Chapter 3
“S o wait .” Cassie held up a hand, her image a little dark on his tiny screen, reflective of their different time zones. It was well into the night where she was. “ You’re telling me that Hot and Serious is coming to get you for a private tour of his castle ?”
“That’s what I’m saying, yes. And he’s not all serious. Sometimes he cracks a joke with a perfectly straight face. You know I have a weakness for deadpan humor.”
“ You also remember that it’s the funny guys you have to watch out for ? Because they make you laugh and laugh and laugh and then boom ! You’re naked. ”
“Like magic, huh.” Cameron was amused by this warning of hers. It wasn’t like she would know from personal experience, as Cassie had never been on a date with a man in her life. “Do you think that if I laugh at all of his jokes, I can get him naked sooner?”
“ I’d freaking hope so. You need to get laid, bro. And that guy you showed me has Daddy written all over him. ”
“I’m not sure if I’m into spanking, but I’d sure let him try. And that’s rich coming from you, by the way. Who hasn’t had a date in a year?”
“ To be fair, the last time I was on a date, it was a disaster. She invited me back to her place so she could watch me pee on a towel. ”
“I remember that. I remember you faking an emergency and running out, too. But still, you can’t swear off dating entirely because of one bad blind date.”
“ And now you’re sounding like Eomma. ”
Cameron winced. Their mother had definite opinions about them getting married. She had a schedule for it. Eomma didn’t really mind they were gay, that was just how things were, but not getting married before thirty? Out of the question. “Was I really? Sorry. Bad mouth.”
“ Very bad mouth. Smack it. Anyway, we got sidetracked from the point I wanted to make. You sure this is safe ? What if you’re going into his evil lair ?”
“Well, that’s why I’m shooting you his address. I emailed it to you five minutes ago. If you don’t hear from me in six hours, send in the police.”
“ Good, be sensible. I mean, get nookie if at all possible, but be sensible too. You’re kind of cute, and for some reason I like you. I’d hate to have to replace you. ”
“Wow, I’m just feeling all the love over here.”
“ As you should .” There was a beat. “ Does he have a sister, by any chance ?”
“Not that he’s mentioned, but I’ll keep an eye out for a hot German woman for you, okay?”
“ Deal .” She let out an expansive yawn.
“Isn’t it like two a.m. your time? Why are you still awake?”
“ I couldn’t put down the greatness that is The King .”
“Which is…what? Your latest K-drama obsession?”
“ It’s seriously freaking amazing. You should watch it. It has Lee Min Ho in it. ”
“I was all set to say no until you said that name. Damn, that man’s fine.”
“ I know, ” Cassie purred. “ I need to get to bed, though. ”
A red MINI Cooper with white racing stripes pulled up to the curb, and Alric stepped out with a wave and a stunning smile. Cameron smiled back a little helplessly. “Yeah, I need to go. He’s here. Talk to you later.”
“ Stay safe, get nookie !”
“Totally the game plan. Go to bed, you’re dry drunk. Love you, bye.” Shaking his head, he pocketed the phone. His joking with his sister aside, he didn’t actually anticipate any nookie happening. A vacation fling was totally outside of his expectations. But flirting never hurt anything, right?
Cassie was crazy but right about the safety factor. Modern society never really talked about how men could get kidnapped, too. Cameron strangely felt like he could trust Alric, though. He had this sort of vibe. An aura, if you will, that spoke of confidence and calm authority.
Which meant he trusted the man enough to get into the car with him and go tour a privately owned castle. He was just leery enough to give someone else a heads-up in case something went wrong.
Alric held the door open for him. He was in one of those tailored outfits again, although no suitcoat today, just a fitted vest that hugged his body like a lover.
Someone had to stop Alric from dressing like a damn model all the time.
It played havoc on Cameron’s libido. Feeling a little like he was on a date, Cameron gave Alric a quick smile and slid in.
He didn’t really think Alric was interested in him, though, which was why he had no expectations of nookie later.
The man was charming, polite, but his flirtations were so low-grade Cameron wasn’t actually sure if he’d been flirting.
Or if this was culture gap. It was a little sad, truth to tell.
Something about the way Alric told him of local history, with the dragons and mages, was a little too…
earnest? Insistent? It felt as if Alric wanted something else—to convince him that dragons were real.
Why that was important, Cameron had no clue. But to Alric, it was.
His guide regained the driver’s seat, speaking as he put the seat belt on. “You were talking to your sister?”
“Yeah. I think she’s a little jealous I’m over here.
She’s never been to Europe. I mentioned dragons and castles, and now I’m getting all the calls from her.
” Cameron had never been in a MINI Cooper before, but it was a fun little car.
The leather seats were comfortable, and it zipped around the corners without effort.
When he got a job, Cameron might have to get himself one.
Alric shot him a look before taking the next road, heading toward the highway. “Your sister believes more readily than you in dragons?”
“Yeah. I guess I’m more practical than she is.
While we were growing up, my halmeoni—ah, that is my grandmother—she told us a lot of stories.
” Cameron almost left it at that, as he normally did, but this was a man who firmly believed in dragons and mages of long past. Cameron felt he could tell him things he normally wouldn’t.
Or maybe it was the magic of speaking to a relative stranger he wouldn’t see again.
Alric’s opinion of him and his family history wouldn’t matter much since he wouldn’t see the man again two days from now.
“Halmeoni said our family used to be a mage family.”
Alric, for some reason, didn’t seem surprised by this. “She told you stories about it?”
“Yeah, a lot. She claims she watched her own mother work magic—little spells, nothing major. But still, magic. She’s very firm on this. I’m not sure if my parents have ever believed her, but my sister does.”
“May I ask, what is her family name?”
“Noh.”
“Ah, the Noh Clan. Your grandmother is correct. The Nohs have always produced mages.”
Cameron did a double-take, jerking around to stare at Alric’s profile in disbelief. “And how would you know that? Oh wait, is this because you know history?”
“In part.” Alric’s expression became downright enigmatic.
He shifted gears seamlessly even as he took the ramp for the freeway.
“The Noh Clan traditionally married into the Wind Dragon Clan, although not always. They lived and worked alongside them for centuries. We were never sure if the Noh Clan escaped the terrible aftermath of the Dragon War. I have records of the clan at the castle, if you want to see them?”
Cameron stared at him, flabbergasted. He’d never really thought much whether he believed Halmeoni.
Well, as a child he had—he’d believed every word.
As an adult, he’d shuffled them off as stories of another time, something that he hadn’t seen.
They could be true, they could be exaggerations from a child who hadn’t understood what she saw.
Either way, it didn’t impact his life, so why think about it?
But if Alric was correct, well, it still wouldn’t change much, but wouldn’t it be cool?
To know that his family once were that close to dragons.
A smile lit his face, and he half-laughed. “Wow. You know what? I think I do. If nothing else, I need to tell Halmeoni about this. She’ll flip.”
“It will be my pleasure to show you.” Alric hesitated a moment, eyeing him sideways before asking carefully, “Knowing that your family is magical, have you never wondered if you or your sister have magic yourselves?”
Snorting, Cameron shook his head no. “Wouldn’t I have had a moment where my magic went crazy, like it always does in the stories? Nothing like that ever happened to me.”
“No, magic doesn’t work like that. First of all, you must have power to draw from.
A mage doesn’t carry much magical power in and of themselves.
It was part of the reason why they were always willing to marry dragons.
The bond between dragon and mage allowed them to have the resource of a dragon’s power.
It made their magical core very strong.”
Cameron blinked at him, taking this in. “So…a bond between dragon and mage was something like hooking a mage up to a battery for life?”
Alric snorted, his smile becoming a little crooked.
“Something like that, yes. And mages are able to work great magic, but they have to use the right components to do so. They have to direct their magic or link up with other mages to do the greater magics.” Alric’s enigmatic smile was back in full force.
“To carry on your metaphor, it’s rather like the ability to design an engine.
If you know nothing about engines, and never try to work on them, how do you know if you have the talent or not?
But if you do learn properly about them, and use the correct power and resources, the engine will run. ”
“Huh. No one ever mentioned any of that to me. Halmeoni seemed to think that magic just happened. But she also said her mother was paranoid about working magic, that she barely let anyone see her do it. She certainly wasn’t going to teach anyone else how.
I think a lot of information got lost because of her attitude. ”