Chapter 16
Ravi practically vibrated with the need to drag Sora away. He’d had to sit still—okay, he might have fidgeted, but his ass stayed in the chair, that counted as sitting, right?—for hours before he could finally drag Sora away. And it was painful. To his soul.
What Sora had just dropped on them was huge. Here they’d thought the Lost Clan exactly that—forever lost. No one had heard a peep from them since the war. The fact that Sora had appeared without warning blew Ravi’s mind. The Lost Clan. The. Lost. Clan. Was coming. To Burkhard.
All because Sora had advised them to.
Ravi’s brain kept misfiring, trying to take this in.
It was hard for him to reconcile the sweet, soft-spoken man he’d been (hopefully) dating with a mage from a legendary clan that was more myth than anything.
Sora was incredibly intelligent, and patient, and thoughtful.
He was terrifically fun to date. Even after Ravi had gone down, Sora had focused entirely on healing Ravi and keeping him occupied so that he didn’t go stir crazy.
He’d done it with a smile on his face and without a single word of complaint. Ravi owed him for that alone.
And it didn’t even touch the other things Sora had done since his arrival, the way he’d readily pitched in when things had gone to shit.
Although, it did explain why he was so knowledgeable about healing. Abe. The Abe family was famous—so famous, in fact, there were still legends about Abe no Seimei in Japan. He featured often in films and stories, even today.
The Abe family was the authority on all things medical.
Losing them had hurt the Burkhard Clan in a way that would take volumes to explain.
If they’d had access to the Abe family when Alric went down, odds were, their dragon king would still be able to fly.
That was how impressive their skills were.
For his clan’s sake, Ravi was thrilled Sora was here and apparently adamant that his clan come out of hiding. The knowledge they could regain would make a world of difference.
On a personal level, Ravi really wanted to know what Sora had been doing here for the past week. He’d come to see the clan; he’d been honest enough about that. But to what aim? He’d never said what his goal was.
Since his arrival, Sora had been very friendly with him—flirtatious—and they were borderline dating. If he’d done that just to get Ravi to drop his guard…even as the doubt flickered through his mind, Ravi dismissed it.
Sora might have lied about his last name, but he’d been honest about basically everything else. In fact, he’d told Ravi whenever he couldn’t discuss something rather than lying.
Ravi had to believe that everything Sora had said to him, everything he’d done, had been sincere.
He just had a lot of questions. A lot, a lot. Ravi was cornering the market on questions.
As soon as Alric made noise about taking a small break, Ravi grabbed Sora by the arm and whisked him out of the office. The nearest private spot was an outdoor balcony at the end of the hallway, and he aimed for that.
Sora, surprisingly, didn’t offer one peep of protest or ask a single question about where they were going. He went along amiably.
Once they were on the balcony, he shut the glass doors behind them, his entire attention on Sora.
Sora glanced at the mountains all around them. It was a breathtaking view, no doubt about that. Ravi had always found it picturesque. And the wind was sharp and clear today, a delight to breathe in.
“This reminds me of home, but it’s so different at the same time,” Sora observed.
“Yes,” Ravi purred, “do tell me more about your home.”
Sora turned those keen, dark eyes on him, evaluating. As if he could see right through to the back of Ravi’s skull.
“Do you want me to wax poetic about the mountains there, with their snow-touched peaks? I think you really want to know why I came here. Why I didn’t say something sooner.”
Ravi nodded fervently. “That. Tell me all of that.”
Sora braced his back against the stone balustrade, hands on either side of his hips, and spoke calmly. Without embarrassment or hurry, he laid it out, each word like a stone laying down a path.
“The Sodalicium is…insulated. We are rich in magic, our very environment hums with it, and we all have our tasks, our duties. I grew up only knowing my home and what I could see of the outside world through pictures. I had everything I wanted, in a sense. A perfect environment to thrive in as a mage. And I was bored to tears.”
He joined Sora at the railing, leaning his body weight against it as standing was a bit taxing. He wasn’t about to complain to Sora, though. Ravi was riveted by the man’s every word.
“So much was already accounted for. Already prepared for, or accomplished, and there wasn’t any reason to hone my skills, except for my personal satisfaction.
I wanted a challenge. I wanted to breathe air that didn’t smell of magic.
I wanted to see something of the world I lived in, to take it in with my own senses. ”
Sora looked levelly at him, a half-smile quirking the corner of his mouth.
“I traveled outside of my clan’s borders often, for that reason. To see more of the world. But what I found was a human world. It was tame compared to what I was used to, and I couldn’t show my true nature when I was out there. It hampered me in a different way. It didn’t include dragons and mages.
“Traveling only took the edge off my frustration. I needed some kind of purpose. Something that I could contribute to in a meaningful way. And I struggled to find it within my clan or in the human world.
“And then I saw a certain interview with a dragon king and his consort.” Sora’s smile broadened at the memory. “I watched them and thought—this was my sign. It was finally the right time for my clan to join the rest of the world again. I hoped that it meant something for me personally, too.
“That’s why I came, to see and judge with my own eyes. I never expected to find such danger here. My family was leery of me coming, and using a false name was a way to pacify them. They weren’t willing to commit to anything until I had checked out the situation here.”
Ravi felt like this was an apology and held up a hand to stop him. “I totally understand your reasoning; you don’t need to feel guilty about it. We were in hiding for five hundred years, remember? We have no room to throw stones at that glass house.”
The line of tension riding high in Sora eased.
“Thank you. I do feel better hearing that. It grated on me, not being able to tell you the full truth. You seemed to trust me completely, and yet I was hiding things.”
“But you obviously got permission from your clan? To tell us? Or did you decide to be a rebel and tell us anyway?”
“Oh, I got permission. After twisting my mother’s arm a bit.
I told her of the attacks you’ve suffered, of how alone you are in this battle, and that I wasn’t having it.
It’s wrong to expect you to battle the Jaeggi alone.
The Council—the leaders of the Sodalicium—agreed, and finally gave me permission to be honest with you. ”
“I’m really glad,” Ravi admitted. Even those words were a vast understatement. If voted for the understatement of the year, those three words would have won. “And if you’re looking for a challenge, you have definitely come to the right place.”
Sora threw his head back with a laugh that turned into a groan.
“Too much of a challenge for me to tackle by myself, I think. I might have wished a little too hard for one. It’s why I want the strength of my clan to back yours.
All of the Sodalicium. We certainly have enough manpower—and firepower—to do some good here.
But on a personal note, I came here for something else, too. ”
“I love personal notes.” Ravi waggled his eyebrows in a mischievous manner. “Do tell.”
“Despite the size of my clan—which, as you know, is sizeable—I never found a personal connection there. I hoped that in another clan my odds might improve and I’d find someone I would like.”
Here Sora turned, orienting to face Ravi more directly. His expression was sweet, but a touch of nerves flickered across his face. “I found that far more quickly than I’d dreamed I would.”
Ravi found himself holding his breath. He thought he understood why Sora had pulled away earlier.
Why he hadn’t kissed him. Because he wanted to be honest first, which was cool, Ravi now forgave him for the disappointment.
They had that moment back, the tension and promise in full force, and Ravi found himself once more hanging on this man’s every action and word.
Was Sora going to say what he really, dearly hoped he’d say?
Because Ravi would be very much on board with it.
Truly. Pleeeease say the right magic words.
Like, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, just ask right now because he couldn’t take the suspense for another second.
“I couldn’t ask this under a false name. I can now, since you know precisely who I am. Ravi, would you agree to—”
“Yes,” Ravi blurted out, no longer able to keep his mouth in check.
“—court?” Sora finished, nearly doubling over with laughter.
“Yes, yes, yes, come here,” Ravi demanded, grabbing his hands and tugging him in closer. “Why the hell are you a full foot away from me, what’s wrong with you?”
“Apologies, my cute dragon.” Sora stepped all the way in, framing Ravi’s face with both hands before leaning in and kissing him with sweet, smoldering heat.
Ravi might have melted. Fuck yes, that’s what he wanted. He kissed back, sinking into the moment. Ravi’s dragon reared its head and got all jittery and excited.
Oh. Say what now?
Ravi stilled for a heartbeat, startled. His dragon never voiced excitement over anything like this. Normally it stayed curled up, content to watch through human eyes as Ravi had his fun or did whatever he needed to in order to take the edge off.