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)
Skin rippled, and he could feel the shift. His human mind was starting to fall back as he happily handed the reins over to his dragon. But the shift never completed.
Something slammed into him from behind, hard. The world went completely white and then cold, as if he’d fallen into a snowbank. Then, nothing.
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.