Chapter 33
Something was wrong.
Sora couldn’t define it. He couldn’t put a finger on it. There was nothing obviously out of place. But still, unease lingered upon him. Not a dark cloud, per se, but a twisting sensation in the gut that hinted at something but gave no particulars.
It left him restless and out of sorts. It didn’t matter that it was close to two in the morning. He couldn’t sleep. Not that he’d been sleeping much since Ravi had left the castle.
Sora tried to console himself. Maybe it was just having Ravi out of his sight that unsettled him. With their promise to bond, of course he wouldn’t rest easy while his mate-to-be was out there, scouting an enemy location. It might well be just that. He’d rest better when Ravi was back home again.
Trying to shake off the mood, he left his room and headed down the stairs toward Ravi’s.
They’d need to figure out how to put another armoire into Ravi’s room to make room for Sora’s wardrobe.
He’d measure a few things, maybe plan out how to rearrange the bedroom a little.
It wouldn’t be easy moving Sora here—he had quite a large collection of books alone—so trying to cram it all into Ravi’s room wasn’t feasible.
Even with spells. Maybe a room adjoining this could be used as his office?
There was a loud thud outside the castle walls.
It sounded like a dragon who had not slowed down sufficiently before crash-landing.
Alarmed, Sora instinctively turned toward the sound, his feet carrying him that direction without conscious thought.
Surely that wasn’t Ravi? His Ravi landed much more lightly than that.
Calls of alarm went up in the courtyard, heralding trouble. That sense of unease landed like a lead weight in his stomach. By the time he burst through the side door and into the courtyard, Sora knew that he wouldn’t like whatever had happened.
Quite a crowd was gathered, everyone who had heard the landing coming to see for themselves what it was. Sora could only see by craning to look over their heads, and the picture wasn’t a good one.
Sahan was laying on the courtyard paving stones, panting frantically, wings splayed out as if he’d overexerted every possible muscle. He spoke in short bursts, trying to communicate and breathe at the same time.
“—took Ravi—” breath “—not sure where—” breath “—but he disappeared, couldn’t scent him—”
Sora’s head spun. He felt light-headed and disjointed.
The words were nonsensical; he couldn’t wrap his head around them.
It was as if Sahan was speaking a foreign language, something Sora’s ears couldn’t decipher.
Then, with a snap, those words made entirely too much sense.
The reality was a harsh slap that rang through him like a discordant chord.
He pushed roughly past people, not noticing or caring who they were, until he was eye level with Sahan’s own eyes. “You lost Ravi?”
Sahan visibly deflated, cringing. “Sora, I’m so sorry. The Jaeggi appeared out of nowhere on the Charles Bridge. I lost track of Ravi as they took him. I tried searching, but to no avail. And my stupid phone got lost in the shuffle. I chose to fly back here for help.”
No.
Kami-sama, no.
Please. Not Ravi. Not when Sora had only just found him. Not when they’d finally gotten their hearts on the same path.
Sora’s heart was screaming in panic and rage, but his mind analyzed the situation in a cool, collected manner.
It had always been that way—his emotions had to catch up to his mind.
It had always bothered Sora, growing up, because that’s not how most people responded to stressful situations.
He felt like there was something wrong with him, some days.
But now, in this moment, he blessed the trait. Because Ravi didn’t need his panic, his despair. He needed Sora’s help. And he could only provide it if he wasn’t lost in emotions.
Sora sucked in a deep breath and let it out again, a controlled movement. “Switch over, drink something, recover. Then we’ll figure out exactly what happened.”
This calm response clearly worried Sahan. “Sora?”
A hand landed on his shoulder, and Sora turned, meeting King Alric’s eyes. There was worry there, worry for Ravi. Sora was never so glad as in this moment that King Alric viewed Ravi as a brother.
“We’ll send out a rescue party at once,” King Alric told him, mouth in a flat, firm line.
“Good. I’m issuing a call to quarters.” He knew King Alric would be familiar with the military term, having no doubt used it in the past. He’d call for every able-bodied dragon and mage who could come and help with the rescue. With Sora’s connections, that was quite a few people.
King Alric blinked. “You can do that?”
“Technically, no.” Sora pulled out his phone and made a call to his mother, putting it on speaker so King Alric could listen in. She answered with a sleepy, worried greeting that he cut off without hesitation. “Kaa-san. Ravi was taken by the Jaeggi.”
His mother swore immediately in Japanese. “SHIMATTA.”
“I’m issuing a call to quarters.”
“Done. Tell King Alric.”
“I’m listening in,” King Alric informed her. “I can get a rescue party together and airborne in thirty minutes.”
His mother was in complete agreement. “We’ll meet in the courtyard. And breathe, my son. We’ll get your mate back.”
“We will,” Sora agreed, as if there were no doubt. There couldn’t be any kernel of doubt. His heart wouldn’t be able to take it. Sora wouldn’t be able to breathe or process any of this until he had Ravi safely in his arms once more. He hung up, then paused, not sure what to do next.
King Alric, fortunately, had no such hesitation. He caught the back of Sora’s arm, urging him into the castle.
“We need a Noh seeking spell, I think. Cameron and Cassie both excel at them. If we have a direction, we’ll be far more effective.
” King Alric pulled out his phone and called, his feet eating up the ground as he jogged into the castle.
“Liebling? Ravi was taken. We don’t know where. Good, we’ll meet you there.”
“His workroom?” Sora guessed.
“Ja.” Alric eyed him sideways as they moved.
The worry was clear on the man’s face, anger etching into lines around his mouth and eyes. He moved like he was ready to go to battle this very second, and only needed a viable target before unleashing a furious attack. And still, he watched Sora cautiously.
“You’re taking this calmly?”
“No,” Sora said, the word rasping from his throat. “No, I’m anything but calm. Do I seem that way to you?”
“You look like a volcano that hasn’t decided to go off yet.”
“Ah. An apt description.”
Sora wanted to tell him that it was imperative they get Ravi back safely.
That it wasn’t only the dragon’s life, but Sora’s sanity at stake.
But he felt that King Alric already knew this.
From personal experience, having lived through the same with Cameron’s abduction.
He bit the words back, focusing instead on what could be done.
They reached Cameron’s workroom, the door wide open.
The twins were already hard at work pulling out the right ingredients for a seeking spell, a map of Europe spread out over the stainless-steel table.
Ravi’s toothbrush lay on the table nearby, and Sora applauded the quick thinking.
Adding saliva to the spell was an easy way to trace a person.
Cameron’s eyes left the map, found Sora’s, and gave him a reassuring nod. “Odds are, they took Ravi as bait. They did the same with me. I don’t think they’ll hurt him.”
That information was a much-needed balm to Sora’s soul. This man, after all, would know. “Thank you. Let’s find him.”
“Yup, you betcha. Cassie, ready?”
“I was born ready.” Rubbing her hands together, she oriented herself closer to the center of the table, squarely in front of the map. “Alright. Let’s try this. Ziik dracon!”
Nothing. The toothbrush didn’t so much as rattle.
Sora’s hands clenched into fists as he stared at the toothbrush, willing it to move. If they didn’t have a direction, how could they possibly go after Ravi? How could they find him?
“The Jaeggi might have put a ward around him,” Cameron muttered, brows drawing together in a dark frown. “Bastards. Okay, let’s see if we can override this. Alric, I need a kiss.”
“With pleasure, Liebling.” Alric stepped around the table and leaned in to kiss Cameron, quick and light.
Sora almost objected. Adding dragon’s breath in with the other elements would put the seeking spell dangerously close to anti-spell territory. But Cameron clearly already knew and understood this. He was willing to take the chance, and he wasn’t alone in that. Everyone in this room was willing.
And frankly, Sora would sacrifice anything in order to have Ravi back.
Cameron enacted the spell this time, voice firm and confident. “Ziik dracon!”
The toothbrush once again did not budge.
“Damn. They really do have a ward over him.”
Sora’s nails bit into his palms as rage and panic threatened to batter down his rational mindset. No. No! If this didn’t work, how would they find Ravi?
King Alric looked between them. “What other option do we have? Is there another way to search for him?”
Multiple people came through the door, one of them Sora’s mother, her voice strong as she demanded, “Do we have a location yet?”
Sora turned to greet her, throat so constricted it was hard to get a word out. “No. The seeking spell isn’t working.”
Her expression, already tense, went murderous. She demanded of Cameron, “A ward?”
“Looks that way. The toothbrush won’t even rattle. Ravi’s completely cut off from us, magically speaking.” Cameron rubbed at his chin, giving his twin an evaluating look. “I’m not sure what else to try.”
“I mean, I can get on the web and see if anyone caught something, but that’s kind of a needle-in-a-haystack approach. Plus, at this early hour, there are very few potential witnesses.”
She was right. Sora had no faith in that idea.
His mother caught his face with both hands, looking him dead in the eyes. Her outrage was only matched by her concern. “Breathe, my son. We’ll find him.”
“I’m breathing,” he assured her quietly.
“I know that look. You’re about to head to Prague and tear the city apart with your bare hands.”
How well she knew him. Sora was ready to do just that. “You say that as if it won’t grant me results.”
King Chalo cleared his throat. “Before we start tearing apart important landmarks, let’s try a different approach. Consort Cameron, you say Ravi is under a ward, that’s why your seeking spell isn’t working. You sure of that?”
“It’s just a guess, but it’s a reasonable one.
” Cameron shot Sora an apologetic look before tacking on, “Even if Ravi were dead, the spell would still work. It would behave differently, but it would still take us to his body. The spell is acting now as if the target doesn’t exist at all.
It can’t seek what we’re targeting. It’s flat not working.
I can’t think of anything but a ward that would interfere with the spell. ”
Lisette stepped forward for the first time, clearing her throat to catch their attention. “I agree with this assessment. I had them do the search as it’s a Noh spell. There’s certainly not a better seeking spell.”
Ah, true. A Noh’s seeking spell had always been superior. But that meant they’d already used the very best method, only for it to fail. Sora felt nauseated at that realization.
The Earth Dragon King once again interjected. “But that won’t stop us from searching for him.”
Everyone looked at him blankly.
With some asperity, he asked, “You lot do remember that we have our own methods of speaking to the earth? As long as Ravi’s touching the ground, and we’re within a certain range of him, we’ll be able to detect him.”
Sora latched onto his arm, his grip tight enough to be painful. The hope renewed at those words was dizzying. “How close do you need to be?”
“My personal best was 600 kilometers, and I’m one of the best in my clan at this.
Sahan said he disappeared just outside of Prague.
I say, let’s go to Prague, pick up Ravi’s trail from there.
” He gave Sora a quick smile, although it looked tight and forced.
“We’ve lost too many mates as it is. We won’t see the two of you suffer that loss. Alric, how many can you spare?”
“If you really think a single dragon is staying at home when Ravi’s been taken?” King Alric shook his head. “Then you’re mistaken. We have a destination of sorts, let’s go.”
Sora had never been so glad to hear those words. People started racing out, calling to each other, and only sometimes by phone. He was practically on their heels, ready to race out with the rest of the rescue party.
His mother’s hand stayed him, although she was practically vibrating with the urge to move, as well. “Don’t forget your bag, he might need medical attention.”
A disturbing thought, but a good reminder. “I’ll fetch it.”
“And, Sora, promise me. No matter what happens, don’t be rash.”
Sora couldn’t even manage a smile, didn’t try. “Sorry, I can’t promise that.”
“No,” she said, understanding. “I don’t suppose you can. Let’s focus on bringing Ravi home. You two owe me grandchildren.”
“We want four, you know.”
Her eyes lit up for a moment. “Four? Really? Oh, in that case, we definitely need to get him back quickly. And you two bonded. I’ve waited quite long enough for grandchildren.”
The vision of that future scene danced quickly through his head. Sora wanted it so desperately that, for a moment, he could barely breathe.
“If I have my say, we won’t have to wait very long at all. Let’s go find Ravi.”
“And kick some Jaeggi ass.” She nodded in agreement, then spun on her heel, stalking out of the room. “They don’t know who they’re messing with, clearly.”
That, at least, brought a smile to his face. No, the Jaeggi had no idea the fury they’d just unleashed. It wasn’t just the Burkhards they were tangling with, not anymore. And Sora would take great delight in proving it to them.