were mainly the ones still being replaced. The village now reflected a strange mix of ancient and present day—like the little group of kids sitting on the ground in the shade of one of the homes, gathered around a tablet. They definitely needed to figure out how to get these people a reliable internet signal.
“Have you spotted Amaru yet?” Vasily inquired on his left.
They wove their way through the village toward the main square, along with many other mages and dragons. All the Valerii Clan was now present, along with a sizable chunk of the Burkhard dragons. More earth dragons had arrived with a delegation of metal dragons, including King Roca Mayta and Queen Anawarkhi.
Luka tugged at the cuffs of his button-down shirt, settling it across his shoulders more comfortably. After weeks in T-shirts, the formal shirt felt constricting and awkward. But everyone who had somewhat formal clothes had changed for today’s ceremonies.
“I haven’t seen him for about three hours,” Luka grumbled. “I brought him some food and thought we could share some lunch, but I got the finger.”
Vasily’s lips twitched like he was fighting to hold in his smile. They both knew what finger Luka was talking about because they’d received it more than once since Amaru had started working on getting his village back in proper order. It was the raised index finger accompanied by a swift, “Gimme one minute. Just one minute.”
It was never one minute.
They understood. Amaru was determined to bring his village back to its former glory and take care of his people. It was why they’d been working almost around the clock for the past few days.
But the man did not rest.
Vasily had picked Amaru up the past two nights, tucking him under his arm as he carried him back to where they were staying within the village. Luka was waiting for the inevitable moment where it was his turn to cart their mage back to bed.
“I’m a little better than you.” Vasily flashed him a wry smile. “Caught him an hour ago. Figured out if I shoved bite-sized food into his mouth, he’d eat and work at the same time.”
“I’m getting the feeling he doesn’t want to leave here,” Luka whispered while trying to ignore the sudden tightness in his throat. “He’s making so many plans. Not just reconstruction, but improvements and expansion.”
Mentally, he’d been counting down the days until they would finally get to take Amaru home to the Valerii Clan. They’d talked about it and Amaru had seemed excited about living in the Valerii home. It was only natural. When a mage found his dragon mate, the mage always moved in with the dragons.
Both he and Vasily ached to bring Amaru home at last—to see him slip fully into their world and their lives.
But if Amaru wanted to stay…
Vasily threaded his fingers with Luka’s and squeezed. “If he wants to remain in the village with his clan, then we will move here with him. It’s only a few hours flight from here to the compound. The important thing is that we’re together.”
