Chapter 2
Braving the gate was a good first step. Nikki had proven to themself they could leave if they wanted to. It didn’t look like Burkhard was lulling them into a false sense of security.
That said, there were a few things they wanted to check. Mostly because they didn’t make any sense to Nikki.
They’d now seen magic worked multiple times.
Mostly on the battlefield, but some here, too.
The magical protections on the castle spoke volumes, and it was wholly different from how the Jaeggi did it.
The spells were different, the ingredients were different—basically everything that could be different while still using magic, was.
And Nikki was fascinated by this. They really had to figure out just how far those differences went because they suspected the Burkhards had no need to harvest from Nikki’s magical core—or any mage’s.
And if that was the case, then Nikki might well be as safe as houses here.
And that was a remarkable concept. Finally being safe.
But first, Nikki had to prove it.
It was dark in the castle, though not pitch-black.
Nightlights hung here and there, dotting the hallways, probably for anyone patrolling.
They had enough light to navigate by, anyway, and that was all they needed.
They slipped first outside and into the greenhouse, taking stock.
Some truly impressive magical elements were here.
Nikki could tell by their aura they had power to them.
Not that they had any prayer of knowing what half of this was.
Nikki had never been in a greenhouse in their life.
The Jaeggi had moved around too much to make such a thing feasible.
The air felt rich with humidity, warmth, and magic. Nikki paused often to breathe, let it soak into their skin for a moment. The greenhouse might become a favorite haunt.
But there were other things to check out, so lingering here wasn’t ideal. Not tonight.
They slipped back out and up a level, going toward the mages’ workrooms. Most of the workrooms seemed to be all along one hallway, and Nikki had caught glimpses of mages popping in and out of those rooms yesterday.
What surprised them was the complete lack of protective wards around the doors.
There wasn’t even a hint of them. Those rooms would have been on complete lockdown with the Jaeggi.
Nikki edged in close to one of the doors, tapping all around it, searching every way they knew how for a protective ward. Nothing. A distinct lack of anything magical, in fact. It was just a door.
Huh.
Well. Wasn’t that interesting?
Either these people were incredibly na?ve or…they had nothing to hide. Call Nikki optimistic, but they bet it was the latter.
Nikki slipped inside and took in the room.
A seating area to the right hosted two big, cushy armchairs with a table between them.
The walls were entirely made of shelves, filled to the brim with every imaginable size jar and box.
Spell ingredients? Looked like it. To the left, a stainless-steel table sat with a sort of mini-kitchen wrapped around it in an L-shape.
A larger closet capped it on the end. Nothing looked dangerous, and everything was neat and put away.
There wasn’t a hint of machinery, either, aside from the stovetop in the corner. What…?
No, surely not. It just wasn’t obvious.
Nikki ignored the spell ingredients and went for the left side, digging through every cabinet, careful to put things back exactly as they were. They found more spell ingredients, cleaning supplies, different tools, cauldrons, a half-eaten stash of chocolates, all sorts of things.
But no machines of any sort.
Huh.
Was that true of every workroom?
Nikki left that one, went into the next room.
Searched it just as thoroughly. Came up with the same results.
Well, this one wasn’t as neatly kept and had slightly different spell ingredients, but it was the same in principle.
They went on to the next, and then the last one on that stretch of hallway.
Six workrooms in, the obvious became apparent. Nikki sat back on their heels for a long moment, letting this settle in their head.
Magic, true magic, came from the core. Nikki remembered that vaguely from their childhood.
Their parents had taught them little magics, simple things like cleaning spells.
The Burkhards had more powerful magics, which had made Nikki wonder if that was still the case—magic coming from the core—or if their parents had been the exception to the rule.
But they seemed to operate on the same principles.
A mage used powerful ingredients, spells, and their own power to create magic. No other source of power was necessary.
This was something Nikki would need to study more. For now, they had the answer to the main question: Would the Burkhards use Nikki as a power source, too?
The answer was simple: No. They apparently had other methods.
Nikki couldn’t find a single thing that even remotely resembled the devices the Jaeggi had used against them.
Probably because the Burkhards didn’t need them.
It did leave the question of how the mages worked magic instead. It didn’t make sense to Nikki.
Was it because they were mated to dragons?
The Jaeggi liked to complain about their difficulty with magic, blaming the dragons for their issues.
But Nikki didn’t think that was it. The Jaeggi’s magical cores didn’t look like the Burkhards’.
They were a fractured, shadowy reflection of how other mages’ cores looked. Even Nikki’s own.
Shaking the thought off, Nikki rose and left the workroom.
They had their answers, and it was a relief to know this wasn’t a place they had to immediately escape from.
It was safe enough at the moment, giving Nikki breathing room to figure out what to do next.
Nikki hadn’t been officially offered a place here, but Dominique had said they could stay if they so desired.
And no doubt the kings would talk to Nikki eventually.
They were interviewing each rescued mage one by one.
Nikki’s turn might well be tomorrow or the day after.
When they finally did speak with Nikki, if asked, Nikki could give them a ready answer: Yes, they’d stay. For magic, for safety, and for the deliciously sweet dragon Nikki was crushing on.
Speaking of, it was time to go and sneak into Gunter’s room.
Nikki had tried sleeping in their own bed since Gunter had been sweet enough to give them a room of their own, but…
well, it was quiet. And the bed was cold.
Nikki was used to someone sleeping in the same room as them.
They couldn’t settle down at night being on their own like that.
And Gunter radiated delicious heat Nikki could bask in. The castle was too cold for little ol’ mages like Nikki.
That was their story, and they were sticking to it.
If Nikki chose to be introspective in that moment—they generally avoided doing so, it was painful—something else was at play here.
The crush was true enough, but it went deeper than that.
Gunter had proven on a battlefield that if something scared Nikki, he would act immediately in defense.
Nikki had never been protected from anything in their life.
To have that immediate, unquestioning protection was heady stuff.
Nikki felt safer with Gunter than anywhere else.
In this chaotic shift, with so much uncertain, Gunter was a safe bastion Nikki could cling to.
And the dragon let them. He might be perplexed and frown at Nikki as if he couldn’t figure out why Nikki kept hanging about, but he didn’t complain. And he didn’t shoo Nikki off. He really was very nice.
Nikki might enjoy teasing him, too. Just a little bit.
But sleeping next to Gunter was mostly because being in their own bed wasn’t conducive to sleep.
Gunter’s warmth and presence soothed Nikki like nothing else could.
It did take timing to slip in and out before Gunter could wake and discover Nikki there.
It wasn’t like Nikki wanted to push their luck too much. But it was worth it.
They slipped into Gunter’s room on soundless feet.
The dragon was completely oblivious, snoring away, much like a bear in full hibernation.
Nikki grinned even as they toed off shoes, pulling back the covers at the very edge of the bed and snuggling in.
The bed was noticeably warm, even on the far side.
Nikki let their eyes close, soaking in the feelings of heat, snoring, and the very safety that Gunter’s presence promised. Within seconds, was out like a light.
Nikki was invited to come in and speak with King Alric. Via text message. From Cassie.
Nikki really didn’t know what to do with the fact that a mage had their number and used it, but…well, having the cellphone was nice.
And the cat memes were funny.
Anyway, Nikki was invited up after breakfast. They slipped out of Gunter’s room at dawn to take a shower and get dressed, to give Gunter the impression they’d been in their own room all night.
And then promptly went and collected Gunter for breakfast, as the dragon was the perfect person to use as a shield.
Not many people bothered Nikki while eating.
Not that Nikki could really eat, nerves making it hard to choke down food. Inevitably, the time to meet Alric arrived. They went with some trepidation, taking Gunter with them, because kings. How did one talk to kings? Nikki had no clue.
Maybe Gunter sensed their nerves because he didn’t say anything to Nikki. He just quietly went with them, escorting them up and to the right door. With a knock, Gunter called, “We’re here, Hoheit.”
“Enter!”