Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Ravi could tell Nikki was fishing. He had no problem explaining this, as Nikki likely had only heard the Jaeggi version anyway.
“Hundreds of years ago, Kaiser Jaeggi fell in love with a dragon. He and the dragon were lovers, but it was more a matter of convenience and fun. It wasn’t supposed to be a serious relationship. The dragon was frank enough about the fact that Kaiser Jaeggi wasn’t his mate. And when the dragon found his true mate, he broke things off. Kaiser Jaeggi went insane. Perfectly, truly insane. He was inconsolable, and he decided to destroy what he couldn’t have. He started with the dragons. And then focused on the mages because he was jealous of the mage who had stolen his dragon from him. The war, believe it or not, was all because of one love affair gone wrong.”
Nikki stared back at him, eyes wide with surprise and disgust. “Seriously? We’re in this situation because one dude, five hundred years ago, got mad about some dick?”
“Basically.”
“Oh man, that’s so wrong. On so many levels, so wrong.” Nikki gripped their forehead as if it pained them.
“You think that’s bad, just wait. There’s more!”
“Please don’t make yourself sound like a bad infomercial,” Nikki whimpered. “I’ve got a headache as it is.”
“When Kaiser Jaeggi enacted the spell in order to destroy the mages, it was an anti-spell. We’re shy on details, but we believe it backfired and literally altered the genetics of the entire Jaeggi clan. The reason why their magical cores are so messed up? Because of one man.”
Nikki rubbed at both temples. “Oh, god. So why the hell aren’t they blaming him? Why blame the dragons?”
“Why, indeed. I can’t explain it. I think at this point, they just want to get even. They want their magic back. They find it easier to blame us because we’re living. We can offer them both an outlet and a solution. Kaiser Jaeggi’s long dead; there’s no use digging up his grave.” Ravi shook his head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to any of us. We know they’re like a cult at this point. They worship the ground Kaiser Jaeggi walks on, won’t hear one single word against him.”
“I guess hate never makes sense.” Nikki shook their head, focusing again on the problem at hand. “I’ve tried laying hands on a phone, but with no luck. Everyone is hyper vigilant about keeping their phones on them. I think they’re expecting trouble because they have you.”
“I mean, they’re right. There’s definitely trouble coming.”
Nikki stared at the cuffs once more, looking as if they were deep in thought. “Ravi. I think there’s a manual override to those cuffs.”
“Manual override…as in keys?”
“Color me crazy, but I think so. I see a very slender slot for it, and it’s looking pretty key-shaped.”
“So…they created it just in case?”
“I mean, their magic is pretty shoddy sometimes.” Nikki spread their hands in an open shrug. “It rarely works right the first time. I think they always have backup plans. It’s why they were so quick to go back to the drawing board with their plan for you.”
“Yeah? But why are they holding me like this? I mean, do they honestly think my clan won’t find me?”
“We are in the middle of nowhere. No exaggeration. This place doesn’t even officially exist on a map anymore. I think they’re pretty confident your clan will have a hard time finding you. And then if they do find you, maybe they’re hoping to swap you for an unmated dragon.”
Ravi didn’t like that idea. Not one bit. “So, if I’m getting out, it’s best if I do it under my own power.”
“Our power, but yeah. You still sure that if I can get the cuffs off you, you can fly us out of here?”
Snorting in amusement, Ravi promised them, “I fly people all the time. Sora and I just went flying a while ago.”
Saying the words sent a sharp pain through his heart as Sora’s laughter from that night echoed through his brain. Soon. He’d be flying Sora again really, really soon.
Clearing his throat, he continued, “You’re not big enough to give me any issues. I think we’ll need to do this under the cover of darkness, or create a diversion. I’ll need more than a few minutes to get us out of range of any weapons or spells they want to throw at us.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, and I know the perfect diversion.” Nikki rubbed their hands together in open glee. “Tell you what. I’m going to go find that key. I will bet anything it’s in Thomas’s office; he’s really careless about where he leaves things. Like, everyone goes in and out of there, and I bet the key is in a drawer or hanging on a wall or something.”