Chapter 7
Ravi caught Nikki just as they stood from the lunch table, swooping in on them like they were prey. Ravi the hawk. Or dragon, in this case.
“Nikki! Favorite person of mine, come explore the castle with me. I think there’s people you still haven’t met yet.”
Nikki eyed him sideways. While the words sounded innocent enough, it did not match Ravi’s expression. Not one iota. And they found it very suspicious Ravi was catching them the one time Gunter had left Nikki alone at the table. “You say explore, and yet I hear trouble.”
“It’s because you are as wise as you are fair.” Ravi waggled his eyebrows in a truly outrageous fashion. “You in?”
“Always.” Nikki held out an arm, like a lord escorting a fair lady to a ball.
Ravi linked arms without a second of hesitation, matching pace with Nikki as they merrily skipped out of the dining hall like they hadn’t a care in the world.
“How are you doing, old married man?” Nikki couldn’t help but ask. Ravi seemed…well, he glowed, really.
“Couldn’t be better. Well, I’d like it if we had no enemies to face—that way I could get down to the important things. Like convincing Sora we need a dozen kids.”
Nikki considered that. And the safety of the world in general. Absolutely nothing about that visual panned out well. A dozen Ravis…oh boy. “What does your husband say?”
“That he doesn’t have enough energy to keep up with a dozen of me.
Which is so rude.” Ravi laughed, proving he wasn’t the slightest bit insulted.
“Anyway, married life is awesome. I highly recommend it for everyone. I noticed your friend—Dominique?—has got Seb following her around like a faithful dog.”
Nikki hadn’t noticed but had also been preoccupied with Gunter. To be fair, Gunter was very, very distracting.
“Do you think she’ll stay?”
“I think she wants to.” Nikki shrugged. “When I asked her, she said she didn’t really have any other place to go. And Burkhard has been very welcoming to all of us.”
“You say that, but you’ve not really left the dungeon much, either.”
Nikki thought about explaining their late-night strolls, then thought better of it. “I have explored some.”
“But not enough for you to comfortably think of this as home, right? So, let’s change a little of that today.
” Ravi pulled them through the back doors and into the area where the greenhouses lined up.
At this hour of the day, the afternoon sun glinted off the glass roofs in a pretty picture.
“We’ll start here. Can’t work magic if you don’t know your own spell ingredients, or so my husband likes to say. ”
“You enjoyed saying ‘my husband,’” Nikki accused him, grinning.
Ravi winked back. “Very, very much. Get used to me saying it. Ad nauseum. Alright, we’re here! Now, what do you recognize?”
The greenhouse was a very different place in broad daylight.
At night it had been hushed and still, the air moist from the sprayers, like some sort of dark jungle.
But in full light, it looked like a very tropical, magical greenhouse.
Some of the plants were definitely trying to grow up the wall and escape out of the ceiling, and that one over there leaned over the aisles as if ready to consume the unwary.
But overall, it was a pleasant experience to just stand there.
“I recognize basically nothing.” Nikki turned their head right and left, shrugging ignorance. “I haven’t been around plants much.”
“Yeah? Then let’s read the little plaque cards. There’s got to be a few.” Ravi leaned down and started shuffling leaves to either side, basically putting his nose into the soil. “Huh. I don’t see any. TORI!”
Nikki jumped a little. Damn, Ravi could be loud.
“What?” an aggravated male voice called back.
“Where’s my info cards?”
“This isn’t a damn exhibit, you crazy lizard.
” A man came around the far aisle, wearing a white t-shirt with some serious dirt smudges on it and loose-fitting jeans, holding a trowel in one hand.
He was handsome, no question with skin a little on the pale side, dark hair in a fade, and incredibly penetrating light grey eyes.
Nikki blinked in surprise, coming face to face with another mage like this so unexpectedly. They edged a little toward the door, angling so they could dart outside in a second if need be.
But the mage didn’t seem to take any real notice of them. He walked toward Ravi, chastising like an older brother would a younger sibling. “Why the hell would I go through that kind of time and trouble? And what are you doing rummaging around in my greenhouse anyway?”
“I wanted to show Nikki all the plants,” Ravi explained, waving at the mage in question. “They’re new to herbology, and how are they supposed to learn proper magic if they can’t even identify the plants?”
“It’s a good argument.” Tori eyed Ravi as if he had lost a few marbles. “Why you thought you had the know-how to do any of that is beyond me. But sure, you have a good point.”
“Nikki’s my escape buddy; of course I had to show them,” Ravi replied, indignant.
“Escape buddy?” The light dawned, and Tori regarded Nikki with new interest. “You’re the one who exploded the gate open so we could get in?”
“Uh, yeah. That was me.”
“Right on.” Tori held up a hand for a high-five.
Feeling very, very strange about that gesture but not willing to make things awkward, Nikki tentatively touched palms with him.
“Anyone who fights against the Jaeggi is okay in my books.” Tori beamed at them, and the expression lightened the man’s whole demeanor. He went from grouchy to welcoming in a heartbeat. “Welcome to my greenhouse. I’m Tori, mated to Baldewin. Have you met him yet?”
Nikki had to think about it. “I have? Big guy, looks like he can crush boulders with his thighs?”
“That’s my husband. Biggest teddy bear you’ll ever meet, though.
When they came up with the term ‘gentle giant,’ they put Baldewin in the definition.
” Tori shook his head with a fond smile.
“Thankfully. I wouldn’t have fallen for him otherwise.
So, how are you settling in, Nikki? The dragons overwhelm you yet? ”
“Hey!” Ravi put a hand to his chest, all bristling with umbrage. “We are not overwhelming.”
“Excuse you very much, do you remember who you’re talking to?
Do you know how overwhelmed I was the first month I was here?
All these dragons roaming around, acting like I was something to wrap up in gold silk, and meeting kings without any instructions on how to do so, with barely anything to my name.
It was a wonder I didn’t have anxiety attacks.
Nikki’s in the same boat I was in, more or less.
I want to make sure they’re okay with being thrown into the deep end.
When you’re not used to being properly loved or wanted, all the sudden attention can be smothering at times. ”
He got it. Nikki stared at this man in an entirely different light.
Tori got it. Sometimes it was overwhelming just being in this castle because everyone around them was so attentive and caring and patient.
Nikki hadn’t had that since their parents.
That was why being with Gunter was so restful, as Gunter didn’t hover like some did.
But how did Tori know this so well? For the first time since coming here, Nikki actually wanted to ask a question of another mage. “You know it too?”
“Sure. My old clan was—still kinda is—a bunch of bastards. Homophobic in the worst sense. I had to escape them.” Tori rolled his eyes at the memory.
“Turned out to be a good decision in the end, although it totally stressed me out at the time. I met Baldewin because I left. But I know a little about what it’s like to be new here. You doing okay, Nikki?”
Nikki felt their guard drop a little. The sincerity of the question couldn’t be dismissed. Tori really wanted to know. And Nikki found themself answering, honestly for once. “I am a little unsure of my footing sometimes. You all give so much and demand so little.”
“Yeah, they’re like that.” Tori’s smile was full of understanding.
“You have to understand, for five hundred years they had no mages. No new ones, at least. No chance of ever being mated, of having another rising generation. So just to meet you is like a dream come true for them. They’re a little giddy with it.
It does feel odd for us, though, the ones who have to justify our existence.
If you’re wanting something active to do, to pull your own weight, you can always come here.
I’ve got a lot of work that needs to be done and not always enough hours in the day to do it. ”
Nikki thought about that. Tori might be alright. At the very least, studying magic out of a book wasn’t going to teach them everything they needed to know. “Are there any plants that can cause explosions?”
Tori’s head canted, then he turned as if taking in the greenhouse as a whole, like he was running through a mental inventory. “In the wrong combinations…yeah, several. Why?”
Whatever hesitation Nikki had disappeared. “I’d love to help you out here, Tori.”
Catching on, Tori snickered. “You’re my kind of people, Nikki. Feel free to swing by any time. But seriously, are you okay? Physically, I mean. I saw the Jaeggi drain magic out of Cassie, once. It was brutal and her recovery took a while. I really think you should be checked out by Sora.”
“I heard my name.” From the door at the far side, Sora walked through, a bag over his shoulder. He had the same pleased, glowing aura Ravi did. The honeymoon radiance was apparently very mutual.
Ravi bounced over to him like Tigger, planting a sound kiss on Sora’s mouth. “Darling, how did you know I was pining for you?”
“Well, it’s been at least an hour since I’ve seen you,” Sora deadpanned. His eyes danced, though, so he was laughing on an internal level. “I figured I had to keep you from wasting away.”
“You’re so kind,” Ravi crooned.
Tori just sighed and assured Nikki in a commiserating tone, “It does wear off. The whole sickening sweetness. A little. Like, ten percent. You just have to give it a few years. Sora, stop smooching your boo and come over here. I think Nikki should be properly looked at.”
Nikki warded this off with both hands. They didn’t blatantly turn for the door, but their feet may have inched that direction. “No, really, I’m fine.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Tori”—Sora quickly kissed Ravi once more before heading toward them—“seeing how I’ve had to treat some of your friends already after what the Jaeggi did. You’re the only one I haven’t properly looked at.”
And Nikki was absolutely fine with that. Yup, just fine. “But you can see I’m good, right? Magical core’s fine.”
“Lisette actually mentioned a few concerns to me, so I’d really rather take a look.”
Nikki had two options: make a scene and escape, or suffer through this. They didn’t know which way their nerves would choose, really. The idea of a mage pointing any spell toward them made Nikki’s throat close in panic.
On the other hand, this wasn’t just any mage. This was Ravi’s mage, and that put an entirely different spin on things. Nikki trusted Ravi absolutely. And Ravi trusted Sora completely.
Was this the opposite of that saying? Instead of the enemy of my enemy being my friend, maybe it was the friend of my friend is my friend? Or something.
While Nikki mentally dithered, Sora approached and pulled out a few ingredients from his bag without really looking, as if he had done this so many times he could do it in his sleep. “A simple diagnostic won’t take but a minute. Nikki, can you sit for me there? On that bench.”
Nikki eyed the bench.
The bench eyed them back.
How about not sitting on the bench? Not sitting on the bench sounded good.
As if sensing their nerves, Sora gave a charming smile. “You won’t feel a thing. It’s not painful or invasive.”
“Here, cast it on me first,” Ravi volunteered. “They’ll feel better about it if they can see the whole process. And Nikki’s probably never seen any medical magic before, am I right?”
Nikki gave a hesitant nod. “Right. That’s not…something the Jaeggi know how to do.”
Sora’s eyes sharpened with keen interest. “Is that right? Then again, this clan had lost much of its medical knowledge as well, before I came along. We’re training people up even now. Well, no wonder you’re nervous if you’ve never seen medical magic performed.”
Absolutely the problem. Uh-huh. Too much sarcasm?
Nikki wasn’t about to correct him.
Sora was good natured about it all, at least. He turned and readily bespelled his own husband with a diagnostic spell that traced itself in red lines all over Ravi’s being. Then with a soft, gentle voice, he explained precisely what all those numbers and squiggles meant to Nikki.
At some point in this impromptu lesson, Nikki forgot their nerves. It was just too interesting, what Sora had to say, and Ravi kept wriggling on purpose as a distraction, prompting Sora to smack him once on the ass. And of course Ravi capitalized by asking for “more spankings, Daddy, please.”
Nikki laughed. Who could take these two seriously? Especially with Tori’s sarcastic commentary chiming in at all the right moments.
When Sora finally released the spell and turned toward Nikki, they didn’t hesitate to sit on the bench, sitting still as Sora cast the spell once more.
Sora’s lips pursed a little as they looked Nikki over.
“I would say…generally, you’re fine. You’re in good health, all things considered.
Some malnourishment there, but I think that’s easily corrected.
Your magical core is a bit tattered around the edges, but it’s not as bad as the others.
I would say the past two weeks of you not using magic has helped it to recover.
That said, I’d like to give you a treatment plan to help that recovery along. That alright?”
Nikki was as surprised as anyone as the words left their mouth. “Yeah, that’s fine. Thanks.”
Sora gave a sweet smile. “Excellent. Some of what I’ll need to give you is right here in the greenhouse, so let’s ask Tori to give us a tour. That way you can harvest it fresh. Always best, when the elements are fresh.”
“Sure, I’ll be glad to.” Tori encouraged them all to follow with a wave of his hand.
Nikki followed and stopped eyeing the door longingly. Really, Tori and Sora seemed to be alright people. They didn’t speak with the manipulative, greedy undertone Nikki was used to hearing. They seemed genuinely invested in the welfare of the people around them.
The verdict was still out, a little, but Nikki couldn’t help but think maybe these two, at least, were trustworthy.