Chapter 4 #2
Cameron laughed, high-pitched and wobbly.
He stood suddenly, rubbing his hands on his pants as if his palms were suddenly sweaty.
“Yeah, no. That’s…I mean…in the car here, I told you that I’ve never done any magic.
I can’t feel any magic. And my grandmother—don’t get me wrong, I love my grandmother—but she’s crazy.
She’s told my sister and me insane stories all our lives.
” He sat down in his chair again, his butt seeming to just barely catch the edge.
Leaning forward, he stared intensely at Alric.
“Take my parents, for example. There is absolutely nothing magical about my parents. They are as normal and boring as they come. And both of them are horrible cooks. Part of magic is putting things together for spells, right? If they could do magic, shouldn’t they naturally be good at cooking? ”
“I don’t think it works that way,” Baldewin said with laughter lurking in his voice.
“Cameron, I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but it’s the truth,” Alric said gently.
He wanted to reach across and take Cameron’s hand, but the man was so jumpy, he was afraid he’d jerk away from him.
“You are a mage. I think your sister is a mage too. Your family could be the key to saving not only your clan, but mine as well.”
“Whoa!” Cameron leapt to his feet, but this time he was moving away from the table.
In fact, he was backpedaling away from both Alric and Baldewin, holding his hands up as if he was suddenly afraid of them attacking him.
Not that such a thing was even remotely possible.
Right now, Cameron was the most precious thing in all his kingdom.
Every dragon in Alric’s command would lay down their life to keep Cameron safe.
“Cam—”
“No!” Cameron interrupted Alric, his expression suddenly fierce.
“This is-this is insane. You’re all very convincing.
The-the dragon in the courtyard was really fucking convincing.
But me a mage? That’s just bullshit. I’m not magical.
My sister is not magical. My family isn’t magical, and it’s certainly not going to save dragons. ”
“Cameron, you told me yourself that mechanical engineering isn’t a match for you. It doesn’t feel as if it fits who you are, but you have a gifted, analytical mind. I know you will be brilliant at crafting spells with just a little training.”
Cameron loudly snorted at him. “Yeah, my chosen profession isn’t a great fit, but that doesn’t mean I’m a mage.
It means I should have done something else like coding or…
or chemical engineering, I don’t know!” He threw his hands up in the air and paced away from Alric.
As he did so, the scent of his magic grew stronger, sharper.
Alric couldn’t see it, but he could certainly smell Cameron’s power flare.
The very power he denied having. Frustration and fear swirled in Alric’s chest. How to convince him?
In that moment, Alric’s dragon lifted its head, drawn to the presence of a new mage.
It scented curiously, interested. Alric paid it no heed, as his dragon could pay attention if it liked, but his focus was on the upset mage in front of him.
“Please, Cameron. Just breathe deeply and calm yourself. Think this through. It’s not as scary as it might seem. ”
“Not as scary?” Cameron scoffed, swinging back around suddenly to face him.
“No, of course not. You’re only trying to tell me that everything I’ve known about myself and my family is wrong.
Oh, and wait! I’m supposed to be the key to saving mages and dragons.
Both people who have been extinct from the earth for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS! ”
This was going very badly.
Alric mentally scrambled to think of something he could say that would calm Cameron down. He was too emotionally worked up. The young man simply needed to think this through.
But Cameron suddenly went completely still. He stared straight at Alric and Baldewin, his eyes narrowing, but Alric was sure he wasn’t actually looking at them. He was lost to his own thoughts.
“This is why you played tour guide yesterday,” Cameron said in a low, harsh voice that was almost a hiss. “It wasn’t about local pride or helping out a poor tourist. You don’t care about me at all. It’s all because of what you think I am.”
“No, Cameron….” Alric started, but the words died off in his throat as quickly as they’d started.
How was he supposed to explain feelings he didn’t understand himself?
How was he supposed to tell Cameron he would have happily shown him around the city just because he was a joy to be around, but it was unlikely they would have ever met in the first place without him being a mage?
“Unbelievable,” Cameron muttered. He ripped off his glasses and rubbed his eyes one at a time with the heel of his palm. “I just can’t believe this.”
“But it’s true. We haven’t lied to you,” Baldewin said.
“Why don’t you sit down and we can discuss this calmly some more,” Alric offered.
“No,” Cameron snapped, shoving his glasses back on his face. “I’ve heard plenty. I want to go back to my hotel.”
“Cameron—” Baldewin started, but Cameron was stubbornly shaking his head, his arms tightly folded across his chest.
Maybe he was right. A lot of information had been dumped on his head and was threatening to alter his entire world—how he saw his own future, possibly even how he saw himself.
It was too much at once. Cameron was in no immediate danger, and they knew how to find him.
A little space and time to think about this would do them all good.
“You’re right,” Alric declared, seeming to stun both Cameron and Baldewin. “You need some time to process all of this. I’ll take you to your hotel, and we can—”
“No—” Cameron said sharply before reining himself in. He studiously avoided looking at Alric. “Baldewin, please take me back.”
Sharp, searing pain shot through Alric’s chest, but he clenched his teeth, refusing to show how much Cameron’s rejection hurt him. It was understandable. Cameron felt used and betrayed. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Alric. It was probably for the best.
His dragon growled, irritated that this new, interesting person was suddenly going away. Alric firmly told it to hush. He didn’t need his dragon weighing in on things just then. It was complicated enough.
“Fine. Baldewin can take you,” Alric said, each word clipped and brisk.
Cameron’s shoulders immediately slumped in what Alric felt sure was relief.
“Hoheit?” Baldewin asked.
“Please see him safely to his hotel,” Alric ordered.
He picked up his cold tea and forced himself to sip it.
The issue was handled, and he had other important matters he needed to see to.
After Cameron had time to think about what they’d discussed, they would speak more.
Possibly he should introduce Cameron to Gunter.
Two such intelligent, orderly minds would likely hit it right off.
Gunter would be able to finish convincing Cameron of his heritage and possibly prove to be Cameron’s mate.
Two birds, one stone. That was the efficient way a true leader managed his clan.
None of this emotional nonsense and hesitation.
A leader acted and always did what was in the best interest of his people. Not what he wanted.
Out of the corner of his eye, Alric watched Cameron march wordlessly out of the room. Baldewin lingered for only a second, a look of worry in his eyes before he followed on Cameron’s heels.
When the door closed behind his friend, Alric placed his cup back on his saucer with a loud clatter and sighed heavily.
He absently rubbed his chest with his right hand, cursing himself and all his heavy-handed ways trying to manage Cameron.
He never should have said the thing about saving the dragons and mages.
Probably should have stuck with proposing that Cameron might be mage.
Give him a chance to get used to the idea and discover it for himself.
But no, Alric had to be impatient. After five hundred years, couldn’t he afford to give Cameron at least a few days to get accustomed to the idea?
Of course he’d made a mess of it all.
His dragon grumbled again in agreement, wanting to follow Cameron and sniff him again. Possibly more, and would Alric move already? Alric gritted his teeth under the onslaught of images and emotions his dragon sent him.
No, he told his dragon self firmly.
Irritated, the dragon subsided grumpily.
The door opened again, and Alric immediately straightened, hope blooming for a second that Cameron had returned.
It plummeted again at the sight of Dieter walking in.
The lean man with steely grey and white hair had been his father’s right-hand man and advisor until his death.
Not a day went by that Alric wasn’t grateful the dragon had survived the war.
He’d had little idea of how to rule his people, but Dieter had always been there with a word of wisdom to whisper in his ear at just the right time.
Dieter paused in the act of closing the door to look at Alric, then finished closing the door with a low chuckle.
“What?” Alric snapped.
“Oh, I just have a feeling the meeting didn’t go so badly that it deserves that expression on your face.”
Alric growled low and shoved to his feet.
He paced over to the far windows looking out across the valley.
The one drawback to Dieter was that the man had known him since his birth.
He knew Alric’s every mood. The man knew his mind even better than Alric did most days.
That intimate knowledge had its uses, but mostly it was annoying as hell.
“You weren’t here. It was a disaster.”