“I know, Ravi,” Alric whispered.
Ravi lifted his head completely, relieved that the dungeon punishment didn’t seem to be forthcoming.
“You were trying to save a life, and for that I am proud of you. You’re always the first to jump in when it comes to helping or protecting another,” Alric said and then frowned. “I cannot blame your instincts to leap into the fray to protect others. I do wish you weren’t so quick to jump to conclusions, however.”
“I will try harder, Hoheit, I promise. I will make you proud and learn to think things through,” Ravi vowed, and he meant every word of it.
He would be less impulsive. He made progress on that character trait every decade, after all.
“I know you will,” Alric agreed. A small smile passed across his lips, but the king looked worried and more than a little weary. The Jaeggi were taking their toll on Alric.
It had been five months since they’d brought a new mage into their clan, not that that was strange. Prior to Cameron’s arrival last June, it had been roughly five hundred years since they’d seen a new mage. Now they had Cameron, his twin sister Cassie, their grandmother Ha Na, Tori from the Taavi mage clan, and now North from the Aldridge mage clan.
Rodrigo had also acquired a couple new mages from Taavi Clan, and the dragons were still talking to the reclusive mage clan a bit, though it was a tense thing.
But the past five months had been too quiet. The Jaeggi had hounded their every step when they found a new mage, desperate to steal the mage’s power. What was happening that they couldn’t see? Had the Jaeggi uncovered other mages they didn’t know about? Where were the Jaeggi hiding now? What were they plotting?
There was no doubt in Ravi’s mind that these were the thoughts keeping Alric awake at night.
Of course, it hadn’t all been bad. The new mages had settled in quickly, adding to the wealth of knowledge and strength of the Burkhard Clan. Baldewin and Tori were happily mated now. North and Warin wouldn’t be far behind, though they seemed happy in their blissful bubble of dating and wooing.
They were even seeing more of King Rodrigo now. He made plenty of excuses about wanting to talk to the Taavi in Finland and wanting to discuss plans with Alric in person, but Ravi had started to suspect that a certain purple-haired mage had caught the dragon’s attention.
The ice dragon loudly patted the open seat next to him on the sofa. “Come sit with me, Zephyr. We must figure out what our next step is going to be, and considering the world now knows about your dragon, I believe you should be a part of it.”
Ravi glanced up at Alric in time to see his king roll his eyes, but his smile grew wider.
“That is true.”
Feeling lighter for the first time since this whole debacle had started, Ravi hurried over to the sofa and sat down next to the long-legged dragon, excited to be a part of this next step in their future with the rest of the world.
“At least the humans didn’t run in terror from the sight of a dragon,” Cameron offered.
“You and Cassie have both shown me the stupidity and danger that humans will face in order to capture something for the internet,” Alric grumbled.
Cameron wrapped his arms around Alric’s waist and snuggled in close. “That’s why we all need dragons to keep us safe.”
Alric carefully wrapped his left arm around Cameron’s waist and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “It is a full-time job keeping an eye on my mate. I do not want the task of protecting all humans and mages.”
“As for the next step, I think we need to release a statement or possibly allow an interview with a reputable news agency,” Rodrigo stated.
“And I know exactly who needs to be the face of the dragons.” Ravi lifted both hands, holding them so that the tips of his thumbs were touching like he was framing in a shot for a movie. In the center of the shot were Alric, with his rugged good looks and the silver touching the temples of his dark hair, and Cameron, looking like a Korean actor who’d just walked off set.
“Seriously?” Cameron asked.
Ravi glanced over at Rodrigo, who was scratching the stubble on his jaw, looking thoughtful. “It’s a good idea. Alric carries a proper air of authority and dignity, but together they appear friendly and welcoming.”
“It doesn’t hurt that they’re both beautiful,” Ravi added as he lowered his hands to his lap.
“And charming.”
“Ugh,” Cameron groaned.
“As king and consort, they would provide a united front and the image of a loving couple,” Rodrigo finished. He nodded and slapped his hands on his thighs. “It’s decided. You will represent all of dragonkind in an interview in front of the whole world.”
Cameron’s eyes narrowed on Rodrigo, and it was all Ravi could do to keep from laughing. “You had to put it like that. No pressure at all.”
“You’ll do great. You’re adorable and funny. The world will love you,” Ravi quickly said, which only earned him a dark look from his friend.
Alric quickly turned the conversation back to more important matters. “What should we discuss? Or, more importantly, what things should we avoid talking about?”
“Definitely don’t bring up that our numbers have so greatly dwindled. I don’t want humans to see us as a target,” Rodrigo immediately said.
“We should make it clear that we have no interest in human politics or human matters. We are content to keep to ourselves, as we have for hundreds of years,” Alric replied.
Cameron shoved a hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead and away from his eyes and glasses. “No mention of the Jaeggi.”
“You know the humans are going to want to know why we’re making an appearance now.” Ravi winced. “You know, other than my mistaken movie debut.”
Cameron shrugged. “Well, first we state that it’s harder to hide now that everyone can take a video and share it with people around the world in an instant.”
Cameron wrinkled his nose at his own words, and Ravi had to agree—not the best answer.
“The romantic answer is you,” Alric murmured, and Cameron’s head whipped around to face his smiling mate. “After five hundred years of searching, I found you.”
There was no missing the way Cameron melted against his dragon.
“Silly romantic dragon,” he whispered. “That’s a damn good answer.”
“And other members of our clan found mates,” Ravi said, dropping his eyes to the carpet for a moment.
He hated the little pang of jealousy that rippled through his heart. He wasn’t as old as a lot of the unmated dragons in their clan, but it didn’t change the fact that he longed for a mate of his own. He wanted someone to look at him like he’d hung the moon.
“It’s a nice, romantic reason that humans will eat up. They might not all believe it, but it’s a good, safe starting place for us,” Rodrigo agreed. “Who should we allow to conduct the interview?”
Ravi’s arm immediately shot up like he was trying to get a teacher to call on him in class. “ELLEN! ELLEN! We need to get Ellen!”
“Oh, I love Ellen,” Cameron moaned. “She’s so awesome and funny and sweet. She wouldn’t ask us any mean or super-hard questions.”