Chapter 15
Tori was in heaven. Cassie and Warin had ordered a selection of sweets and fruit to nibble on while they made plans.
He was surrounded by people who were fast becoming the first true friends he’d ever had in his life, and Baldewin was currently rubbing his scalp in the most relaxing caress that was threatening to lull him right to sleep.
While they waited for dessert to be delivered, they sat around talking about this or that. Cassie regaled them with strange stories of things happening in the castle or what new thing she, Cameron, and Ha Na were learning in their magic lessons.
Sasha passed on a little news from the castle about security procedures and ongoing worries about how long it was going to take to rid them of the Jaeggi threat.
For now, it seemed that everyone was understanding of the restrictions in regards to leaving the castle, but there was no question it would wear thin if they didn’t figure out why the rogue mage clan was going after mages in the first place.
The stories they told painted an interesting picture of nice people living and working together with ease.
Tori had hundreds of questions about what normal life looked like for the Burkhard Clan, but for now he was content to simply sit back and listen.
It also didn’t hurt that Baldewin had claimed the seat directly next to him on the love seat and stretched his arm out across Tori’s shoulder.
Within a few minutes, he found himself relaxed with his head resting on Baldewin’s chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
And no one said a thing.
Well, Cassie might have given him a smirk and a covert thumbs up, but then she had been pretty adamant that he and Baldewin were made for each other while they talked earlier.
Tori was far from sold on the idea. This was more of an experiment of sorts. When he’d been living with his clan, there had been none of this. No snuggling with a man. No kisses—stolen or otherwise. No pleasant touching or tender words.
But with Baldewin, he had all of that and more. Not that he was using Baldewin. He genuinely liked the guy. And it certainly didn’t hurt that the man was sexy as hell.
Tori just knew that it wasn’t going to go anywhere in the end.
He didn’t deserve someone like Baldewin.
The dragon was a royal retainer. He was head of the Burkhard Clan’s security.
He was the best friend of the king. In the hierarchy of things, that made Baldewin like a duke.
A baron at the very least, but really, more like a duke.
That meant Baldewin needed to be with someone of similar stature.
A leader among a mage’s clan. Someone who was incredibly smart and talented with magic and crafting new spells.
And if dragon clans were in such desperate need of mages, then they definitely needed someone like that.
Someone who could help the dragons recover and thrive into the future.
Tori was not an obvious choice for Baldewin. He might be learning that his magic wasn’t as worthless as he’d been led to believe, but he certainly didn’t have the kind of knowledge or skill that would make him a good match for Baldewin.
“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Cassie announced during a lull in the conversation.
“Oh god,” Warin moaned as he stretched his legs in front of him from his spot on the sofa.
“I thought we warned you against that, my precious heart,” Sasha murmured.
“Har, har,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Now that we’ve got these amulets made, I was thinking we need to run a field test with them. Really give them a good workout.”
“I thought Alric had suggested you return directly to the castle with Sasha while we continued via train,” Baldewin said evenly. “There’s no reason to risk the lives of two mages unnecessarily.”
Cassie made a dismissive sound in the back of her throat and waved her hand at him. “What we need is more information on the Jaeggi if we’re ever going to beat them. They’re freaking slippery. Plus, three dragons can protect two mages, especially when one of the mages is as talented as Tori.”
“I appreciate your confidence, but my talents are very limited,” Tori countered.
“What are you thinking, my snowdrop blossom?” Sasha inquired.
Cassie clapped her hands together. “We continue this road trip. We’re obviously gonna have to rent something bigger than that cute little car you’ve got if we’re gonna fit all the dragons inside.
I’d be happy to sit on Sasha’s lap the entire time, but my sweetie would be uncomfortable after eight hours like that. ”
Tori pressed his fingers into his brow and rubbed. Maybe the translation spell was messing up, but he was having a devil of a time following her words. “Eight hours in a car? I thought the plan was to board a train here in Kaunas and take it to Munich.”
“It is,” Baldewin confirmed.
“No fun.” Cassie leaned forward, her wide, dark eyes pinning Tori.
“This is your first trip across Europe, right? Mine, too. Let’s do this road trip up right.
You didn’t really get to see Tallin and had only one night in Riga?
Next stop has got to be Wroclaw, Poland, and it’s on the way.
” By the time she finished speaking, her voice was several octaves higher, and she was bouncing where she sat.
“Wroclaw?” Tori repeated. He didn’t know much about Poland, and the only city he even knew a little about was Warsaw. Wroclaw escaped him completely.
“Yep. It’s eight hours away from Kaunas by car. That’s eight hours to see if the Jaeggi can track us down. From Wroclaw, we can snag a train that leaves in the evening. After one quick transfer, we’ll arrive in Sonthofen by early morning the next day. Easy as pie.”
“Why Wroclaw?” Warin asked. He was typing on his phone and frowning at it.
“Eight hours seems too long to put ourselves out there for bait. The route you’re suggesting would take us right through Warsaw, and that’s only five hours away.
We could board a train in Warsaw, and it would actually only take us an extra hour by train. ”
Cassie made a little growling noise at Warin and narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re missing the point. This is a road trip. We gotta have some fun on a road trip. We need to see some sights. Tori has never been out of Finland before. I’ve never been to Europe. We’ve gotta go to Wroclaw.”
Tori chuckled. Her enthusiasm was infectious. “Okay. I give up. What’s so awesome in Wroclaw that we’ve got to see it?”
“Dwarves!” she squealed.
Now he knew the translation spell was breaking down. There was no way he heard that correctly. He looked over at Warin and Sasha, who were wearing the same confused expression. Tori even sat up and twisted around to look at Baldewin behind him. “Did she say dwarves?”
Baldewin nodded. “She did.”
He looked back at Cassie, and she was bouncing again.
“Wroclaw is this old town with beautifully preserved architecture, but back in the eighties when communism was still a problem in the region, they had an anti-communism movement called the Orange Alternative. Their symbol”—squeak—“was a dwarf. Fast forward a bunch of years, and the city is now full of these little dwarf statues. Over three hundred of them!” Cassie held up her phone, and there was a picture of an adorable dwarf cast in what looked like bronze.
“Okay, that’s really cute,” Tori admitted.
Cassie placed her phone on the table and waved both her hands excitedly at Tori.
“See! We drive from Kaunas to Wroclaw and arrive in the evening. Get a hotel. The next day we can do a walking tour and have a contest to see who can find the most dwarves. Then we catch an early morning train from Wroclaw to Sonthofen. Just three days away from home and we get to have a little fun along the way and see if we found a way to thwart the Jaeggi. I call that a win.”
She did actually make a pretty compelling case.
While Tori did want to get to Burkhard Castle and meet other mages and dragons, his anxiety was rising the closer they got.
Why rush it? A little side trip to Wroclaw sounded nice, and a walking tour with Baldewin could be a lot of fun, particularly if it was a place he hadn’t seen before.
They’d both be experiencing it for the first time together. Just like Riga.
Of course, they did still have the Jaeggi to contend with.
Baldewin placed his hand on the back of Tori’s head, and Tori twisted around to look at him. “What do you think?” Baldewin inquired lightly. “Would you like to make a stopover in Wroclaw? It means taking an extra day to reach the castle.”
Tori shrugged, not sure what to tell Baldewin. He didn’t know what the right answer was. Would Baldewin be happier to drop him off at the castle faster?
“I don’t know. The longer we’re on the road, the more danger there is for you, Warin, and Sasha. I don’t want you to be hurt trying to keep me safe.”
Fingertips brushed gently across his jaw as Baldewin shook his head. “Don’t worry about the Jaeggi. That’s my job. Do you think you could tolerate being in a car with Cassie for eight hours just to see some dwarves?”
“Hey!” Cassie shouted in outrage. “They’re really cute dwarves!”
Tori couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his lips. “Are you sure?”
“If I had any doubts about our ability to protect you and Cassie, this wouldn’t even be a discussion,” Baldewin said firmly.
The gold ring around his irises seemed to widen for a moment, as if the dragon inside of Baldewin was agreeing.
“It would be good to test this masking spell. We need to know what will and won’t work against the Jaeggi. ”
Turning his head a little to the side, Tori brushed his lips across Baldewin’s fingertips. “Then yes, I would very much like to take a walking tour of Wroclaw to see these dwarves.”
Cassie thrust both her fists into the air. “Whoo-hoo! We’re going to Wroclaw!”
Cassie Burkhard might be utterly insane, but Tori had to admit that she was right about one thing—Wroclaw was a very cool town.