Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
As soon as the door closed behind Gregori, Panu’s excited voice could be heard moving down the hallway. It was a good sign that the former Taavi Clan mage was feeling more comfortable within their clan. His magic was blossoming and he was coming out of his reclusive shell. It was just frightening that he was so obsessed with explosions. Maybe it was his age. Nikki was probably about the same age, and they were also fond of explosive magic.
“They are going to blow up one of the wings of the compound,” Vasily muttered.
“Very likely,” Luka agreed, resting his head on Vasily’s shoulder.
“Then Gregori gets to explain what happened to Rodrigo,” Dimitri said with a small shake of his head.
At least they didn’t have to worry about Panu or any other mages involved in this experiment. If Gregori was present, he’d protect them with his life. The mages would be fine. Their home? No guarantees.
“Wait a minute,” Vasily interjected. “I thought you said you brought a non-mage mage to the compound, but the archeologist is a team of one.”
“That,” Dimitri said flatly while pointing at Sam’s picture, “is the non-mage mage. He claims he’s not a mage. Refuses to be tested. Gets real pissy when you even bring it up.”
“Are you sure he’s a mage?” Luka asked.
“Oh yeah, he’s a mage,” Ilya added. “I met him outside. It was like getting hit with a lightning strike. He’s definitely a mage.”
“His mage status is Rodrigo’s problem,” Dimitri said. He’d never been so happy in his life to leave an issue in someone else’s hands. “The king should have Evora meeting with Sam as well. Let them deal with that. Not us. Our problem is getting him safely up the mountain and back down again.”
“Huh,” Misha huffed with a laugh. “Now I’m thinking I should take your place in the team. It might be fun to play with the mage.”
Dimitri’s dragon stirred, lifting its head to snarl and gnash its teeth at the other dragon. He mentally stomped on the dragon, pushing it away. At the same time, he reached out and smacked Misha on the head.
“You’re staying here. I’ll keep an eye on the archeologist.”
If anyone was going to be playing with Sam, it was going to be him.
Samuel sat at the clan’s dining room table that evening with a sort of surreal feeling in the back of his head. The little sleep he’d gotten on the flight might have kept him on his feet, but now he was running on pure adrenaline and whatever caffeine he could lay his hands on.
This wasn’t at all what he’d expected when he’d hired the Valerii as guides. He’d expected them to meet up somewhere neutral—like his hotel. He would outline exactly where he needed to go, they’d shop for supplies, and then they’d leave. Wasn’t that normally how it worked?
Sitting here in a dragon’s clan with mages at the table while discussing an ancient clan that he could barely prove existed, well, he hadn’t pictured that at all. And Samuel had a decent imagination.
The dining room looked like something out of a resort, too. Glass doors on either side of the long room were folded up like a screen, letting the night air sweep in from the ocean, carrying the strong smell of brine and water. Long tables with white tablecloths were parallel to each other, filling the room, with a full buffet table off to one side. People grabbed plates, loaded up, sat with friends or spouses, went back for seconds, or even broke out boardgames. There were two chess games in progress that he could see from here. It was all very casual.
Very family-like, which made the atmosphere comfortable. With a belly full of good food and brains to pick, Samuel was buzzing with excitement. Who wouldn’t be? He was surrounded by dragons and mages while talking about the one thing that gave him hope for a better future. A future in which he wouldn’t be looked down on as being less or weaker. A future where the people who loved him didn’t see him as broken.
“The Tupã were very close to the mage clan, according to the bits and pieces I was able to pick up,” Samuel relayed to Evora, Luka, and Thiago.
Luka had prompted this informal conversation because he was curious and apparently part of Samuel’s expedition force. Thiago was Rodrigo’s advisor, and Evora head mage, so really this was the best group to talk to. Luka was taking notes, which was flattering.
“I’ve found random snippets of information in travel logs, journals, and a ship captain’s log. There was also this box found in a walled-up room of a monastery from São Paulo that held three key pieces of information.” Samuel pulled up the scanned documents in question before flipping his tablet over and handing it to Luka. “First, a map with flight times from the monastery to the clan, then farther south along different routes. This was a regular stop for the Tupã.”