Chapter 5
C ameron sat in the passenger seat of the car fuming. He wasn’t sure who he was angrier with—Alric or himself. Alric was being stubborn and pushy, insistent on a topic Cameron couldn’t wrap his head around.
He’d been pushed so much in his life by loving, well-meaning people that it grated now when anyone did it.
Take his engineering degree, for example.
Here he was with a master’s in it, a decision that wasn’t really of his making, and it rankled.
The moment they’d handed him the diploma, Cameron knew it had been a mistake. It wasn’t truly what he wanted.
And now here was Alric, pushing him to be something else.
And for selfish reasons, too, as the man was only interested in trying to save his clan.
Save from what, was the question he should have asked, but that was neither here nor there right now.
He was too upset to care. Cameron hated him for that a little because the man had been personable and charming yesterday.
But it was all with that agenda in mind. Cameron felt a little used.
But what burned the most was that for a moment, just a moment, he had wanted it to be true.
Every kid dreamed of being something special, something magical and amazing.
Cameron had dreamed of it through a good portion of his childhood, and his grandmother had fueled the dreams by telling him stories of what his ancestors had done.
The magic they had wrought, the spells they could do, and how they’d lived with dragons.
His parents had knocked sense back into him as he’d headed into his teen years, and the dreams had crumbled and faded.
Hearing Alric speak to him so earnestly, he flashed back to those childhood daydreams. For an incredible moment, the future had been nothing but magic stretching out ahead of him.
Until reality came crashing back in.
Reality was a bitch.
Baldewin drove without saying a word, but the silence was judgy. Very judgy. Cameron glared at him from the corner of his eye. “You don’t like how I spoke to him.”
“He’s already feeling guilty about many things. He was afraid of overwhelming you with too much information. I’m sure that after your reaction, he’s convinced he did overwhelm you and is now kicking himself for it.”
Oh. Well, that took some of the wind out of Cameron’s sails. Only some, though; he was still pissed. He wasn’t sure how much to say to Baldewin. The man struck him as loyal to a fault. “What are you to him, precisely?”
“Technically, a retainer. I serve as head of security too. But we’ve known each other almost since diapers.”
“A childhood friend, huh.”
“Yes.” Baldewin shot him a measuring glance before his eyes returned to the twisting mountain road. “I know he seems stiff and formal with you. That’s his default with people he doesn’t know well.”
“Actually, the man was charming all day yesterday. It’s why he pissed me off so badly because I wouldn’t have followed him up here if he hadn’t been sort of…leading me on, I guess.”
Baldewin slowed for a curve, his head canted as if puzzled. “He was charming with you? Well now. That’s interesting. I’ve never seen him open up with someone he’s known less than a day.”
Cameron tumbled that through his head for a moment. Either Baldewin was playing him or…well, no, the man seemed perfectly sincere. And a little confused, truth be told. “So you think he actually does like me.”
“Yes. Answer me one question, did he laugh at any time yesterday?”
That was a weird question. “Sure. I’m a funny person.”
Baldewin let out a huff of astonishment. “Ravi is hysterical and can barely get him to crack a smile half the time. But you heard him laugh? Then yes, he likes you quite a bit.”
“Well shit. Now I feel like a jerk for blowing up at him.” The charm hadn’t been faked, but he’d still taken it personally and blown up at the man. Cameron sank into his seat, slouching a little. Maybe there was a hole somewhere he could crawl into and pull something over his head.
“I think he’ll understand your reaction. We did throw a lot at you all at once.”
Cameron rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I could have reacted more maturely, though. It’s just…I’m really not magical, and I don’t appreciate you guys insisting that I am. I’m tired of people telling me what I should do and who I should be.”
Baldewin very carefully didn’t say anything in response to that.
Yeah, the dragon was obviously not willing to argue the point right now and piss Cameron off further. But Baldewin was pretty sure he was right. Cameron interpreted his silence for what it was.
Cameron was sure on this point, though. Growing up, he’d read many a book with a magical protagonist, wishing sometimes he’d wake up one morning with magical powers of his own.
It’d never happened. It was part of why he didn’t like the stories Halmeoni told them as kids. All it did was feed false hopes.
His phone dinged and he checked it. The hell, why was Cassie messaging him when she’d likely only gotten two hours of sleep?
Are you getting nookie or do you need cops ?
He responded, Why are you awake ?
Too curious. So, nookie or cops ?
He typed back. No nookie. No cops . He hesitated for a moment, finger hovered over the keypad on the screen before he continued: Turns out he’s a dragon.
Come again ?
You read that right. He’s a dragon. There’s a clan of living fire dragons up here in the castle
DUDE IF YOU’RE PULLING MY LEG I WILL END YOU
No joke, not kidding, I will swear on Halmeoni’s purple hair, legit dragon clan
OMG
Yeah
OMG !!!
Yeah, I know I’m freaking out a little too. I will email you everything that happened so you can read it at work. Go back to sleep
No, wait, tell me one thing first. Why would they tell you ? That they’re dragons ?
Cameron sighed, closed his eyes, and struggled with answering.
That was a whole other can of worms he didn’t feel emotionally up to opening right now.
But she’d just call and pester him until he answered.
Unlike himself, Cassie had never given up on magic being alive and well in the world.
She was freaking out right now in a good sense.
Baldewin cast his phone a glance. “I see the word dragon on that screen; who are you telling about us?”
“Oh.” Shit, he likely shouldn’t be careless about who he told. Cameron mentally kicked himself for being an idiot. “Uh, I promise you won’t be mad about it. I only intend to tell family. I’m texting my sister Cassie right now.”
The big man’s expression cleared. “Ah, yes. The sister and grandmother you mentioned. We’d dearly love to talk to them.”
“Yeah, them. And the feeling will be mutual, trust me. Hang on, if I don’t text back in a minute she’ll fry my nuts.
” Cameron tried to craft the most succinct reply he’d ever managed in his life.
Turns out Halmeoni was right. We’re a magical family.
Dragons mucho excited about meeting someone from Noh Clan.
Does that mean I get to meet them too ? Cassie asked and the phone practically pulsed with her excitement.
They want to
I really want to. Let me figure stuff out.
In other words, Cassie would join him in Germany as soon as she could manage it. That figured. Cameron heartily wished that somehow, he could switch places with his twin right now. If Cassie were in his shoes, she’d already have jumped right in, no hesitation.
His mind circled back around, and Cameron questioned something he hadn’t had time to think of before. “Baldewin. Ravi found me first.”
“Yes?”
“But how did he find me? I mean, did you guys use a spell or something? You picked me out of the crowd somehow.”
Baldewin seemed happy to hear the question. “Our mages in the clan attempted a seeking spell, but it hadn’t locked on to you before Ravi found you. We can smell your magic.”
Cameron blinked at him. Then blinked again. “Uhh…you serious?”
“Quite serious.”
“Well, that puts a different spin on things. You’re literally saying I smell like magic to you?”
“Precisely as our other mages do. Yes. Your blood sings with it.” Baldewin shot him a slight smile, bordering on enigmatic. “You know that scent in the air, right before a major lightning storm sweeps through? Where it smells electrifying and moist and full of power? That’s what magic smells like.”
Cameron absorbed that information, sat with it for several seconds.
So, it wasn’t like the spell they used had misfired or got tangled up and gave the wrong results.
They weren’t relying on a spell at all, but their own senses.
Kind of hard to argue with that. Cameron could see precisely one flaw in their logic.
“Okay, but—hear me out—but what if I’m not really magical? What if I’m more a recessive gene, a carrier of magic, but it’s not active in me?”
Baldewin was a good listener. He didn’t immediately shoot Cameron down but thought about it for a long moment.
“I can see why you asked that question. I don’t believe that’s the case.
People who are recessive carriers of magic don’t smell that way.
They smell like your average human. We don’t detect anything from them. ”
“Oh.” Cameron took in a deep breath, held it, let it out again. Okay, that was a more direct answer than he actually knew what to do with. His brain felt fit to bursting, like a water balloon on the edge of exploding. Maybe he should stop asking questions.
So, of course, his mouth immediately came out with another one. “Alric—should I be calling him the king or something? I never got to ask earlier.”
“No, it’s not necessary. He’s not truly a formal person. Unless he corrects you, feel free to use his name.”
“Okay, thanks, that worried me. Anyway, Alric hinted that things were wrong earlier. That mages are somehow important to you guys? Why? I don’t get the link.”