Chapter 7 #2
“This is my advisor, Dieter.” Alric motioned to the man beside him with salt-and-pepper hair. “And Lisette. She is head mage and Dieter’s mate.” The woman beside Dieter looked like an elegantly aged starlet with her perfectly coiffed white hair and warm smile.
North bowed his head to them and Dieter said, “It is an honor to have you with us, North. I’m so glad Warin and Gunter were able to reach you before you suffered any harm.”
“Bloody Jaeggi,” Lisette muttered under her breath. “We’re not letting them lay a hand on another mage.”
“Never, my love,” Dieter agreed, pressing a kiss to his mate’s temple.
“It is wonderful to meet you. We’ll be speaking more very soon, I promise,” Lisette continued with a smile.
“I look forward to talking to you too,” North said, trying to take in all the people and names.
“And this is Ravi, a member of the royal guard and one of my retainers,” Alric continued, motioning toward a shorter man of Middle Eastern descent who wore a very wide grin.
“We’re so glad to have you here with us,” Ravi greeted, extending his hand.
North eagerly shook it. This he understood.
He’d have to ask Warin later about the bowing and kneeling and other royal etiquette he couldn’t begin to guess at.
When he’d set off to find dragons, it had never entered his mind he’d be meeting royalty, let alone standing in the courtyard surrounded by dragons and mages.
As soon as North released his hand, Ravi whooped loudly and thrust his hand into the air, all digits extended. “Five! Count ’em, five new mages! The beach bums can eat sand. We’ve got five new mages!”
“Ravi,” Alric chided in a low, warning voice, causing the smaller dragon to blush.
“Come on, Alric. Let him celebrate,” Cameron teased. He stepped close to Alric and wrapped his arms around the king, snuggling in close. Alric smiled at his mate, touching his cheek lightly with his right hand.
“Are we missing Ravi’s ‘new mage’ dance?” called out a new voice.
The group looked up to see two men briskly walking across the courtyard. There was a wry smirk on one man’s face while the other seemed to be adjusting his coat as if he were still trying to get properly dressed.
“Alric canceled it,” Cameron replied.
Alric sighed and gave a little roll of his eyes, which was not a kingly expression at all, but one that held a wealth of love and amusement. “I did not. He can celebrate the arrival of a new mage, but not at the expense of the Valerii. We all benefit when we find a new mage.”
“You must be North,” said a man with warm amber skin and dark eyes. He was built like a mountain, but a gentle mountain if North was judging by the man who pressed to his side.
“North, this is the head of my guard, Baldewin, and his mate, Nestori Taavi,” Alric introduced.
“An honor,” Baldewin said, bowing his head.
The mage looked older than Cameron and himself with dark hair and laugh lines around his mouth. He extended his hand to North with a grin. “You can just call me Tori.”
“North,” he replied, eagerly shaking the man’s hand. “A pleasure.”
Tori reached into the pockets of his coat and immediately frowned. “Crap. Forgot my gloves in our rooms.”
Grinning, Baldewin pulled a pair of black leather gloves out of his pocket and held them out to his mate. “Put these on.”
Tori’s brow furrowed as he took the gloves while looking at Baldewin. “You don’t wear gloves.”
Baldwin’s expression turned a little sheepish. “I’ve started carrying an extra pair with me in case you forget yours.”
Tilting his head up toward Baldewin, he smiled. “Always taking such good care of me.”
“Always,” Baldewin replied in a low, rumbling voice before gently kissing his mate.
The wind picked up and swept down into the courtyard.
North shuddered as the biting cold sank straight down to the bone despite his heavy layers of clothing.
Warin immediately stepped closer and drew him in.
“We need to go inside where it is warm. North is not accustomed to this weather, and he must be protected.”
“Finally! Someone talking sense!” Lisette agreed, immediately turning on her heel to head into the castle.
Baldewin’s mouth dropped open, and he looked around the gathering. “Already?”
“We’ve been out here for several minutes now. If you’d been on time, you’d be cold now too,” Cameron teased.
“Forgive us, Hoheit. Tori distracted me,” Baldewin murmured, but Alric shook his head and smiled.
Tori gasped. He tried to give Baldewin a shove, but the larger man was already wrapping him up and nuzzling his neck.
“Ugh. Newlyweds,” Ravi groused as he headed toward the castle.
North stood in the courtyard, oblivious to the cold as he watched these people wandering toward the entrance.
Gunter was already in deep conversation with Dieter and Lisette.
His eyes strayed to Baldewin and Tori in a tight embrace, kissing as if they hadn’t seen each other in days.
He looked over at Alric and Cameron in time to see the king wrap his arm around his mate’s waist and sort of twirl the man until Cameron tossed his head back, his giggles filling the courtyard before Alric swallowed them with a kiss.
He looked again at Dieter, Gunter, and Lisette. There were a few other people outside, going about what seemed like their normal duties. No one paid the two couples much attention beyond maybe a grin or an amused shake of the head.
It was like he’d fallen into the most wonderful dream.
More magical than the castle with the dragons and mages, he was stunned to find no one cared that men were holding each other and kissing in plain view for everyone to see.
No one was sneering or calling them names. In fact, it all seemed…normal.
“What’s wrong, North? Are you nervous?” Warin placed a hand on North’s shoulder and even turned his body so that he was blocking the wind.
“No.” He quickly shook his head, his eyes darting back to Alric and Cameron as they laughed and cuddled close while walking into the castle. “I…I’ve just never seen that…out in public.”
Warin glanced over his shoulder, his thick brows beetling over his nose for a moment before his expression cleared into a smile. “A dragon and his mage? No, probably not.”
North snorted. “No, not that. Two men, together. Two men laughing and cuddling and kissing…and no one cares.”
Warin’s smile never wavered, but sadness seemed to creep into his eyes as he stared at North.
Stepping even closer, he slid his warm hand along North’s cheek, brushing his thumb across his cheekbone.
“No, everyone cares very much. Everyone within the castle is extremely happy to see King Alric mated with Cameron. The mage gives our king endless joy. Baldewin has been a stout defender of our king and our people almost since he was born. He deserves the happiness he has found with his mage. That is all that matters. Their love is no different than the love between Dieter and Lisette.”
Very slowly, Warin claimed North’s lips in a kiss far too sweet for words. North’s eyes fluttered shut as he let himself get lost in the perfection of Warin’s touch. The rest of the world floated away and there was only Warin. At least, until…
“I saw that!” Cameron’s voice echoed across the courtyard followed by a celebratory whoop.
North pulled away with a laugh. Burkhard Castle was definitely going to be a unique experience.